Minnesota Sports Forum

Boy, we crawled back into that one late. Entertaining game. Think we might have scratched out a win had Rubio stayed in. Like LST, I'm happy Flip pulled him. Ease him back into NBA game shape.

Speaking of Ricky, he's so good at controlling the game. Everything happens at his speed when he's on the floor. Notice how scrappy he was in his first game back. Taking charges, diving for loose balls, providing great help defense when we were in panic mode. I love watching him play. He dropped three wow plays tonight. That famous wrap-around pass of his. Nobody does that better. Found Young for a layup. Also had a nice thread-the-needle pass to Young in transition. Another transition pass to Wiggins; no look, hop and bounce pass. He's a treat to watch. And that jumper looks a thousand times better and he looks confident as hell taking it. Quicker release and way more willing to let it fly.

His name was mentioned ONCE in this thread tonight by Q. Thad played a great game, and it's clear that Rubio will have a huge impact in his game. Thad finally has a PG that can play P&R with him and let him get buckets in the paint. I don't know the exact numbers, but he scored very well, had close to 10 boards and played great defense on Dirk in the second half. Couldn't play the guy better than that.

Wiggins was alright. Had some nice finishes at the rim and a baseline fader. How about that alley-oop from Ricky? That was nice. His defense was not okay, though. Bit on almost every head and pump fake Parsons threw at him. Come on Andrew, stay on your feet!

Bennett's still garbage. Nothing's changed there. Moving on.

Martin and Pekovic helped shoulder the scoring load. I like both of them and believe they, along with Young, are going no where.

Gorgui's P&R defense was awful tonight. Hard to watch honestly. I root for G so hard, but tonight was a disappointment, in my opinion.

Loved the effort, though. Two point game under two minutes to go and we had the ball. We could have grinded out a W. It's probably best we didn't. I expect very good basketball the rest of the way as long as our guys stay relatively healthy and Bazz comes back as the same guy.

Best game for Thad on the year, good offensively, and I would say it was by far his best game on D, still needs to box out more but he was very good tonight.

God I love Ricky, Wiggins had a fine game but I am worried about the move back to SF, I wouldn't mind when Shabazz comes back to start Shabazz with Wiggins, Martin can still play starter minutes.

I didn't think Bennett was that bad (not saying he played good)

Mo sucks on D, he brings some on offense but man is he bad on D.

I thought Gorgui had a good first half, but he played like shit in the second half.

Overall I am excited about the wolves future

Thad had 15 points on 50% shooting. That's impressive. He also pulled down 9 boards. Perhaps his best game of the season. Yes, Ricky makes everybody better. I talked with some Timberwolves brass the other day. They said Thad has really been impacted by the loss of his mom. But he seems to have turned the corner. He actually played well against Cleveland, so he's put together a couple nice performances in a row.

Pek was only 4-11 from the field tonight with no trips to the line. That's horrible for a starting center making $12 million per year. And it's especially bad for a guy his size who takes all his shots in the paint. Yet, he's a big step up defensively from Gorgui and he does draw attention on the offensive end. He also pulled down 10 boards. His rebounding is important for this team given our lack of good rebounders on the roster.

Mo's defense is monumentally bad. On the other end, he stagnates the offense and makes a lot of very poor decisions. I'm hoping the Wolves can unload him for some value by the trade deadline.

So glad to have rubio back. Like cam said, he controls the pace and tempo of the game whenever he's in there. Thats star quality. Hope he could stay healthy and would like to see him develop better chemistry with wiggins. Rubio already has good chemistry with martin and pek and we all know how good he was with love. As they play more together, Im sure we'll see rubio make life easier for wiggins.

Pek is the king of going 4-11. The problem is you can't do that in the post. It takes away an offensive rebounder with Pek shooting the ball to begin with and it just isn't a good look right now. I think now that Ricky is back, Pek needs to be getting most of his looks rolling to the basket in the PnR and only go to the post occasionally. He just hasn't been making his shots in the post so it is a look we need to go away from. Throw everyone behind the 3 pt line and let Ricky and Pek run the PnR. It is going to be our best offense moving forward if Ricky can hit that new jumper from 18 ft.

Yes! Indeed it's time to turn on the TV or attend those guys. LOL.

Seriously, Ricky is the glue to this team. His passing is going to get everyone easier shots. And as his minutes increase, we will see less of Mo which might be a good thing although Mo's not that bad. His help defense is going to help a ton. But the bad thing about this is that they all of to find their rythem again.

Everyone's has to learn to be ready for those tricky passes. And with all of the starters coming back, Martin minutes are pushing Wiggins and everyone back into backup mode. So there's going to be another leading period with these guys.

I have said it before, if none of these guys were hurt, we would be looking at a PO spot! Crazy. But that was a very good Mavs team that had us down by 21, but we clawed our way back within 4 points with 3 really not to good players out there at once (Bennett, Brown and Daniels----late 3rd early 4th)!!!

Good teams---and Dallas is one---put away bad ones with it's time. But they couldn't with us. Lots to look forward to......FYI, I just placed a 100$ when I was in Vegas this weekend (SuperBowl stuff).

1Q

Flip: Personal opinion but Martin's scoring would have been nice with the second unit and Wiggins vs Ellis posting up would have been the match-up I looked to exploit. Dieng in the lineup for Martin would have been much better defensively too.

10-0 run to start the game by DAL = 8:30 TO by Flip (No subs unsure what to think about that). It's good to let your guys work out of a jam themselves but the other side of opting for no subs almost gives the message that when you start the game flat there are no consequences. When no one comes out the game as a result.

JJ vs Rubio : Shot early with confidence then dives to keep a ball alive and though he just missed his last jumper he continues to show confidence in his abilities by shooting a good look 3. Yet to make a shot but I like that he is being aggressive. Takes a charge :) then hits a jumper. Looked good in 2 man game with Thad for a bucket. Takes his man on a drive and is pretty much involved in all scores for the Wolves up to this point. Hit K-Mart on a back door pass that K-Mart messed up on. Super nasty deep outlet to K-mart that once again is botched. Only complaint would be allowing JJ to drive and create angels that generate offense on more than one occasion. Then again not many people stop JJ from probing the defense, that's how his short ass is in the NBA.

Ellis vs Martin : Poor hands on the back door from Ricky, missed a point blank layup on a sick Ricky outlet pass. Did have a nice post up fade over Ellis for a basket and drove to create an open 3 for Thad on another play. Pretty careless pass out of a post up that leads to fast break layup. He and Dieng both couldn't stop D. Harris when he drove vs both of them with ease.

Parsons vs Wiggins : Hustles back in transition to block Ellis fast break layup! Excellent close out and challenge on a 3 leads to a missed shot for DAL. Posts up Ellis and draws a foul (This is where we should have exploited all night).

Dirk vs Thad : After Wiggins block Thad doesn't realize he is 2 on 3 and really doesn't have an advantage at all. Instead Thad drives into the defense and puts up a shot that is well defended. Nice two man game with Rubio, worked well with K-mart on an inbound which lead to a steal/fastbreak basket. Bricked an open 3.

Chandler vs Pek : Bad pass out the post and Chandler's length gave him issues.

Bench Mo, Dieng, Chase: Dieng had a defensive sequence where he challenges Ellis drive, DAL O-board leads to Parsons drive where once again Dieng helps and contest the shot. Mo had a drive and feed to Dieng and they hooked up on a Dieng hand off shields the defender as Mo uses the room to hit a 3. Budinger came in w/ 1:47 left and played into early 2nd Q but put up two misses and never saw the court again.

2Q (Down 10pts / 20-30)

Flip: Can't say for sure but I am sure Flip talked about the 10-0 start to the game and let them know that was the 10pt difference. First possession of the quarter was a good sign as the offenses seemed patient with good ball movement and lead to a huge AB dunk. I think he also probably wanted to generate some easy buckets to get Wiggins going and urged the team to run a few early plays through Wiggins.

JJ vs Mo : Pick & Roll w/ AB for massive slam. With 9:15 left R. Fleton replaces JJ.

Harris vs Chase : Drives right into the defense and shoots a bad look that leads to DAL fast break points.

Aminu vs Wiggins : 3 looks to start the quarter which I like to see him being involved, but the looks weren't quality and none of them put points on the board.

AB vs Dirk : Massive Dunk on Mo pick & roll and looks really active (way more hustle than I am used to seeing out of AB). Maybe he was motivated after doing nothing vs the team that traded him in his previous game.

Dieng vs Chandler : Shot fake drive and score baseline vs Dirk! Contests shot really well on a regular basis really impressed with him contesting a 3. Hits the O-glass and looks like he is playing with a chip on his shoulder. Like maybe he thinks he should be a starter on an 8-40 team.

7:52 Wolves are poor in transition D and yield another open 3 to Dirk after he just made a 3 = Flip calls TO (Down 19pts / 24-43)

@8:17 DAL put in Ellis/Parsons/R-Jefferson for JJ/Dirk/Chuck V

JJ vs Rubio : Hits Wiggins on fast break leads to foul shots, nice feed to Pek in the post when Pek has defenders sealed deep in the paint. Ricky didn't seem happy about coming out of the game :) I like seeing his desire to win, he was playing well and despite the record and it being his first game back he wanted to stay in.

Felton vs Martin : Took an early in the shot clock not the most open look 3 but is a shot that was more than makeable for someone with his shooting prowess. Hits a transition jumper.

Chuck V vs Wiggins : Forced a TO by taking away penetration and playing hard on D.

Dirk vs Thad : O-Board & goes back up strong vs Dirk, Jab step makes a jumper vs R. Jefferson. Yo Thad you really just got beat by R-Jeff driving the ball against you? Ouch that makes my blood boil a little.

Chandler vs Pek : Pek came alive for a bit muscling up on Chandler for a bucket and then showed a nice dip and flip off the glass. Was noticeably good in help defense on more than one occasion.

@3:32 DAL subs in Dirk probably to try and stop the run MN was on. I really like the 20 second TO by Flip here, I am sure he warned about how we lost track of Dirk and he hit two 3's on us this quarter already so don't undue the run we are on and focus on staying sticky on defense with him.

End of Half match up
D. Harris vs Mo : Drive creates open jumper for Dieng which he makes.

Ellis vs K-Mart : Hits wide open jumper like he should, end of half he was mugged yet no call? WTF was the official looking at?

Parsons vs Wiggins : Quiet down the stretch.

Dirk vs Thad : Blew by Dirk going to his right! I love that he went right as a left hander because it shows what I believe is hard work coming to fruition. I think he has been working on his ability to drive both directions and he is the kind of weapon that could blossom even more with continued focus and effort. I'd like to see his dribbling and passing improve along with the 3 point shot this year and into the off season. Unless of course he's not part of our long term plan and we move him.

Chandler vs Pek for about 30 seconds before Dieng finishes out the quarter. Dieng shows up with a big O-board and huge put back Slam in one of the Wolves last possessions prior to half-time.

End Quarter down only 7pts - impressive considering starting the game off ten nothing and furthermore down around 20 points in the 2nd Quarter.

3Q Down 7

Rubio: Hit a Jumper with zero hesitation, he looks like the Rubio we have been waiting for :) Was awesome on help defense drawing a charge vs Ellis and his help lead to another TO on a separate play. Drives baseline and jumps to pass which is really frowned upon to leave your feet to pass but its even worse when you're driving baseline as you often have less passing lanes when going baseline. Behind the back pass to the massive Pek which leads to a Parsons Dunk.

Mo: Hit a nice jumper. Savey pump fake gets defender in the air = 3 free throws for Mo. He fouled M. Ellis with 24.5 left in the quarter and with Ellis being near mid-court while in the bonus.....YUCK!!!! Last possession of the quarter Mo telegraphs his swing pass back to AB and DAL nearly steals the ball and thwarts the chances of a shot. You have to at least get some kind of shot off in this spot.

Martin: Rank pass = TO. Great denial D and steal vs Dirk. Poor D on an inbound leads to an easy drive and basket for Parsons.

L. Brown: As the inbound passer a 5 second violation is about to happen, AB and Mo didn't do a whole lot to get open so they get the blame if you ask me. Brown feeling the violation starts to lean into his inbound pass, he looks like he doesn't want to make the pass as his leaning is now off balanced and he throws a shit pass right to DAL.

Wiggins: Good quarter as he drove and created Rubio's open jumper and hit a hard jumper off a post up (almost Kobe like). Aggressive take right into Chandler which is how you should attack shot blockers AND 1 bitches. Only negative was weak defensive rotation which lead to Parsons 3.

Thad: Drive and draws the foul, otherwise quiet.

AB: Nice top of the key jumper and wow he is actually moving with energy tonight.

Pek / Dieng: Rather forgettable this quarter.

4Q Down 8

Mo-Daniels-Thad-A.Bennett-Dieng *Mo & Troy vs JJ & Harris is a massive matchup issue, more on this in the Notes post.
JJ-D.Harris-Aminu-Villanueva-Dirk

Mo allows JJ to straight line drive, which is the matchup issue I knew would be there. So if that is the case why do two MN defenders not step up and help? K. Martin wouldn't help when defending Aminu who was sitting on the 3pt line. O-by the way Aminu is a rank ass 3pt shooter that you want to entice to take a three. Hit a big three late to pull close to DAL.

@1:36 Down only 2pts with the ball. We took way too long to get into the offense, Mo is finally done calling out the play at 14 seconds on the shot clock and never started calling it out until he crossed half court. No pick set for Martin as he pops out to the wing rather weak as if he knows the play is going to the opposite side of the court. Swing to Thad quick feed to Pek in the post vs Chandler which seems good until you see 6 second on the shot clock, what can Pek really do vs an elite defender and only 6 seconds to make a move that everyone including Chandler knows will most likely be a shot by Pek with such little time on the clock.

JJ and Dirk are pick and rolling vs Mo and AB and they are killing us but what was expected with our guards vs theirs?

@8:39 post entry to Dieng then Mo and AB pick K.Martin man at the top of the key. Martin is open for about a two count as he fades over AB's side of the double pick. Instead Dieng drives into the defender looks lost and turns the ball over.

Rubio : Sick pass by the feet of two defenders to Thad leads to free throws. Poor close out on JJ but even worse he trails back into the play with his hands down allowing a nice pass by JJ to Chandler for 2pts. Ricky could have closed out better but more than that if he trails back into the play with hands up I doubt JJ can make the pass.

@4:40 Rubio is at the top of the key and Pek is posted up deep on the block with decent position but the angle of entry makes it a really difficult pass that probably shouldn't have been attempted. Parsons was also sagging in toward Peck and read the play the whole way stealing the ball immediately.

@4:05 3pt game and Rubio comes out, a hard pill to swallow wanting the win but when you consider that a win only hurts our chances lottery pick wise and that Rubio had reached his minutes limit in his first game back it was the right call. I saw Ricky telling flip "I know" as he was coming out, not sure what was said, but I liked that they both seemed to be looking out for each other & both understood the why behind things.....GOOD COMMUNICATION.

Wiggins: Sticks with it on the O-glass tipping the ball twice before scoring. Ellis had no choice but to foul Wiggins on the block post up (Again this was the match-up that we should have exploited and made them adjust to us).

Most interesting play to evaluate: @3:10 in 4th Quarter Chandler sets a textbook pick on Wiggins which forces Pek to show extremely hard and basically switch onto M. Ellis. I'll leave the rest for you guys to comment on :) before I break down what I seen on that play.

* We have some roster composition issues: Mo, Martin, Budinger, Daniels are all really bad at keeping their man in front of them. Daniels I'll give a pass because I have not seen enough of him to know for sure, but what I have seen I am comfortable saying he's below average at staying in front of his man. I understand these guys are here because they are floor spacers capable of hitting from long range and that skill is essential in keeping defenses from helping on everything and playing zone. However these player types require shot blockers and good help defenders which MN doesn't have much of. We also only have 3 quality bigs and Thad plays well at SF so we need to address that big time.