Minnesota Sports Forum

Abe's "The Wolves made me fall asleep watching the game... but in a good way" DVR Review"

- Obviously, one of the downsides of watching all Wolves games later on DVR is that it's often late... and I get sleepy sometimes. Yesterday was as a snoozefest, but in a good way. The Wolves played with purpose and energy and this one was decided early. The question is obviously how often we'll see the Wolves play with purpose the rest of the season (I'm guessing more often than we saw for the first 55+ games.)

- Midway 1st quarter... Edwards dribbles behind his back a few times, casually/cautiously feeling out the defender... only to dribble into a smooth stepback three. Such a random play, but one that shows just how talented he is. There are only a few guys who can do that so seemingly effortlessly. I did not think Edwards would ever be this skilled. He's pretty amazing...

- Great start to the 2nd quarter. Divencenzo/Bones/Hyland/Reid/Gobert... and then McDaniels set the tone with their energy and effort. It almost seemed to break Portand's will. Divencenzo got multiple loose balls and the ball was popping. Obviously, Edwards and Randle bring talent and production that nobody else can match... but it's fun to watch how the other 6 in the rotation play together. With a very solid top 7 now, I'm eager to see more of this.

- Jaden McDaniels is doing masterful work vs. Avidja. Now granted, another crew might have called him for a couple of ticky tack questionable calls in this one and that would have changed the outlook entirely... but when McDaniels can avoid those (or the officials can avoid calling them) he can be a phenomenal defender.

He's bounced back offensively after a couple of dismal performances, too. Great game for him.

- As 50winTim noticed... Gobert is playing hot potato at the free throw line. Seemed to work yesterday (7 - 10). Less time to think... just go by muscle memory. After all, it sure seemed to be a mental block considering Gobert was shooting 18% worse from the line this season compared to last.

- Considering I fell asleep at some point in the 3rd quarter shortly after Rudy's many trips to the free throw line... I missed most of Randle's dominance.

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 9:17 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 9:05 am

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 8:54 am

Given Ant was sick I thought he was fine, a few late closeouts, but that's what he does now at last in the regular season. Got some steals, got a block, the +19 for those that love on/off. He played the role of the decoy in this game sick. Portland still had it's best defender on Ant the whole game, allowing others to play well. I really think it's Ayo's energy that is inspiring the team more than it was Rudy's words. Ayo's energy is contagious, and you can tell Jaden loves playing next to him. Even though Donte missed his shots, you can tell he doesn't want to lose his starting spot and is playing extra hard. Clark is all of a sudden making his shots now that he has competition in Ayo.

I didn't even think his contests on Jrue were all that bad on a couple of 3's he made. I think FNG accuses Ant of poor defense even when guys make tough shots over him that are pretty well defended. Overall, I thought he was fine last night.

The other thing about "sick Ant" and to your point of him being a decoy is that he is such an elite shooter off the catch (may be the best in the NBA this year?), that him simply standing out beyond the arc on the opposite side of the action creates gravity and opens things up for his team mates. And whenever they sagged off him he made the open 3.

Ant is such an elite catch and shoot shooter, some of us have been hoping for him to play more off ball...and it seems like it is happening. He's still a terrific shooter creating on his own using Rudy as a screener, but his catch and shoot treys are absolutely elite.

Q, I'm not as positive about Ant's perimeter defense as you are. I like the way he uses his strength to body up his man in the paint, but his close outs usually look lazy to me. Contrast the way he closes out with the way Donte does...there's a huge difference. I think Ant is a far below average perimeter defender this season. The silver lining though is we can count on him to dial the effort up in the preseason.

Ant prefers to defend in the paint. He was playing a power forward position a few times and I think he likes it so he doesn't need to run out to the 3point line. Plus he really likes the weak side block. He appears to love the challenge of taking on bigger players.
Would be interesting to see the Wolves play a 3-2 match up zone with Jaden and Ant down low and Ayo/DDV/Bones on perimeter.

DNatagal wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 6:49 am

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 9:17 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 9:05 am

I didn't even think his contests on Jrue were all that bad on a couple of 3's he made. I think FNG accuses Ant of poor defense even when guys make tough shots over him that are pretty well defended. Overall, I thought he was fine last night.

The other thing about "sick Ant" and to your point of him being a decoy is that he is such an elite shooter off the catch (may be the best in the NBA this year?), that him simply standing out beyond the arc on the opposite side of the action creates gravity and opens things up for his team mates. And whenever they sagged off him he made the open 3.

Ant is such an elite catch and shoot shooter, some of us have been hoping for him to play more off ball...and it seems like it is happening. He's still a terrific shooter creating on his own using Rudy as a screener, but his catch and shoot treys are absolutely elite.

Q, I'm not as positive about Ant's perimeter defense as you are. I like the way he uses his strength to body up his man in the paint, but his close outs usually look lazy to me. Contrast the way he closes out with the way Donte does...there's a huge difference. I think Ant is a far below average perimeter defender this season. The silver lining though is we can count on him to dial the effort up in the preseason.

Ant prefers to defend in the paint. He was playing a power forward position a few times and I think he likes it so he doesn't need to run out to the 3point line. Plus he really likes the weak side block. He appears to love the challenge of taking on bigger players.
Would be interesting to see the Wolves play a 3-2 match up zone with Jaden and Ant down low and Ayo/DDV/Bones on perimeter.

Exactly, D'. Ant almost always seems focused when he is guarding someone in the paint, as does Ju. And they are both strong enough to be effective paint defenders when they care. But neither seems to be very interested in defending the perimeter. Ju often makes no effort at all, and Ant seems to put in just enough effort to keep the coaches off his back...but not enough to really disrupt a shot. Ant is a very different player than he was last season...much better on offense, and much worse on defense. I loved him on defense last season in the playoffs...we can only hope that the effort he showed then but is largely absent this season returns for the playoffs. If it does, we are likely to have a deep run.

Your zone thoughts are interesting. The one issue though is that, while Ant can sometimes be an effective one on one defender, he seems to struggle with the zone concept. I wonder if perhaps he never played zone either in college of high school, because he just doesn't seem to get it.

DNatagal wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 6:49 am

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 9:17 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 9:05 am

I didn't even think his contests on Jrue were all that bad on a couple of 3's he made. I think FNG accuses Ant of poor defense even when guys make tough shots over him that are pretty well defended. Overall, I thought he was fine last night.

The other thing about "sick Ant" and to your point of him being a decoy is that he is such an elite shooter off the catch (may be the best in the NBA this year?), that him simply standing out beyond the arc on the opposite side of the action creates gravity and opens things up for his team mates. And whenever they sagged off him he made the open 3.

Ant is such an elite catch and shoot shooter, some of us have been hoping for him to play more off ball...and it seems like it is happening. He's still a terrific shooter creating on his own using Rudy as a screener, but his catch and shoot treys are absolutely elite.

Q, I'm not as positive about Ant's perimeter defense as you are. I like the way he uses his strength to body up his man in the paint, but his close outs usually look lazy to me. Contrast the way he closes out with the way Donte does...there's a huge difference. I think Ant is a far below average perimeter defender this season. The silver lining though is we can count on him to dial the effort up in the preseason.

Ant prefers to defend in the paint. He was playing a power forward position a few times and I think he likes it so he doesn't need to run out to the 3point line. Plus he really likes the weak side block. He appears to love the challenge of taking on bigger players.
Would be interesting to see the Wolves play a 3-2 match up zone with Jaden and Ant down low and Ayo/DDV/Bones on perimeter.

I loved this defense with my AAU teams, but the problem with it in the NBA is keeping the ball out of the paint. Ant and Jaden would be perfect down low though.

FNG wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 9:16 am

DNatagal wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 6:49 am

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 9:17 am

Ant is such an elite catch and shoot shooter, some of us have been hoping for him to play more off ball...and it seems like it is happening. He's still a terrific shooter creating on his own using Rudy as a screener, but his catch and shoot treys are absolutely elite.

Q, I'm not as positive about Ant's perimeter defense as you are. I like the way he uses his strength to body up his man in the paint, but his close outs usually look lazy to me. Contrast the way he closes out with the way Donte does...there's a huge difference. I think Ant is a far below average perimeter defender this season. The silver lining though is we can count on him to dial the effort up in the preseason.

Ant prefers to defend in the paint. He was playing a power forward position a few times and I think he likes it so he doesn't need to run out to the 3point line. Plus he really likes the weak side block. He appears to love the challenge of taking on bigger players.
Would be interesting to see the Wolves play a 3-2 match up zone with Jaden and Ant down low and Ayo/DDV/Bones on perimeter.

Exactly, D'. Ant almost always seems focused when he is guarding someone in the paint, as does Ju. And they are both strong enough to be effective paint defenders when they care. But neither seems to be very interested in defending the perimeter. Ju often makes no effort at all, and Ant seems to put in just enough effort to keep the coaches off his back...but not enough to really disrupt a shot. Ant is a very different player than he was last season...much better on offense, and much worse on defense. I loved him on defense last season in the playoffs...we can only hope that the effort he showed then but is largely absent this season returns for the playoffs. If it does, we are likely to have a deep run.

Your zone thoughts are interesting. The one issue though is that, while Ant can sometimes be an effective one on one defender, he seems to struggle with the zone concept. I wonder if perhaps he never played zone either in college of high school, because he just doesn't seem to get it.

Ant is all talk and can't back it up. I remember him saying (training camp/preseason) he and the team would get back to being a dominant defense. I think personally he has the ability to do it, he just doesn't care about defense like he does offense. I just watched him get easily blown by way too much this season. Embarrassingly too.

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 1:15 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 9:16 am

DNatagal wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 6:49 am

Ant prefers to defend in the paint. He was playing a power forward position a few times and I think he likes it so he doesn't need to run out to the 3point line. Plus he really likes the weak side block. He appears to love the challenge of taking on bigger players.
Would be interesting to see the Wolves play a 3-2 match up zone with Jaden and Ant down low and Ayo/DDV/Bones on perimeter.

Exactly, D'. Ant almost always seems focused when he is guarding someone in the paint, as does Ju. And they are both strong enough to be effective paint defenders when they care. But neither seems to be very interested in defending the perimeter. Ju often makes no effort at all, and Ant seems to put in just enough effort to keep the coaches off his back...but not enough to really disrupt a shot. Ant is a very different player than he was last season...much better on offense, and much worse on defense. I loved him on defense last season in the playoffs...we can only hope that the effort he showed then but is largely absent this season returns for the playoffs. If it does, we are likely to have a deep run.

Your zone thoughts are interesting. The one issue though is that, while Ant can sometimes be an effective one on one defender, he seems to struggle with the zone concept. I wonder if perhaps he never played zone either in college of high school, because he just doesn't seem to get it.

Ant is all talk and can't back it up. I remember him saying (training camp/preseason) he and the team would get back to being a dominant defense. I think personally he has the ability to do it, he just doesn't care about defense like he does offense. I just watched him get easily blown by way too much this season. Embarrassingly too.

We shall find out come playoffs, what it looks like when his effort level increases. Personally I think he came into the first game planning on playing defense, running on fast rebounds, and letting Mike bring the ball up like they talked about in pres-season. Mike gets scratched from the starting lineup hours before game 1, Donte turns it over 6 times against Portland's defense, and Ant changes right there his plans. I also think he worked his ass off in the regular season, just to get hurt game 3 and that killed some of his endurance and game.

Utah has to be pissed off at Ant for letting old man Holiday get so hot, that it continued into the next night in their game where he scores 31 on 10-15 shooting.

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 3:20 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 1:15 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 9:16 am

Exactly, D'. Ant almost always seems focused when he is guarding someone in the paint, as does Ju. And they are both strong enough to be effective paint defenders when they care. But neither seems to be very interested in defending the perimeter. Ju often makes no effort at all, and Ant seems to put in just enough effort to keep the coaches off his back...but not enough to really disrupt a shot. Ant is a very different player than he was last season...much better on offense, and much worse on defense. I loved him on defense last season in the playoffs...we can only hope that the effort he showed then but is largely absent this season returns for the playoffs. If it does, we are likely to have a deep run.

Your zone thoughts are interesting. The one issue though is that, while Ant can sometimes be an effective one on one defender, he seems to struggle with the zone concept. I wonder if perhaps he never played zone either in college of high school, because he just doesn't seem to get it.

Ant is all talk and can't back it up. I remember him saying (training camp/preseason) he and the team would get back to being a dominant defense. I think personally he has the ability to do it, he just doesn't care about defense like he does offense. I just watched him get easily blown by way too much this season. Embarrassingly too.

We shall find out come playoffs, what it looks like when his effort level increases. Personally I think he came into the first game planning on playing defense, running on fast rebounds, and letting Mike bring the ball up like they talked about in pres-season. Mike gets scratched from the starting lineup hours before game 1, Donte turns it over 6 times against Portland's defense, and Ant changes right there his plans. I also think he worked his ass off in the regular season, just to get hurt game 3 and that killed some of his endurance and game.

It's fairly typical though that higher usage / high scoring players have a tough time playing elite defense, especially game in and out in the regular season. There are a few rare guys that have done both. Giannis, Kawhi, Kobe, Jordan to name a few. LeBron maybe in his prime. Very rare though.

I think he's probably playing it right though. You can turn up the effort on defense when you are in the playoffs and don't play every night. Less travel, etc.. Refining his offensive skill is smart during the regular season, you can't just turn that on/off when the playoffs start.

I also agree he has in the past played solid defense even elite at times in the playoffs. He can do it, it's just how much effort/energy does he have to use on that end while carrying a large offensive load for 65-70+ games.

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 4:38 pm

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 3:20 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 1:15 pm

Ant is all talk and can't back it up. I remember him saying (training camp/preseason) he and the team would get back to being a dominant defense. I think personally he has the ability to do it, he just doesn't care about defense like he does offense. I just watched him get easily blown by way too much this season. Embarrassingly too.

We shall find out come playoffs, what it looks like when his effort level increases. Personally I think he came into the first game planning on playing defense, running on fast rebounds, and letting Mike bring the ball up like they talked about in pres-season. Mike gets scratched from the starting lineup hours before game 1, Donte turns it over 6 times against Portland's defense, and Ant changes right there his plans. I also think he worked his ass off in the regular season, just to get hurt game 3 and that killed some of his endurance and game.

It's fairly typical though that higher usage / high scoring players have a tough time playing elite defense, especially game in and out in the regular season. There are a few rare guys that have done both. Giannis, Kawhi, Kobe, Jordan to name a few. LeBron maybe in his prime. Very rare though.

I think he's probably playing it right though. You can turn up the effort on defense when you are in the playoffs and don't play every night. Less travel, etc.. Refining his offensive skill is smart during the regular season, you can't just turn that on/off when the playoffs start.

I also agree he has in the past played solid defense even elite at times in the playoffs. He can do it, it's just how much effort/energy does he have to use on that end while carrying a large offensive load for 65-70+ games.

I think that we can all agree that defense is about effort and intensity first. If there is any player that can bring the effort when it counts, Ant is the guy. I think Ayo and Shannon, and possibly DDV are going to provide the Kickstart to this stretch run, and the entire team will make Finch look good enough that he will be with the team next year. Unfortunately.

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 3:22 pm Utah has to be pissed off at Ant for letting old man Holiday get so hot, that it continued into the next night in their game where he scores 31 on 10-15 shooting.

Utah was heavily fined for tanking just recently as they are trying to keep their top 8 protected pick from OKC. They have used some embarrassing tactics to lose games, like sitting Lauri for the 4th quarter of close games. I'm sure they didn't mind seeing Jrue go off the way he did. Every loss is a victory for them.