Minnesota Sports Forum

Bucks-

monsterpile wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Ja most be loving he doesn't need to play the Wolves anymore

I was very interested how GS would guard Jah and they used a less complicated approach than the high wall: Go under the screen and back off. The result was 31 shot attempts for Morant, many of which he missed. He ended up with 34 points, but it wasn't the most efficient game for him.

Meanwhile, Bane was held to 10 shot attempts and 9 points.

It's something for Minnesota to keep an eye on. Our high wall defense definitely got the ball out of Jah's hands, but it also allowed a guy like Bane to absolutely torch us. Golden State was perfectly fine with Jah taking 3's (he had 11(!) 3-point attempts), but only 3 FTAs.

If JJJ didn't have a freakish shooting game, this game would not have been as close.

Looking at the box score as I didn't watch the game I think Bane and Brooks shooting 6 for 23 and only taking that many shots (somewhat offset by JJJ shooting) is more significant than Ja's efficiency as he still hit over 36% from 3 and 50% on 2 point shots which I think most Grizzlies fans would be reasonably happy with.

I noticed JJJ only had 3 fouls. Are the Warriors going to attack him enough to get him in foul trouble? That was a big factor in the series with the Wolves limiting his minutes.

The Warriors really don't have physical, attack-oriented players. KAT became a much more aggressive driver this past season and then there is Ant. What the Warriors have are three world-class shooters in Steph, Klay, and Poole. It's just amazing to me that they were able to unearth Poole and OF COURSE he turns into one of the top shooters in the NBA just in time for the playoffs! He shot 33% pre all star break, but has been on fire ever since.

Q-was-here wrote:Bucks-

monsterpile wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Ja most be loving he doesn't need to play the Wolves anymore

I was very interested how GS would guard Jah and they used a less complicated approach than the high wall: Go under the screen and back off. The result was 31 shot attempts for Morant, many of which he missed. He ended up with 34 points, but it wasn't the most efficient game for him.

Meanwhile, Bane was held to 10 shot attempts and 9 points.

It's something for Minnesota to keep an eye on. Our high wall defense definitely got the ball out of Jah's hands, but it also allowed a guy like Bane to absolutely torch us. Golden State was perfectly fine with Jah taking 3's (he had 11(!) 3-point attempts), but only 3 FTAs.

If JJJ didn't have a freakish shooting game, this game would not have been as close.

Looking at the box score as I didn't watch the game I think Bane and Brooks shooting 6 for 23 and only taking that many shots (somewhat offset by JJJ shooting) is more significant than Ja's efficiency as he still hit over 36% from 3 and 50% on 2 point shots which I think most Grizzlies fans would be reasonably happy with.

I noticed JJJ only had 3 fouls. Are the Warriors going to attack him enough to get him in foul trouble? That was a big factor in the series with the Wolves limiting his minutes.

The Warriors really don't have physical, attack-oriented players. KAT became a much more aggressive driver this past season and then there is Ant. What the Warriors have are three world-class shooters in Steph, Klay, and Poole. It's just amazing to me that they were able to unearth Poole and OF COURSE he turns into one of the top shooters in the NBA just in time for the playoffs! He shot 33% pre all star break, but has been on fire ever since.

What jumps out at me as much as anything about Poole is his FT% this season. 92.5%!!! (Ok the 72% TS in the playoffs is quite the number too!) I looked back at his college numbers to see if the FT shooting was some sort of complete fluke. He was an 83% FT shooter in college which is relatively good for a young guard. I know one of the knocks on him was shot selection but the guy shot almost 37% from 3 and well over 50% on 2s. It feels like some teams missed on that guy. To be fair there was so many wing players/guards in that draft that were in a bucket where I thought not much separated them. Keldon Johnson went a pick later who has developed nicely (Spurs had a bit of a lull for couple years). I liked him more than that spot. I think I remember you questioning whether he had enough skills (especially at his size) which even if I liked him I think was a fair assessment.

Meanwhile to keep it real about my draft takes I liked Sekou Doumbouya in that draft and so far that was a failure. Lol

Watching the game tonight makes you appreciate how impressive our defensive game plan against Ja Morant was

BloopOracle wrote:Watching the game tonight makes you appreciate how impressive our defensive game plan against Ja Morant was

I don't know. Pick your poison. Yes, our high wall defense bottled up Morant, but it also left Bane open for way too many 3-pointers and he absolutely torched us. Now was that a breakdown in our rotations or is that just something you sacrifice when playing the high wall?

On the other hand, Golden State has chosen to go under screens and sag off Morant while staying matched up mostly one on one with him. In the meantime, they have absolutely stuck to Bane and not let him get going. That strategy worked well in the first game, not so well last night!

Q-was-here wrote:

BloopOracle wrote:Watching the game tonight makes you appreciate how impressive our defensive game plan against Ja Morant was

I don't know. Pick your poison. Yes, our high wall defense bottled up Morant, but it also left Bane open for way too many 3-pointers and he absolutely torched us. Now was that a breakdown in our rotations or is that just something you sacrifice when playing the high wall?

On the other hand, Golden State has chosen to go under screens and sag off Morant while staying matched up mostly one on one with him. In the meantime, they have absolutely stuck to Bane and not let him get going. That strategy worked well in the first game, not so well last night!

I just saw that Gary Payton II got hurt and Brooks was ejected early. It's a shame that Payton got hurt he finally found a place in the league. I was looking forward to watching some of this series and seeing him play. The Warriors are going to miss his ability to defend.

Oh and I just noticed JJJ fouled out. Lol

Watching Doncic just makes my shoulders slump. Holy shit, we have to deal with that guy for the next decade. Ant is great, but he is a looooooong ways away from what this dude can do.

Now that we are through the first round and watching some of these other series, I'm getting that "we're going to need a bigger boat" feeling.

Q-was-here wrote:Watching Doncic just makes my shoulders slump. Holy shit, we have to deal with that guy for the next decade. Ant is great, but he is a looooooong ways away from what this dude can do.

Now that we are through the first round and watching some of these other series, I'm getting that "we're going to need a bigger boat" feeling.

I get the same feeling. KAT should be able to do what Doncic does in the half court. Luka is just a lot tougher than KAT. So we don't have a Doncic caliber player on our team. Maybe Edwards will eventually reach that level, but as you indicated, he's no where near that level now.

lipoli390 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:Watching Doncic just makes my shoulders slump. Holy shit, we have to deal with that guy for the next decade. Ant is great, but he is a looooooong ways away from what this dude can do.

Now that we are through the first round and watching some of these other series, I'm getting that "we're going to need a bigger boat" feeling.

I get the same feeling. KAT should be able to do what Doncic does in the half court. Luka is just a lot tougher than KAT. So we don't have a Doncic caliber player on our team. Maybe Edwards will eventually reach that level, but as you indicated, he's no where near that level now.

I've never thought Towns had the sort of ball handling playmaking skills you are suggesting here. He is not Kevin Durant. He is not Jokic. He is a REALLY damn good shooter but he just int isn't a guy that can handle the ball and break down a majority of the league to get his shot. I think suggesting he should be able to do what Luka can do is both a shot at him and a shot at Luka not appreciating that Luka is already on the path to being one of the best players to ever play the game. I've said this for years Towns skill set is more of a shooting guard than it is a playmaking one. Hie also is a good athlete for a guy his size but he isn't that twitchy. The idea that he should be able to do what Luka does is unfair to me. Should he be better than he is affecting the game offensively? Yes absolutely. Sometimes I think that Towns should be utilized more to take advantage of his greatest strength which is shooting but I did like how he was driving this season too. Some of that worked because of the shooting on the floor and other players teams had to account for.

As for Edwards as a couple of his teammates and I believe Finch said in their exit interviews Edwards is mostly just playing right now he isn't thinking the game. They basically said that if he starts thinking more beyond the moment watch out. He is a special talent and fun to watch.

Q-was-here wrote:Watching Doncic just makes my shoulders slump. Holy shit, we have to deal with that guy for the next decade. Ant is great, but he is a looooooong ways away from what this dude can do.

Now that we are through the first round and watching some of these other series, I'm getting that "we're going to need a bigger boat" feeling.

Watching Luka gets me excited for the Wolves. The Wolves get to hunt him on D for years and his lack of trying. And only 1 player in NBA history has made the NBA finals with Luka usage and that was Iverson

kekgeek1 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:Watching Doncic just makes my shoulders slump. Holy shit, we have to deal with that guy for the next decade. Ant is great, but he is a looooooong ways away from what this dude can do.

Now that we are through the first round and watching some of these other series, I'm getting that "we're going to need a bigger boat" feeling.

Watching Luka gets me excited for the Wolves. The Wolves get to hunt him on D for years and his lack of trying. And only 1 player in NBA history has made the NBA finals with Luka usage and that was Iverson

https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1522068158802280449?s=20&t=E8it0g03fUByQvOq3kS95g

Luka is a mercurial player, kek. I love watching him on offense...he's a terrific offensive player. But this season I started to realize how awful he is on the other end of the court. Dane Moore is on to him too.