TeamRicky wrote:What happened to all the "Trade Ricky" trolls?
Give it a rest. He's been great as of late, however, that does not excuse him for how bad he was for 20-30 games.
Pretty much. He has been amazing these last 3 games but he has been bad most of the season
He was not very good, but let's be honest, SOME of that has to do with the way Thibs used him.
I don't buy that, Q. Thibs has taken the ball out of his hands SOME, mainly under 2:00 and that's what people remember, but not enough for me to give him a get-out-of-jail-free card. Until about mid-December, he had been pretty brutal. The turning point, in my opinion, was that win at Chicago.
Before that game (19 G), he was averaging: 6.7 PPG, 6.4 APG, 3.8 RPG, 1.4 SPG on 36.1 FG%, 22.2 3P%, 79.6 FT% while having a -4.0 +/-
Including that CHI game and since then (15 G), he's averaging: 8.2 PPG, 9.2 APG, 4.1 RPG, 2.3 SPG, 38.5 FG%, 30.6 3P%, 97.7 FT% while having a +2.5 +/-
That's a pretty big swing and to me, how he's been used has been comparable. The main difference is that he's just playing a lot better.
I agree and disagree. I do think he started playing a little better in his more subdued role going back a couple weeks. But that trend has accelerated significantly during this latest 3-game win streak. Why? Because Thibs has put the ball in his hands as THE play maker. It's clear as day!
Q12543 wrote:Held the Thunder to 38% shooting. Opponent eFG% is the #1 thing we need to get better at as a team, so that was an outstanding defensive effort.
(it also helped that Westbrook was a little off, but I thought Ricky and the bigs did a pretty good job contesting most of his shots).
It helps that the thunder are not a 3point shooting team. Closing out on the 3pt shooters is one of our biggest problems on d this year. We did okay vs rockets last game. Nevertheless, it was a great effort and win vs a playoff team.
Yeah, I felt way more confident down the stretch in this game because I knew it would be difficult for OKC to shoot their way back into it.....Not the case with Houston, Golden State, Portland......
Zach Harper just tweeted this. Figured I'd share it here.
Wolves in first 24 games: 6-18
109.2 defensive rating, 27th in NBA
Wolves in last 16 games: 8-8
103.5 defensive rating, 5th in NBA
What's that old saying? It's on the tip of my tongue. Wait, I think I remember it. Offense wins games, defense wins championships. What kind of team do we want to be? I know Thibs' answer.
60WinTim wrote:Portland has a bad loss at home against the Magic. Kings on their way to a loss, too. 3 games back!
It's unreal how that 8th seed continues to beckon, with seemingly no team seizing the opportunity. Otherwise, the top 7 seeds seem totally out of reach.
