Minnesota Sports Forum

Dunn is a pg, I don't think it's time to throw in the towel on that at this point. He and Rubio together would really be challenging with his shooting like it is now.

longstrangetrip wrote:Monster, did Dunn get hurt there? He looked like he might have, and Lucas III came in after the time out

Yeah something happened. It seemed minor maybe a finger. Farman was talking to him but wasn't really doing anything. My guess is Lucas was going to come in a few minutes later but yeah.

TeamRicky wrote:Wolves are shooting 35.7% so far which was about what they did last game. But their defense has offset their poor shooting this game.

Honestly when was the last time we could say that.

Here is the thing about Dunn. When not pressured the guy can make some nice passes running the offense. He missed a pass to Bazz on the break on a long pass that was very uncharacteristic of him that's one of his strengths. He floated up a perf ct pass over the defense when someone had a guy sealed. It was a very difficult pass and he made it look easy. Now when pressured and off the dribble it's not quite as easy.

So having said that he can come in as the backup PG spot a lot of nights and do some of what Tubio does. There will also be sole bad when his loose game hurts but he also is gonna make some other plays other guys won't on the other end and just being a guy going hard and being that big and athletic. I think we should keep him at PG for the most part because U think he has value there. Now if we are putting him out there with Tyus then yeah he would probably work well with him because he has the theoretical offensive abilities to play that position especially with a slashing guy like Dunn. Dunn wasn't my guy in the draft but his skills and weaknesses are a good problem to have at this point.

Game report/thoughts in addition to what I already posted.

If you think Tyus might be small Lucas makes him look plenty big! Lol before the game in warmups Lucas was shooting jumpers in the corner and was getting people from the crowd to throw the ball to him. At one point Ricky flew past pretending to steal the ball and deflecting it. Kinda fun moments.

Man I like Aldrich. He gives us that tough big guy that does the dirty work but actually has game.

Dieng I haven't looked at how many blocks he was credited but Thibs looks to be using his and other's shot blocking in his scheme. He also out Manimaled the Manimal a number of hums and his length clearly helped there. Dieng is another guy that probably won't wow many fans but the guy does stuff that's worthwhile.

Rubio obviously was the best talent at PG position on the floor tonight but in person you just see the guy does have an effect. He plays the PG position knowing how to get offense. His ability to defend matters and then he is all over the place in a good way getting deflections rebounding etc.

I watched Bazz on a few possessions and there was encouraging signs. He was up on some guys making life difficult. He was playing off then getting back to his guy seemingly to what the scheme was asking. There was one time he closed out and he didn't just fly by he was very much under control. The play ended up in a score for the Nuggets but it was a good offensive play. He also stayed in front of a few drives that resulted in a turnover. E moved the ball a few times and did what Bazz does play aggressive getting up shots. It seems like guys like him. Let's remember Thins has played plenty of offense first guys in the past and given them a green light. If Bazz can play passable defense I won't be shocked to see him get plenty of run and be reasonably effective.

Belly if he ever sort of figures out how to pick his spots better will be a really nice player. As it is he is nice with that 3 point shot and being able to handle the ball

If anyone was watching for the National anthem I know the woman that sang it. She is a regular singing for the games and does a nice job. She is someone I know from work.

There was increased security over last year. They had metal detectors. That's not terribly surprising but I thought I would note it.

I thought Wolters had some decent moments. Going up against Rubio and Dunn couldn't have been a picnic.

Thibs was engaged and certainly got upset about a few calls not going the way of the Wolves. I didn't watch all the timeouts but there was one in the 2nd half well after the huddle broke he and Wiggins were talking to each other just conversing and that looked positive.

Rush just looks the part of a bench wing and his shot is pretty sweet.

Payne...we can cut him it's fine. I've wondered if he knows it's coming I was wondering if he might show something positive tonight. Not really. It felt like I could have done what he did.

That's all I got for now if you have any questions feel free to ask I enjoyed the game and so did my dad I was glad I was able to take him.

Bazz looked good. Can't see how he won't end up being a Thibs guy with his motor.

TeamRicky wrote:

longstrangetrip wrote:Is Jamal Murray hurt, or is he really that slow? Not impressed so far.

Don't have access to the game, but I think I called him a sloth before the draft. :)

That sloth had 14 points in 25 minutes. I guess I should change my spirit animal. :)

I watched the entire game, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I recognize the Nuggets were missing several key players, but once the Wolves toughened up inside, they completely dominated them on defense. 14 steals contributed to 25 turnovers. I am pleasantly surprised at how quickly the Wolves have adopted Thibs' defensive schemes...the pressure on the perimeter was truly a joy to watch. Now, let's hope they can duplicate it against a more complete team.

The offense was not as impressive, but they have enough talent there to score even when the flow looks a little rough. The Big 3 and Gorgui provide enough scoring punch (all in double figures in less than 30 minutes) that I'm fine with Ricky only taking 3 shots...however, there will be nights where defenses dare him to take the open 3-pointer, and I'm confident he will hit close to 35 % of those when left open. 7 different players took 3-point shots, and for the third consecutive game, we made more than our opponent...at an impressive 47% rate.

As one of the primary Thibs skeptics here, I'm poised to eat some crow here. It seems the team has bought into the Thibs' stated goals of defending the perimeter and looking for threes on offense.

I'm high on Dunn despite his poor box scores the first three games...the kid just doesn't look like a rookie. The fact that he is older than many of his teammates has a lot to do with his readiness, but I'll take it anyway. I've never seen a Wolves rookie more ready to be impactful on defense. Offense is more of a mixed bag for him. He's obviously not a shooter, but he looks very comfortable with the ball in his hands and seems able to beat his man off the dribble...I'd like to see him drive to the basket more. As monster pointed out in his game report, he did make one very nice feed into a big man (KAT, I believe), but other than that, I saw little that made me think he is an NBA PG. Cool and Big O can't see him as a SG, and I prefer him there, so this will be a good argument for awhile. Personally, I still see him as a Dwyane Wade type SG...not a great shooter, but able to get to the basket and score at ease...and quick and big enough to defend SGs. Regardless of where Dunn ends up playing, at least I hope the first three games have laid to rest any Rubio/Dunn PG controversy the national media has tried to create. The assist/TO ratios (15:3 for Ricky, 14:8 for Kris) shows the immense difference between these two at PG. They both have been defensive monsters so far though.

I just read Zgoda's tweet about Muhammad scoring in double figures all three games so far, and Monster's in-person report on his improved defense, and it made me optimistic about this second team. Sure, they were mostly +/- negative last night (with the starters very positive), but they seem to have more potential both offensively and defensively than we have seen in a long time. The defensive intensity is fun to watch despite having two players not known for D in Bazz and Belly, with Dunn and Aldrich especially effective. I'm hoping that once Dunn adopts a more pass-first attitude, the second unit can become even more effective on offense.

Monster, Thanks for the game report and sharing your experience with us! It's always cool to have someone from this board at the game live and in person.

This was the only game I've been able to actually watch, as I haven't watched either of the replays from the other games on YouTube. Just a few thoughts....

- This was not the Denver team we will see in the regular season. They will be a much tougher out.

- Wiggins still takes some really tough shots. 12-foot contested turnarounds is not a path to efficiency.

- Speaking of tough shots, Dunn needs to get his shots in the flow of the offense, especially since he's out there with other capable players. I think he's forcing things too much.

- It's still early of course, but anyone that watched this game can see a world of difference between Rubio running an offense and Dunn. There is simply no comparison at this point. I have a feeling those Rubio trade rumors won't surface again for a while. That being said, I love Dunn's defense and hustle. He was on the floor scrapping for loose balls, etc.

- Aldrich is such a steadying presence in that second unit. Love that signing.

- Bazz was being Bazz - forcing up shots, bullying his way into the paint with his head down. When the shots are going in, it works. When they aren't, it's ugly because he messes up the spacing on the floor and doesn't know how to run pick and roll.

- Rubio and LaVine have a really nice thing going in transition - very similar to what we saw with Love/Rubio and Brewer a couple years ago.

- I saw a couple of times where our defense literally swarmed to the ball. We made life miserable for anyone that made the slightest mistake with their handle.

- Most importantly, no one got hurt (assuming Dunn was OK).