Minnesota Sports Forum

Joan with 12 pts, 7 rebounds, 1 block, 4 fouls and a +7 in only 15 minutes.

Cody Williams and Pullin look like NBA players

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 05, 2026 7:41 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Mon Oct 05, 2026 7:39 pm Whoa, what happened to Joan’s shooting form from the line…looked like a shot put!

Did not expect that after watching him shoot last year

Really? I thought his shot looked bad last year too. Too quick. Too much forward-motion "push" to it.

Serious question: is there a free throw shooting mechanics machine? Like, something adjustable that would have, like, a cushioned corner for your shooting elbow that would swivel your elbow and upper arm (humerus) up and then back down in a normal shooting motion and speed? Ideally, it could also have something to strap your lower arm into as well that would also mimic the mechanics of a normal shot. Then, when your shot form is truly bad, you just put your arm into that machine and let it move both parts of your arm repeatedly in that motion while you just concentrate on getting your wrist motion down. Then, maybe after you've done it a lot and have the wrist motion down, you use just the part that moves your upper arm (humerus), while controlling your lower arm and wrist snap yourself. Then just go through that motion endlessly as well, just trying to train the brain to learn to move the arm in that exact motion. Is that crazy? Would that work?

Despite the ragged end to the game, I can't help but feel positive about how our starters dominated their's, and how seamlessly JK and Ball fit in...makes me question my concerns in the wins prediction thread about incorporating 2 new starters. What did I like?

1) As Cool pointed out, it was really fun to see a true PG running the offense. Mike Conley was terrific, but he deferred too much to Ant and wasn't really running the offense. Ricky was also terrific, but his shooting woes limited his effectiveness. Ball looked even better than the effective guy I watched so much last spring.

2)The pace! Dane and Kyle had talked about how difficult it was going to be to be a fast pace team given Ant's preference to play half court and Ball's dependence on pick and roll. And yet somehow they were able to both run the court for easy looks and effectively run pick and roll when the fast break was there. I'm really excited about this offense.

3) I had (well, still have) concerns that JK is going to want to hunt shots, thinking PPG is his ticket to a big contract. And my concerns were amplified when he seemed to be hunting shots early. But he ended up with 8 points on only 4 shots in his 14 minutes. I expect him to play about 30 MPG this season, and his time on the court projects to about 10 shots per game...that is about exactly what I want him to take...along with rebounding and playing good defense.

4) The defense was terrific, and I'm not going say it was only the Bucks, because they have some solid offensive players. Rudy looks as young and nimble as ever, and Jaden was his usual self also. Ant struggled in the pick and roll at times, but for the most part, I was delighted with the defense from him, JK and Ball. When Ball hustles, his length can really be a problem for opponents. And JK played the same excellent defense I saw last spring.

5) Lobs and getting Rudy involved. Ball made one excellent bounce pass to Rudy that he muffed, but mostly Rudy was getting lobs that he can catch and convert. It felt like the old Utah days to me.

6) Shooting. Ant didn't shoot well, but I'm not worried about him. Evans was 0 for 6, but who cares. TJ was 1 for 5, and that's a problem, because I think Finchy wants him generating offense from the top of the key when Ball is out. Everyone else shot well though!

7) Who the hell is Antonio Reeves...I know nothing about him! I didn't see the end of the game, but you have to love 5 for 5!

Knee jerk reaction...I want to change my wins prediction!

The way the Wolves played last night is the way they need to play in terms of pace. They are so athletic and can overwhelm most teams playing that way. There will come a climactic point, probably sooner than later, where Ant has it going and he's naturally going to want to dominate the ball in the half court. He will slow things down and demand the ball so he can go one on one or one on two. Deep down that's the way he wants to play and how he derives the most pleasure from the game. Now, this is okay in a vaccuum, Ant has it clicking, he's scoring, and the team is giving him the rope to do so. The climax is what happens next. Do we revert back to running the floor and getting easy baskets, or does this create conflict within the team structure? As the alpha is Ant allowed to go into this mode every game? Does it ultimately slow us down into more of what we've seen in the past? What does our identity become once this clash of styles occurs? I hope Finchy has already seen this coming and that Melo is assertive enough to impose his will on the flow of the game, and not just defer to Ant.

Definitely a lot of positives to take away from that game.

Kuminga certainly isn't big enough to be a genuine PF, but I liked the switching I saw with him and McDaniels on the perimeter. Also the gang defensive rebounding worked well. That's what we have to do, make it messy. It also inadvertently creates fast break opportunities when the opposition crash the boards trying to get a lose rebound.

Starting lineup is going to be legit. Ayo and Behringer I have no concerns about. I just hope TJ can have a breakout season. Trey Lyles looks like a solid role player and Bones played well enough.

KiwiMatt wrote: ↑Tue Oct 06, 2026 3:15 pm Definitely a lot of positives to take away from that game.

Kuminga certainly isn't big enough to be a genuine PF, but I liked the switching I saw with him and McDaniels on the perimeter. Also the gang defensive rebounding worked well. That's what we have to do, make it messy. It also inadvertently creates fast break opportunities when the opposition crash the boards trying to get a lose rebound.

Starting lineup is going to be legit. Ayo and Behringer I have no concerns about. I just hope TJ can have a breakout season. Trey Lyles looks like a solid role player and Bones played well enough.

Kiwi, but is JK too small to be a genuine PF? He's listed at 6'7" (sometimes 6'8") 225, and the average PF is 6'8.5" 227. His standing reach is 8'10" compared to an average 8'11.5". So he's average weight for a PF, with only an inch and a half less length. I would describe him as close to average size for a PF, and since his maximum vertical jump is a full 6-8 inches more than the average PF, that more than makes up for the inch and a half. He certainly seems more athletic than the typical power forward. Some of the local analysts commented they were surprised how big he looked at his opening presser. I don't have any problem with his size.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 06, 2026 11:44 am The way the Wolves played last night is the way they need to play in terms of pace. They are so athletic and can overwhelm most teams playing that way. There will come a climactic point, probably sooner than later, where Ant has it going and he's naturally going to want to dominate the ball in the half court. He will slow things down and demand the ball so he can go one on one or one on two. Deep down that's the way he wants to play and how he derives the most pleasure from the game. Now, this is okay in a vaccuum, Ant has it clicking, he's scoring, and the team is giving him the rope to do so. The climax is what happens next. Do we revert back to running the floor and getting easy baskets, or does this create conflict within the team structure? As the alpha is Ant allowed to go into this mode every game? Does it ultimately slow us down into more of what we've seen in the past? What does our identity become once this clash of styles occurs? I hope Finchy has already seen this coming and that Melo is assertive enough to impose his will on the flow of the game, and not just defer to Ant.

Everything looks rosy right now after game 1, but I have some of the same concerns. Will Ant be content to play off ball as much as he did last night? We don't know, but I'm guessing he will. Ant wants to win and he wants to score a lot. I think he is going to realize quickly (if he hasn't already) that giving Ball the reins to run the offense is the key to meeting both goals. I actually saw Ant set a pick for Ball last night that led to him getting an open look...I can't recall Ant ever setting a pick before!

I loved the pace last night, but I mentioned something in this thread which tells me we may not play as wide open as we did last night...only 5 teams played at a slower pace than the Ball-led Hornets last season! I think it's because LaMelo is so adept at running pick and roll in the half court, which sometimes takes a little longer to develop. But I also think that in addition to being immensely talented, Ball also has an enormous basketball IQ...in-game decision making just seems to come easy to him. I think that IQ will mean we will run when Melo sees the opportunity (and everyone, even Rudy and Ant, was running the court last night like we haven't seen before!), but if the fast break isn't there, he's going to be deliberate in the half court running his pick and roll. I'm more than okay with that.

My big thing long term with this roster. It would be huge for Beringer to play well enough so Rudy extension is not a given. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t bring Rudy back but it would be huge if we had options

kekgeek wrote: ↑Tue Oct 06, 2026 6:04 pm My big thing long term with this roster. It would be huge for Beringer to play well enough so Rudy extension is not a given. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t bring Rudy back but it would be huge if we had options

That would be terrific, kek, but Joan has a long ways to go on defense and the defensive boards before he's ready to start. Meanwhile, Rudy takes care of his body and doesn't look any older to me than he did when we got him from Utah! I think we're lucky to have Rudy locked up for 2 years (assuming he exercises his option) while Joan learns how to play defense. Meanwhile I think you may be documenting again how our defense drops off in the non-Rudy minutes!