Who are you afraid of? (Nets vs. Wolves GDT)

[WildWolf2813]

Great read out Wildwolf, thanks for sharing your experience. Glad you got to see a win.

I guess for those of us living outside the TC, we just need to go watch the Wolves play when they roll into our town. Much better chance of winning! I was at TC over the holidays and witnessed Doncic carve up our defense for a loss. That was the beginning of a 6-game losing streak....

2-0 when they came to NYC, so I did my part.

Guess I gotta fly out and see them in the Twin Cities

[Coolbreeze44]

Woah, McDaniels with 41 minutes tonight. His stamina looked good too.

[Monster]

This wasn't the best played game by the Wolves but they got the win. They did make plays on the defensive end which helped them pull it out.

Interesting NAW getting all the backup PG minutes in this game but of course he was also always playing with Anderson and it seemed like Edwards was out there with him most of that time too. I love McLaughlin but he hasn't done much the last few games to warrant him being out there instead of a bigger longer guy like NAW.

Nice game for Conley

I liked how Towns was able to beat the smaller defenders down the stretch. I like how he has come back and played after returning from injury.

[FNG]

This wasn't the best played game by the Wolves but they got the win. They did make plays on the defensive end which helped them pull it out.

Interesting NAW getting all the backup PG minutes in this game but of course he was also always playing with Anderson and it seemed like Edwards was out there with him most of that time too. I love McLaughlin but he hasn't done much the last few games to warrant him being out there instead of a bigger longer guy like NAW.

Nice game for Conley

I liked how Towns was able to beat the smaller defenders down the stretch. I like how he has come back and played after returning from injury.

Some good points here, monster. I also loved how SloMo and Conley made sure KAT got the ball in the right place to work his size advantage down the stretch...recognizing where you have advantages and executing is what winning teams do. Heck, we've seen better teams do it to us for a while!

Yeah, another nice game from Conley, although I'm surprised I'm saying that about a PG who had only one assist. I have to admit Finchie is using Mike in a different role than I would have anticipated, but it seems to be working. He seems to be deferring to others in terms of ball dominance, instead allowing SloMo to direct the offense or Ant and KAT to go 1 on 1. But despite the paucity of assists, I love what Conley is bringing...he refuses to turn the ball over, consistently plays superb defense, makes big shots when we need them (although I did yell at my TV after one forced 3-pointer yesterday), and with SloMo, provides a steady on-court presence that makes me feel we are going to win more close games than lose.

We didn't need last night's win to get into the post-season, but combined with the Pels' loss, it likely kept us out of the dreaded 8/9 play in game. Big win!

[FNG]

A couple final comments:

I'm a big fan of what Rudy brings on defense, but I liked Finchie keeping him on the bench at the end of the game. The biggest thing Rudy brings to us is most players are afraid to challenge him around the rim. But one big exception is Dinwiddie...he attacks the rim whether Rudy is in there or not and seems clever enough to get his shot off against him. I think Finchie recognized this and also preferred to have SloMo chasing Spencer around the perimeter, so SloMo for Rudy was a good choice.

Both Finchie and Ant talked post game about the flu bug that ravaged the locker room the past ten days and cost us a couple wins, and said they thought it was over. I think we saw it in the way we played yesterday compared to the previous game and a half. That combined with KAT saying he's finally able to play without his calf brace was big news.

[Wolvesfan21]

Brooklyn has a nice team, so this was a really good win. Our stars were great when it counted, but Prince and SloMo kept us in the game.

We seem to play really well against good teams on the road. That's promising, because we are going to have to win some road games to advance in the playoffs. We can be dangerous if we stay healthy,

That's a great observation, FNG. We really are a good road team against good teams. And that does bode well for us in the playoffs. Let's win the next two and at least finish 7th or 8th.

That has also been the most frustrating part of this team also. Losing against Detroit, Portlands G League team and other bottom feeders multiple times. How much does this reflect poorly on Finch or simply the players? I'm saying it's on the players to bring it night in and out.

[Monster]

Maybe NAW was fouled on that last shot he took. But it was a dumb decision on his part to drive and take that shot. You have KAT and Jaden out there with you. Get them the ball. I like NAW's defense, but he's pretty bad on the offensive end.

FNG also had a post about NAW shooting poorly on 3's.

Here is the thing. Currently the question about NAW on offense is NAW any better or worse than McLaughlin or Rivers? Keep in mind I value all 3 of these guys to some extent. I think just because McLaughlin is a true PG I would say he has some advantages over NAW but lately he hasn't done a whole lot on that end. To me the difference isn't very vast. Meanwhile how much better is NAW on defense? He has more size than either guy which is nice.

Meanwhile if it's all roughly the same I'd rather see NAW out there to see what we have. McLaughlin is signed cheap for another year and Rivers is a vet FA that if he comes back it's for the vet min again. Let's see what NAW can do even if he isn't struggling to hit shots. I like that he is willing to take open 3's and while he certainly isn't a pure point he can make a couple nice passes and I don't worry about him brining up the ball and getting the offensive sets going. Not everyone can do those things.

The Wolves need to find one of those guys that failed elsewhere and figures it out here. The Nets have a number of those guys on their roster. I feel like the Wolves actually have a chance in finding one of those guys now not just stumbling into one. NAW might not be one of those guys but I'm cool with giving him opportunities at this point. McLaughlin will get some minutes again. The Nets were playing bigger guards so this may not have been the best matchup for him.

Honestly the bigger problem I have with NAW is he does tend to foul too much. However I'm somewhat cool with it because I think I want him playing aggressively on D not being passive. He could really be an asset on that end if he can balance those things out.

[FNG]

Good question, Monster...I also like both NAW and JMac as long as they both provide what they do best. My preference for who Finchie has on the court depends on need...if we need someone who can guard a productive wing and Jay-DEE is on the bench, my preference is NAW. But if Conley is taking a breather, I want JMac out there in his place...not NAW.

I think you know I put a lot of stock (when the sample size is large) in on/off numbers...I have a fondness for outscoring the opponent ;) . And as Jim Pete has said a couple times this season..."Good things seem to happen whenever JMac is on the court". That take is supported by the numbers. The Wolves have outscored their opponent by 7.4 points per 100 possessions this season (only Mike Conley is better)...we are 1.8 points better on offense, and a very strong 5.6 points better on defense when JMac is playing. And this is not a new phenomenon...only KAT had a better on/off than JMac last season. Even the biggest on/off skeptics can't ignore positive data that extends over 2 seasons like that! NAW in contrast has not been good in on/off this season...he's a negative 7.1 with us, and he was a negative 3.3 with Utah. I don't have stats to support this, but it seems to me that he performs better as a wing than as a PG.

I kind of cringe when either one of them puts up a 3-pointer (there are usually better options out there), but I guess they both have to let it fly if they are wide open. It's interesting that they have identical career 3-point success (or lack thereof) at 33.7%. NAW has been much more successful for the entire season this year though, but I'm more interested in how they are doing recently. In the last 10 games, JMac has made 42.9% of his threes, while NAW is struggling at 27.3%

Long answer, but NAW is the answer if we need a defensive wing...Finchie just needs to tell him to not force the threes. But JMac has to be the guy to spell Conley at PG, not NAW.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I fell asleep about halfway through.

But if I'm following...

The Timberwolves made one of the largest, most significant resource-depleting trades for one player in NBA history... almost entirely for what he gives the team on defense... and then sat him down the stretch in what was the biggest game of the season for defensive reasons?

Is that accurate?

[60WinTim]

I fell asleep about halfway through.

But if I'm following...

The Timberwolves made one of the largest, most significant resource-depleting trades for one player in NBA history... almost entirely for what he gives the team on defense... and then sat him down the stretch in what was the biggest game of the season for defensive reasons?

Is that accurate?

Good thing we have the personal to allow for that kind of adjustment decision!