Preseason Game 1 vs Pelicans

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I like the little we've seen so far from Bolmaro on the offensive end.

It looks like he's another energizer bunny. If he can be semi-competent as a shooter/scorer/playmaker, he will push J-Mac and Nowell for that 5th guard spot.

(every missed wide open 3 by Nowell this pre-season will be the beginning nails in his coffin. He doesn't do enough other things well enough to deserve playing time if he can't knock that wide open shit down).

He might push Josh Okogie for wing minutes this year if JO continues to be a bricklayer from outside. He was 2-3 tonight, but can he keep it up? That's the question.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Nice way to break in the pre-season.

- I don't recall ever seen so much energy in a pre-season game. I ultimately worry just as much about staying disciplined, playing smart, knowing your opponent, not biting on pump fakes, etc., etc. The high-energy amped up vibe is not a bad thing by any stretch, but no NBA team can maintain that for 82 games and ultimately the really good defensive teams know how to harness their energy in a disciplined way. Fun to watch though.

- It was the Pelicans without Zion or JoVal. That's kind of a big deal. So we shouldn't get too fat and happy about the way our starters kicked their starters' butts. It would have been a lot closer with those two in the mix.

- To be more precise, the trio of KAT-DLO-Ant kicked their butt. The late run in the first half was really fun to watch, as we just overwhelmed them with energy and talent.

- Beverley is a real key part of this team - his defense and edge is exactly what this team needs and it showed tonight. But in the regular season, he really needs to be out there with either Ant, DLO, or KAT. He and Beasley without any of the other three simply can't create enough space off the bounce to really generate much offense for the team.

- Other than McDaniels and Beasley, I thought the rest of the top 10 rotation guys were pretty dialed in. Prince and Okogie looked really good on both ends.

- Of the others, Knight was pretty impressive. Nowell, Lil' mac, Wright.....kinda meh. Bolmaro had some nice energy, but clanked a few also.

Most importantly, no one got hurt!

[Lipoli390]

Q - You pretty much summed up my main take-aways from tonight's game.

I'm not worried about how McDaniels and Beasley played tonight. Those two will be fine. McDaniels was uncharacteristically undisciplined defensively tonight, biting on pump fakes and being oddly reckless. The high-amp energy we saw from the Wolves as a team tonight doesn't really suit Jaden. Beasley seemed out of sorts. But we've seen enough of him to know who he is -- a three-point marksman who can run the floor and finish above the rim on the break. That's who we'll see throughout the season if he's still here. The question with Beasley is whether we'll see any improvement from him in other areas. Will his defensive improve at all? He said he worked all offseason on his passing. Will that work pay dividends this season?

One thing we shouldn't overlook is how good Naz Reid looked tonight. He essentially picked up where he left off last season and then some.

Regarding Okogie, I've always held out hope that he'd develop into a decent three-point shooter given his 38% three-point shooting in both of his college seasons and his consistently good free-throw shooting in college and the NBA. His corner three looked really good tonight. If he can be a decent three-point shooter from the corner and continue his arc of improvement with body control going to the rim, then he's a significant positive for the Wolves rotation.

Regarding our defense, our rotation guys were terrific tonight. A lot of that was their energy level, but I think it's fair to say they also played intelligently and with purpose on that end of the floor. Edwards in particularly showed made some nice decisions and showed some good technique defensively.

Are we going to see the DLO we saw tonight throughout the season? He looked like the DLO we saw in that win over Miami near the end of the 2019-20 season. I suspect he looked like the DLO Nets fans must have seen in the 2017-18 season. He picked up where he left off the end of last season. And he reminded us again tonight that he's a very good passer and not just a shooter.

I loved McKinley Wright's block at the end of the game and it's impossible not to root for him. But I'm hoping his minutes come exclusively in an Iowa Wolves uniform.

Finally, I thought tonight's game underscored the need for another physical, rebounding big on this roster. I really like Vanderbilt, but I just think we need more size next to KAT and we need to be better on the boards. I liked Nathan Knight tonight, but I don't think he's the answer.

[FNG]

Fun second quarter to watch. I read through the thread, and I don't think I'll watch the second half. Not very meaningful.

I agree there was a lot of energy tonight- nice to see. DLO looked really good and KAT was fired up. Ant didn't shoot well, but really hustled on defense (as did DLO...nice to see). But as Q pointed out above, we need to keep this in perspective. The Pels aren't expected to make the playoffs this year, and they were missing their two most important players. But we should beat up a team starting Garrett Temple, Naji Marshall and Willy Hernangomez, and it's important that we blew them out in the second quarter. We did what we had to do.

I'm guessing most of us were quite disappointed in Jaden tonight- just 1 shot and 6 fouls in 13 minutes. We need a big step forward from our second year players this season to approach 40 wins, and I didn't see enough. On the other hand, Okogie looked more confident with his outside shot. I grimaced when he talked about letting it fly during his media day interview, but I'll take 9 points on 5 shots from Josh any night with the other intangibles he brings.

[BloopOracle]

Good Lord, I didn't watch the game last night but based on the Twitter reporter updates it sounds like our team all did a line of coke before the game

[FNG]

A couple other observations...one good and one bad... from a guy who didn't see much of the second half.

Fun to read Dane Moore talking about how animated and vocal DLO was on the bench. Sure, we were playing a depleted Pelicans team, but still you can't discount the energy we showed on the floor and bench, and DLO was one of the leaders. I enjoyed watching his interactions with his teammates in games I attended late in the season last year, and apparently it was more on display last night. I keep saying a greatly improved Russell is our best chance of getting to 40 wins, and last night was a good start.

I didn't mention it on media day, but Beasley looked fat to me. I really noticed it last night, and Dane talked about it too. Apparently they don't serve a lot of salads in the Wright County jail. We all know Beasley struggles on defense anyway, and an out of shape Beasley is practically unplayable.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Good Lord, I didn't watch the game last night but based on the Twitter reporter updates it sounds like our team all did a line of coke before the game

Yeah, they were super amped up. In fact, it kind of looked like a team that hasn't been there before (i.e. won). So in that regard, it came off a bit amateurish. I mean, really? This was the Pels without the two guys that surely would have destroyed us inside.

At the end of the day, I think it's a net positive, don't get me wrong. Enthusiasm, camaraderie, and plain old fun is a good thing. In fact, Finch's relatively mature and calm disposition probably works well with this group. I can only imagine what a bucket of cold water Thibs would pour on these school boys or how Saunders' nervous energy would just add to the frenetic vibe.

I just don't want these highs to get too high, because when the 4 or 5-game losing streak happens in December, we don't want things to implode.

[Lipoli390]

If I thought what we saw from McDaniels and Beasley last night is what we can expect from them the rest of the season, then I'd be all in on trading both along with Prince and future picks for Simmons. But I don't think last night was indicative of what we can expect from those two guys. I think it was just an off night for McDaniels -- almost too much juice, which undermined his typically smart and disciplined play on the defensive end. Beasley needs to shed some of his prison weight. Otherwise, his shooting stroke will be there.

[FNG]

Finch got a lot of questions yesterday about getting outrebounded by a team missing its best two rebounders, and his replies made me think we'll be seeing Vando getting more of Josh's (or Jaden's) minutes. He said we just ran out of size at times...duh! But he also said boxing out is a lost art, and that's why being aggressive on the offensive board is more important than it used to be. Vando helps with both issues, as he's bigger than Josh and thinks every offensive rebound is in play.

Finch's comments about boxing out got me thinking. Did those of you that played basketball in HS or college spend a lot of practice time working on boxing out? Did you have that metal contraption they used to put over the rim to keep the ball from going through (or did your coach just employ Rubio or Vando to create more rebounds ;) ), and is that contraption still used in practices? Shouldn't Finch be spending some practice time working on boxing out, or is that a lost cause with today's NBA player?

[Lipoli390]

Finch got a lot of questions yesterday about getting outrebounded by a team missing its best two rebounders, and his replies made me think we'll be seeing Vando getting more of Josh's (or Jaden's) minutes. He said we just ran out of size at times...duh! But he also said boxing out is a lost art, and that's why being aggressive on the offensive board is more important than it used to be. Vando helps with both issues, as he's bigger than Josh and thinks every offensive rebound is in play.

Finch's comments about boxing out got me thinking. Did those of you that played basketball in HS or college spend a lot of practice time working on boxing out? Did you have that metal contraption they used to put over the rim to keep the ball from going through (or did your coach just employ Rubio or Vando to create more rebounds ;) ), and is that contraption still used in practices? Shouldn't Finch be spending some practice time working on boxing out, or is that a lost cause with today's NBA player?

Yep. Amidst all the good we saw from the Wolves the other night, it was really frustrating to watch our team get beat on the boards by an inferior team. "Duh" is the right response to Finch's point that we ran out of size. It's something many of us have harped on all off season. As we've obsessed over the possibility of acquiring Ben Simmons, I've been frustrated by the Wolves failure to add a rebounding big to the roster. I noticed that Steven Adams had 10 rebounds the other night. I don't know if he was necessarily the answer for us or what it would have taken to get him, but we really need a center or power forward with more size than Vanderbilt who can rebound the ball. Beyond that, I noticed Wolves players standing around and watching a lot while the ball was caroming off the rim. It seemed odd given the Wolves high energy level. But it was very noticeable and troubling to me. This team has to have everyone on the floor chasing down the ball every time it's in the air.