Wolves - Warriors Game Thread

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I touched on it briefly last night, but I want to give him additional praise here today -- mainly because I'm pretty critical of him when he plays poorly and balance is a good thing.

I thought Jaden McDaniels was awesome last night. Not only did he hold his own for a lot of the game while primarily defending the smaller, quicker, shooting dynamo that is Steph Curry, but he was also an efficient contributor on offense -- a rare but appreciated two-way performance for the second-year forward. He scored 14 points on 5-8 shooting (2-3 on two-point shots and 3-5 on three-point shots). On a night where many of Minnesota's players couldn't get it going McDaniels was a bright spot. It was good to see that kind of game for him and he's had more of them as of late.

[FNG]

Yeah, Curry got absurdly hot late in the game, but little of that was on Jaden. His defense on Curry was fun to watch in the first half, and only 1 foul in 33 minutes. And offensively he looks like a different player the second half of the season. I expect to see him on Booker tonight (assuming Pat is out again).

[AbeVigodaLive]

Sure.

Yeah, Curry got absurdly hot late in the game, but little of that was on Jaden. His defense on Curry was fun to watch in the first half, and only 1 foul in 33 minutes. And offensively he looks like a different player the second half of the season. I expect to see him on Booker tonight (assuming Pat is out again).

He's still mostly awful offensively.

10 / 4 / 1 on 42/29 splits simply isn't good enough. McDaniels' stagnation in year 2 should offset any promise he showed in year 1 or in glimpses this season.

[Monster]

Sure.

Yeah, Curry got absurdly hot late in the game, but little of that was on Jaden. His defense on Curry was fun to watch in the first half, and only 1 foul in 33 minutes. And offensively he looks like a different player the second half of the season. I expect to see him on Booker tonight (assuming Pat is out again).

He's still mostly awful offensively.

10 / 4 / 1 on 42/29 splits simply isn't good enough. McDaniels' stagnation in year 2 should offset any promise he showed in year 1 or in glimpses this season.

Still he is basically a 6'10" guy that can actually defend guards. He played well enough last year he raised expectations. You are right though he has being underwhelming overall this year (statistically I haven't watched enough games) but he has some qualities that are less common. They need him to be better the rest of the season on at least one side of the ball but hopefully both. I still think he will end up being as least really high level rotation player in the league. I agree there should be healthy skepticism though.

[Coolbreeze44]

Sure.

Yeah, Curry got absurdly hot late in the game, but little of that was on Jaden. His defense on Curry was fun to watch in the first half, and only 1 foul in 33 minutes. And offensively he looks like a different player the second half of the season. I expect to see him on Booker tonight (assuming Pat is out again).

He's still mostly awful offensively.

10 / 4 / 1 on 42/29 splits simply isn't good enough. McDaniels' stagnation in year 2 should offset any promise he showed in year 1 or in glimpses this season.

Still he is basically a 6'10" guy that can actually defend guards. He played well enough last year he raised expectations. You are right though he has being underwhelming overall this year (statistically I haven't watched enough games) but he has some qualities that are less common. They need him to be better the rest of the season on at least one side of the ball but hopefully both. I still think he will end up being as least really high level rotation player in the league. I agree there should be healthy skepticism though.

It should speak to his defensive prowess that a 6-10 kid, 2 years out of high school and a late first round pick, is being asked to guard the likes of Steph Curry and James Harden on a nightly basis. And he's more than holding his own against these guys. I get we all live in an instant gratification society, and we all want him to be a finished product right now. But think about what he's doing today, and how much room for growth he has on both ends of the floor. Then go back to his draft night and think about your initial thoughts when his name was announced. I'm going to go out on a limb and say none of us expected him to be a part time starter, our best man on man defender, and one of our best athletes in year 2 of his career. Sure, we all want more, and to coin Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, I invented the concept. But this guy has been a great surprise and I am just going to sit back and see what he can become. If I could fast forward 3 years I'm betting we will be very happy with the overall product.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Sure.

Yeah, Curry got absurdly hot late in the game, but little of that was on Jaden. His defense on Curry was fun to watch in the first half, and only 1 foul in 33 minutes. And offensively he looks like a different player the second half of the season. I expect to see him on Booker tonight (assuming Pat is out again).

He's still mostly awful offensively.

10 / 4 / 1 on 42/29 splits simply isn't good enough. McDaniels' stagnation in year 2 should offset any promise he showed in year 1 or in glimpses this season.

Still he is basically a 6'10" guy that can actually defend guards. He played well enough last year he raised expectations. You are right though he has being underwhelming overall this year (statistically I haven't watched enough games) but he has some qualities that are less common. They need him to be better the rest of the season on at least one side of the ball but hopefully both. I still think he will end up being as least really high level rotation player in the league. I agree there should be healthy skepticism though.

It should speak to his defensive prowess that a 6-10 kid, 2 years out of high school and a late first round pick, is being asked to guard the likes of Steph Curry and James Harden on a nightly basis. And he's more than holding his own against these guys. I get we all live in an instant gratification society, and we all want him to be a finished product right now. But think about what he's doing today, and how much room for growth he has on both ends of the floor. Then go back to his draft night and think about your initial thoughts when his name was announced. I'm going to go out on a limb and say none of us expected him to be a part time starter, our best man on man defender, and one of our best athletes in year 2 of his career. Sure, we all want more, and to coin Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, I invented the concept. But this guy has been a great surprise and I am just going to sit back and see what he can become. If I could fast forward 3 years I'm betting we will be very happy with the overall product.

Maybe. He's better than expected. And can do some cool things. But right now, he's not nearly good enough.

Two outlooks:

1. He's very young and should improve.
2. But he hasn't improved.

Obviously, it's too early to know for certain. We'll know a lot more next season. While really good players generally improve every season early in their careers, others have stagnated before McDaniels only to bounce back.

[Q-is-here]

Sure.

Yeah, Curry got absurdly hot late in the game, but little of that was on Jaden. His defense on Curry was fun to watch in the first half, and only 1 foul in 33 minutes. And offensively he looks like a different player the second half of the season. I expect to see him on Booker tonight (assuming Pat is out again).

He's still mostly awful offensively.

10 / 4 / 1 on 42/29 splits simply isn't good enough. McDaniels' stagnation in year 2 should offset any promise he showed in year 1 or in glimpses this season.

Still he is basically a 6'10" guy that can actually defend guards. He played well enough last year he raised expectations. You are right though he has being underwhelming overall this year (statistically I haven't watched enough games) but he has some qualities that are less common. They need him to be better the rest of the season on at least one side of the ball but hopefully both. I still think he will end up being as least really high level rotation player in the league. I agree there should be healthy skepticism though.

It should speak to his defensive prowess that a 6-10 kid, 2 years out of high school and a late first round pick, is being asked to guard the likes of Steph Curry and James Harden on a nightly basis. And he's more than holding his own against these guys. I get we all live in an instant gratification society, and we all want him to be a finished product right now. But think about what he's doing today, and how much room for growth he has on both ends of the floor. Then go back to his draft night and think about your initial thoughts when his name was announced. I'm going to go out on a limb and say none of us expected him to be a part time starter, our best man on man defender, and one of our best athletes in year 2 of his career. Sure, we all want more, and to coin Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, I invented the concept. But this guy has been a great surprise and I am just going to sit back and see what he can become. If I could fast forward 3 years I'm betting we will be very happy with the overall product.

Maybe. He's better than expected. And can do some cool things. But right now, he's not nearly good enough.

Two outlooks:

1. He's very young and should improve.
2. But he hasn't improved.

Obviously, it's too early to know for certain. We'll know a lot more next season. While really good players generally improve every season early in their careers, others have stagnated before McDaniels only to bounce back.

The offense has been abysmal, from clanking too many 3's to an inability to ever draw fouls. On the other end, he is an impressive and versatile defender but fouls too much. He's definitely stagnated. Hopefully things change. I was really thinking we had our 3&D wing last season, but the 3 (not surprising for a Wolf) has abandoned him. Goes from 34% to 27%. Still time though for him to turn it around.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Sure.

Yeah, Curry got absurdly hot late in the game, but little of that was on Jaden. His defense on Curry was fun to watch in the first half, and only 1 foul in 33 minutes. And offensively he looks like a different player the second half of the season. I expect to see him on Booker tonight (assuming Pat is out again).

He's still mostly awful offensively.

10 / 4 / 1 on 42/29 splits simply isn't good enough. McDaniels' stagnation in year 2 should offset any promise he showed in year 1 or in glimpses this season.

Still he is basically a 6'10" guy that can actually defend guards. He played well enough last year he raised expectations. You are right though he has being underwhelming overall this year (statistically I haven't watched enough games) but he has some qualities that are less common. They need him to be better the rest of the season on at least one side of the ball but hopefully both. I still think he will end up being as least really high level rotation player in the league. I agree there should be healthy skepticism though.

It should speak to his defensive prowess that a 6-10 kid, 2 years out of high school and a late first round pick, is being asked to guard the likes of Steph Curry and James Harden on a nightly basis. And he's more than holding his own against these guys. I get we all live in an instant gratification society, and we all want him to be a finished product right now. But think about what he's doing today, and how much room for growth he has on both ends of the floor. Then go back to his draft night and think about your initial thoughts when his name was announced. I'm going to go out on a limb and say none of us expected him to be a part time starter, our best man on man defender, and one of our best athletes in year 2 of his career. Sure, we all want more, and to coin Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, I invented the concept. But this guy has been a great surprise and I am just going to sit back and see what he can become. If I could fast forward 3 years I'm betting we will be very happy with the overall product.

Maybe. He's better than expected. And can do some cool things. But right now, he's not nearly good enough.

Two outlooks:

1. He's very young and should improve.
2. But he hasn't improved.

Obviously, it's too early to know for certain. We'll know a lot more next season. While really good players generally improve every season early in their careers, others have stagnated before McDaniels only to bounce back.

The offense has been abysmal, from clanking too many 3's to an inability to ever draw fouls. On the other end, he is an impressive and versatile defender but fouls too much. He's definitely stagnated. Hopefully things change. I was really thinking we had our 3&D wing last season, but the 3 (not surprising for a Wolf) has abandoned him. Goes from 34% to 27%. Still time though for him to turn it around.

Damn.

Q looking foolish for this take after McDaniels' game last night.

[Q-is-here]

Sure.

Yeah, Curry got absurdly hot late in the game, but little of that was on Jaden. His defense on Curry was fun to watch in the first half, and only 1 foul in 33 minutes. And offensively he looks like a different player the second half of the season. I expect to see him on Booker tonight (assuming Pat is out again).

He's still mostly awful offensively.

10 / 4 / 1 on 42/29 splits simply isn't good enough. McDaniels' stagnation in year 2 should offset any promise he showed in year 1 or in glimpses this season.

Still he is basically a 6'10" guy that can actually defend guards. He played well enough last year he raised expectations. You are right though he has being underwhelming overall this year (statistically I haven't watched enough games) but he has some qualities that are less common. They need him to be better the rest of the season on at least one side of the ball but hopefully both. I still think he will end up being as least really high level rotation player in the league. I agree there should be healthy skepticism though.

It should speak to his defensive prowess that a 6-10 kid, 2 years out of high school and a late first round pick, is being asked to guard the likes of Steph Curry and James Harden on a nightly basis. And he's more than holding his own against these guys. I get we all live in an instant gratification society, and we all want him to be a finished product right now. But think about what he's doing today, and how much room for growth he has on both ends of the floor. Then go back to his draft night and think about your initial thoughts when his name was announced. I'm going to go out on a limb and say none of us expected him to be a part time starter, our best man on man defender, and one of our best athletes in year 2 of his career. Sure, we all want more, and to coin Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, I invented the concept. But this guy has been a great surprise and I am just going to sit back and see what he can become. If I could fast forward 3 years I'm betting we will be very happy with the overall product.

Maybe. He's better than expected. And can do some cool things. But right now, he's not nearly good enough.

Two outlooks:

1. He's very young and should improve.
2. But he hasn't improved.

Obviously, it's too early to know for certain. We'll know a lot more next season. While really good players generally improve every season early in their careers, others have stagnated before McDaniels only to bounce back.

The offense has been abysmal, from clanking too many 3's to an inability to ever draw fouls. On the other end, he is an impressive and versatile defender but fouls too much. He's definitely stagnated. Hopefully things change. I was really thinking we had our 3&D wing last season, but the 3 (not surprising for a Wolf) has abandoned him. Goes from 34% to 27%. Still time though for him to turn it around.

Damn.

Q looking foolish for this take after McDaniels' game last night.

Bulletin board material I guess!