Minnesota Sports Forum

Posted: **Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:43 pm**

JasonIsDaMan wrote:I have some opinions I would like to unlimber myself of. If you don't agree with me, and you can express that without accusing one billionaire of eating human flesh and second billionaire of removing womens' reproductive organs with his thumb and forefinger, I would be more than happy to hear you out. Seems like a silly request on a sports message board, and yet here we are.

1. How nice of 1991 Scottie Pippen to show up and guard Beasley yesterday (or maybe how rude of Trenton Hassel to lock Beasley in the supply closet and play in his place). Six shots in 38 minutes? Hey Ryan: Before you and Mchale's son and Wittman's son take over the Wayzata program, maybe google "stagger screen". You're welcome. (I noticed a "1993 Suns" nostalgia thread. Didn't read it, but it goes without saying that the coolest set play of the 90's was that Pacer baseline stagger screen to free up Reggie. I don't expect a huge argument on this.)

2. Hey Glen: If you got the "Parcells/TO" game circled on the calendar, maybe let the kid know so he doesn't play his two rookies for all of crunch time. People are starting to talk like you may not know what you are doing.

3. OK. So obviously nobody at FSN is going to confront Glen. And maybe less obviously, nobody at the S/T is going to. Where are Powers and Sansevere? Does anybody say anything about this dumpster fire? (Note: I have been gone a while, and if Powers and/or Sansevere are dead, I apologize for the insensitivity.)

Success looks to me like:
1. They keep their pick and draft the center for USC. I saw the Kofi Cockburn thread, and before I googled him I thought "Boy this board has really gotten gross". The kid from USC is probably better, which means they will have lost their pick when his turn comes
2. A BlondeRicky/JO trade. Seriously, who's idea was it to give up PICKS for BlondeRicky and Davis? 82games just did their first update, and before I pulled it up, I said "OK, BlondeRicky, Davis, and Okogee are having the 3 worst seasons." Sure enough. I think a three way involving NO and ORL where MN sends out BRR/JO and gets back Gordon and Melli (with ORL getting Bledsoe) might be doable.

Thanks for this. I couldn't agree more that Minnesota media has been gutless in its treatment of Glen. Yes the guy kept the franchise in Minnesota. What a low bar for success.

Posted: **Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:56 pm**

JasonIsDaMan wrote:I have some opinions I would like to unlimber myself of. If you don't agree with me, and you can express that without accusing one billionaire of eating human flesh and second billionaire of removing womens' reproductive organs with his thumb and forefinger, I would be more than happy to hear you out. Seems like a silly request on a sports message board, and yet here we are.

1. How nice of 1991 Scottie Pippen to show up and guard Beasley yesterday (or maybe how rude of Trenton Hassel to lock Beasley in the supply closet and play in his place). Six shots in 38 minutes? Hey Ryan: Before you and Mchale's son and Wittman's son take over the Wayzata program, maybe google "stagger screen". You're welcome. (I noticed a "1993 Suns" nostalgia thread. Didn't read it, but it goes without saying that the coolest set play of the 90's was that Pacer baseline stagger screen to free up Reggie. I don't expect a huge argument on this.)

2. Hey Glen: If you got the "Parcells/TO" game circled on the calendar, maybe let the kid know so he doesn't play his two rookies for all of crunch time. People are starting to talk like you may not know what you are doing.

3. OK. So obviously nobody at FSN is going to confront Glen. And maybe less obviously, nobody at the S/T is going to. Where are Powers and Sansevere? Does anybody say anything about this dumpster fire? (Note: I have been gone a while, and if Powers and/or Sansevere are dead, I apologize for the insensitivity.)

Success looks to me like:
1. They keep their pick and draft the center for USC. I saw the Kofi Cockburn thread, and before I googled him I thought "Boy this board has really gotten gross". The kid from USC is probably better, which means they will have lost their pick when his turn comes
2. A BlondeRicky/JO trade. Seriously, who's idea was it to give up PICKS for BlondeRicky and Davis? 82games just did their first update, and before I pulled it up, I said "OK, BlondeRicky, Davis, and Okogee are having the 3 worst seasons." Sure enough. I think a three way involving NO and ORL where MN sends out BRR/JO and gets back Gordon and Melli (with ORL getting Bledsoe) might be doable.

I don't disagree with a ton here but to be fair we added 2 1sts round picks in the Ricky trade

Posted: **Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:54 pm**

I don't disagree with a ton here but to be fair we added 2 1sts round picks in the Ricky trade

Posted: **Mon Feb 22, 2021 5:11 pm**

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Probably already mentioned... but this one is on Taylor. Again.

Clearly, Saunders was not Rosas' guy for the gig. But it appears Taylor meddled enough for Saunders to get the gig. And it was an unwinnable gig with all the personnel changes, a new system without the right talent, and the injuries to Towns.

Add in that Saunders was still in building an assistant coach resume... he wasn't ready either.

- In the end, Saunders gets fired from his dream gig... even though he shouldn't have had it yet.
- The Wolves waste more seasons.
- Rosas buys himself more time.
- The fans watch terrible basketball.

Did I miss anything?

My grandfather felt so little about Glen Taylor's business acumen that he sent my grandmother in to negotiate the sale of his business. A stay at home mother at the time.

He did not even negotiate for the prototype of the company.

That guy runs our team.

Posted: **Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:20 pm**

I'm way behind on games so I don't know what all led up to this but I knew things weren't going well so this is not a surprise. I'm like 15 games in and I think that team underachieved based on talent even without Towns and Russell missing a couple games. Is this team super talented beyond those guys? Maybe not but some of these other teams aren't either. As Jim Peterson said earlier in the season why can't the Wolves overachieve in some of these games?

Finch has a solid resume. I'm not all in on him hit her is clearly a guy that's highly sought after on the assistant market. He has experience at various levels as a head coach. I think everywhere he has been as an assistant that team has done reasonably well. If Ryan wasn't the guy (I think they gave him enough opportunity to decide even if it was challenging times he coached in) to decide he wasn't then bring someone else in. Finch isn't JUST some Rosas dude he coached for a few different organizations and all the coaches had some different takes. I believe he is known for his offensive coaching. At this point I'd be happy if the head coach was good at one side of the ball. Ryan didn't seem to be particularly good at either end. Rosas is banking on this guy hopefully it's a better bet than Ryan.

I think Rosas was able to make his own decision on Ryan from the beginning. Did he has some incentives to keep Ryan as head coach? Absolutely. whether it was the owner players or fans there were some positives to keeping him. I was worried about ending up her eventually when he was given the job when Thibs was fired. It was a nice story but hasn't had a good ending. If Finch is a solid hire even a guy to help the team and roster take a step towards being solid this will work out.

For me this will be a good reason to reset and start watching games from here on out. Always finding positives... A couple weeks ago I was training one of my newer co-workers and for some reason I mean ruined I was a Timberwolves fan. She simply asked "Why?" I didn't really have a good answer.

Posted: **Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:38 pm**

It's good to hear from you in the Wolves section, monster. It's been a while that I've seen your name. I don't know if you've been reading the threads, but after doing some research on Finch I think I'm in. I think he'll be a solid hire given the state of this franchise. And if it gets you more interested in watching the games and participating in some game threads then that's even better. Minnesota can only go up from here! I think...

Posted: **Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:44 pm**

Getting through those games are a slog Monster, although you will find some of the young guys occasionally emerge and provide some hope for the future.

I think if you want to maximize wins with a younger roster without elite talent, you actually do the opposite of some of the things we saw from Saunders and what Hinch is saying.

First, slow way the heck down. The fewer possessions a game has, the lesser the odds are of the team with superior talent winning. Take the Knicks, which on paper looks very unimpressive once you get past Randle talent-wise. Their pace of play ranking? Dead last.

Second, don't give the players much freedom. Call most of the plays from the sideline and try to run them as instructed. Sure, you give the likes of KAT, Rubio, and DLO some rope, but otherwise, things are very structured with play calling. In other words, the coach should be micromanaging a bit.

Third, play your best players 35+ minutes per night. After KAT, I don't even know who our best players are to be honest. I guess Beasley. So Beasley and KAT would be playing 35-38 MPG if our goal was to win more games.

But I continue to see process and system maximization as the goal versus winning, so I don't see any of the measures listed above being implemented by the new coach.

Posted: **Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:12 pm**

Q12543 wrote:Getting through those games are a slog Monster, although you will find some of the young guys occasionally emerge and provide some hope for the future.

I think if you want to maximize wins with a younger roster without elite talent, you actually do the opposite of some of the things we saw from Saunders and what Hinch is saying.

First, slow way the heck down. The fewer possessions a game has, the lesser the odds are of the team with superior talent winning. Take the Knicks, which on paper looks very unimpressive once you get past Randle talent-wise. Their pace of play ranking? Dead last.

Second, don't give the players much freedom. Call most of the plays from the sideline and try to run them as instructed. Sure, you give the likes of KAT, Rubio, and DLO some rope, but otherwise, things are very structured with play calling. In other words, the coach should be micromanaging a bit.

Third, play your best players 35+ minutes per night. After KAT, I don't even know who our best players are to be honest. I guess Beasley. So Beasley and KAT would be playing 35-38 MPG if our goal was to win more games.

But I continue to see process and system maximization as the goal versus winning, so I don't see any of the measures listed above being implemented by the new coach.

So you want Thibs :)

Posted: **Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:44 pm**

Though I'm a bit skeptical of any Rosas move, I'm taking a wait and see approach with Hinch. I'm not going to make any rash or knee jerk judgements over the first few games. I'll give him 20 games to see how things are going.

But I'd like to lend my perspective on what I would do if I had the same opportunity that Hinch has:

1) Looking over the hand I've been dealt, I would see that we're not big, but we can't shoot either. So how do I maximize our chances of winning (assuming that's what they want to do)

2) The first thing I would do is give everybody a fresh start in terms of opportunity. But you have to start somewhere. No matter what role you're given to start, you are expected to put the team first and your personal goals 2nd. Anyone hunting for stats or shots simply won't play. Making the extra pass will be demanded. When we win or lose, we do it as a band of 14.

3) You have to be able to shoot the 3 to survive in this league. I would have to identify my shooters. Here are the guys I want shooting from distance:

KAT, Beasley, DLO, McDaniels, Layman, Nowell and Juancho

4) Since we're not blessed with shooters, I'd structure the offense to take advantage of KAT's versatility and Ant's slashing ability. I think we are best served by a 10 man rotation, and here is what I would start with:

1 - JoMac / Rubio
2 - Ant / Nowell
3 - JaMac / Beasley
4 - Naz Reid / Vando
5- KAT / Davis

KAT plays at least 36 minutes, Beasley is the first man off the bench. Jaden guards the oppositions best player 1-4.

On defense we have to guard the 3 and try to minimize guard penetration. Force the opponent to take 2 point shots. We're going to give up some points in the paint, but we can't get into a 3 point shooting contest with very many teams. So guard the perimeter, go above screens, and attack the glass. Take advantage of transition opportunities, but work for good shots in the half court. Get KAT his touches in the high and low post, and allow Ant to penetrate and dish. Maintain spacing by not making consecutive cuts in the same direction. The guys that are going on a particular night play. If a position group isn't getting it done someone deeper on the bench gets a shot. At the end of games we can go small by putting JaMac at the 4 and sliding Beasley into the wing.

To channel my inner PJ, the only focus is on the next game. Each game is it's own season and we prepare and execute to go 1-0.

I could go on for pages here, but this is a snapshot of how I would attack the opportunity.

Posted: **Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:15 pm**

kekgeek1 wrote:
Q12543 wrote:Getting through those games are a slog Monster, although you will find some of the young guys occasionally emerge and provide some hope for the future.

I think if you want to maximize wins with a younger roster without elite talent, you actually do the opposite of some of the things we saw from Saunders and what Hinch is saying.

First, slow way the heck down. The fewer possessions a game has, the lesser the odds are of the team with superior talent winning. Take the Knicks, which on paper looks very unimpressive once you get past Randle talent-wise. Their pace of play ranking? Dead last.

Second, don't give the players much freedom. Call most of the plays from the sideline and try to run them as instructed. Sure, you give the likes of KAT, Rubio, and DLO some rope, but otherwise, things are very structured with play calling. In other words, the coach should be micromanaging a bit.

Third, play your best players 35+ minutes per night. After KAT, I don't even know who our best players are to be honest. I guess Beasley. So Beasley and KAT would be playing 35-38 MPG if our goal was to win more games.

But I continue to see process and system maximization as the goal versus winning, so I don't see any of the measures listed above being implemented by the new coach.

So you want Thibs :)

Heh, Thibs without all the screaming and long 2s....but yes, if the goal is to start winning games, I'm convinced that slowing down, playing Beasley & KAT big minutes, and micromanaging the offense a bit more is what needs to be done.

Certainly making KAT the fulcrum of the offense makes sense, so that is the one thing that seems to be aligned with winning more games. Not sure if more freedom and faster pace does.....

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