Minnesota Sports Forum

longstrangetrip wrote:

Now, if only Thibs could find one more wing that he would be comfortable playing...

Yes. Because somebody is going to get injured. Eventually.

The Wolves have been very fortunate for years now that its top two promising guys have been so reliable. Wiggins and KAT's runs as everyday players has been impressive.

Wait... did I just jinx everything?

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

longstrangetrip wrote:

Now, if only Thibs could find one more wing that he would be comfortable playing...

Yes. Because somebody is going to get injured. Eventually.

The Wolves have been very fortunate for years now that its top two promising guys have been so reliable. Wiggins and KAT's runs as everyday players has been impressive.

Wait... did I just jinx everything?

Ha, let's hope not! It seems there are wings out there that could help us, especially if Wig or Butler has to miss some time. And we have a roster spot available. I'm generally positive about Thibs as a POBO, but I don't know why he continues to only play 8 guys...that's an extreme playoff rotation, and not sustainable.

To Monster's point, it is pretty crazy that Lou Williams has turned into this super efficient big time scorer since turning 30. He was always a guy that could get points in volume, but he's taken it to a whole new level these past couple of years.

I must have seen 10 easy layups by the clippers in the first half. Are we afraid to hurt anyone going at the rim? Where's Greg Steimsma when you need him?

BizarroJerry wrote:I must have seen 10 easy layups by the clippers in the first half. Are we afraid to hurt anyone going at the rim? Where's Greg Steimsma when you need him?

Yeah, we are not a very physical team. One of our defensive "strengths" is that teams don't go to the foul line a lot on us. That's very much because Gibson is very good at defending without fouling and KAT is very good at not fouling AND not defending. :)

Dieng has always been pushed around easily and most of his fouls are of the blocking variety where he tries to take the charge and instead it ends up being a foul on him.

I think the entire NBA has become a bit less physical. We rarely see the "send a message" foul that used to be commonplace back in the day. The Flagrant Foul rules and the fact everyone is buddy-buddy nowadays has largely eliminated these kinds of fouls. I think for the most part that's a good thing, but yeah, our team especially seems to play soft, mostly because of our two Centers.

Q12543 wrote:

BizarroJerry wrote:I must have seen 10 easy layups by the clippers in the first half. Are we afraid to hurt anyone going at the rim? Where's Greg Steimsma when you need him?

Yeah, we are not a very physical team. One of our defensive "strengths" is that teams don't go to the foul line a lot on us. That's very much because Gibson is very good at defending without fouling and KAT is very good at not fouling AND not defending. :)

Dieng has always been pushed around easily and most of his fouls are of the blocking variety where he tries to take the charge and instead it ends up being a foul on him.

I think the entire NBA has become a bit less physical. We rarely see the "send a message" foul that used to be commonplace back in the day. The Flagrant Foul rules and the fact everyone is buddy-buddy nowadays has largely eliminated these kinds of fouls. I think for the most part that's a good thing, but yeah, our team especially seems to play soft, mostly because of our two Centers.

Good points Q. I think sometimes its pointless to foul just to make someone think about it. It gives a guy a chance to make a 3 point play and puts you a foul closer to having your opponent in the bonus which is not what you want. Obviously nobody wants to give up easy buckets at the rim although based on the FG% there the Wolves seem to like to do that! On a recent Dunc'd on podcast they had a conversation about defense and I mentioned how in some cases the percentages may actually mean giving up a lob dunk because the pass is difficult and the chances of completing the play are lower than taking away a 3 etc. They also made the point about the amount of space guarding all the way out to the 3 point line of the NBA compared to even the college 3. They talked about how much more space is out there if you play the game to guard a guy out there if they just did that playing pickup ball. They said the difference is pretty massive.

In addition to that I looked up on NBA.com the shots taken from 25'-29' (those are beyond the 3 point line) this season compared to the 2013-14 season. The Kings are the only team that takes fewer of those shots than the top team of that year. So now not only are teams taking a ton more 3's that you have to guard guys are taking them a few feet deeper than the 3. Hell Wiggins isn't exactly toeing the line on some of his takes and even makes. There is so much more space to guard its really difficult to deal with that. We saw last night Lou Williams hit a 3 on Teague who was all over him and he was a couple feet outside the 3 line and it didn't seem like a big deal that he shot the ball from there and hit it. The guy around 10 years ago I remember taking shots from waaaaaay back behind the line a few years ago was Gilbert Arenas. That was just part of why he was difficult to guard when he was healthy and in his prime. Now you have a bunch of guys some not even starters who will just pull up from almost anywhere and have a pretty decent chance of making them. The game has really evolved quite a bit.

They also mentioned how guys like Jordon who are really good and catching and finishing at the rim could become even more valuable for this reason. That made me think immediately about Patton and that was one of his strengths in college. Its why I think Capella is a really nice player for the Rockets as well. I was surprised they didn't mention him.

Yeah, Thibs really values the hard roll because he believes it puts pressure on the rim and will open up more corner 3's if the defense has to react to the roller.

The first step though is setting a good pick to begin with, which DeAndre Jordan seems pretty good at. If the guard can easily get over the screen, there really isn't any space to roll to since the opposing big man can stay with the big setting the pick. This is where KAT often hurts himself. If his picks were consistently stronger, he'd get a ton more looks at the rim (like last night).

I'm finally watching the replay of this game. Funny little Butler pre-game interview in which he says that "the Clippers will know every play the Wolves run, not because they just played us but because Thibs is screaming it out at the top of his lungs." I've thought about that, hearing Thibs constantly not just calling out each play but telling players exactly what to do -- "roll, roll" he'll yell just before one of our guys rolls to the basket. It really does tip off the opponents when you think about it. It's ridiculous.

At one point in the 2nd quarter of the Clipper game Gorgui was spotted up unguarded for a corner three and Thibs started screaming at him and waving him aggressively to vacate and move towards the basket. Gorgui started moving towards then basket and ended up in no-man's land awkwardly and obviously wondering where he was suppposed to be. The right play was for him to spot up just like he had. Instead, Gorgui ended up confused and in a totally unproductive position on the floor. It has to be unbearable as a pro having the head coach constantly and I mean constantly telling you every move to make on every possession. There's no other head coach in the NBA who does that.

Overall, the ball movement is better than usual so far in the first half of this game. KAT's passing looks terrific. Butler looks like he's having fun. Tyus is such a natural PG. He orchestrates the offense much better than Teague and gives us a quicker pace up the floor and in the half court.

I'm in the 3rd quarter of recorded game viewing. Just saw Towns draw a charge on Jordan. Very impressive and gutsy. KAT really is making strides defensively -- not just in this game but in games leading up to it.

Interesting comment by Jeff Teague, talking about KAT's performance in the Clipper game:

"I think you see when his shot starts falling and things go his way, his defense really becomes a problem for the other team," Teague said. "Tonight, he did that. That's everybody, though. Once you see some things going well on the offensive end, your defense usually picks up."

The old cliche is that offense keys off of good defense. I think the opposite is more true and that's the point Teague was making. It's a big reason why the Warriors are so good defensively.