Minnesota Sports Forum

Another late Tuesday night of work so I had to miss this one, but I looked at the internet and it told me Wiggins hit a shot at the buzzer to win. I thought I was begin punked.

3 games in a row where one of the big 3 has hit clutch shots for us when it counted. Huge. Maybe Zach is next.

Maybe Mik was right things even out wolves win 3 straight in games decided by 3 or less

I really like th

Q12543 wrote:

worldK wrote:Great win on the road vs a hot team. Its a team we should beat but the suns where playing well coming into this game.

Wiggins was outstanding starting late in the 3rd to the finish. he just took over the game on offense for us. We also see a variation of wiggins running the offense late in the game. It was rubio giving a screen to wiggins instead of towns therefore forcing the suns to not playoff rubio and clog the lane. It worked this game.

Towns was solid although he didn't get much touches in the 4th. Dieng with a solid game. Rubio was very good outside of his travel late in the game. Bazz had a terrific 1st half but come back down to earth in the 2nd. Lavine is still finding his groove back.

Solid win.

Yup. Wiggins gets the game ball, but damn, Dieng made some really key plays down the stretch. I thought Rubio had a great overall game, even though he made two crucial errors at the end (the foul on Bledsoe that led to three FTAs and the travel).

I like how Thibs is using Rubio as a screener.....very interesting look.

Yup, as I mentioned, it was a nice change that sort of solved the rubio problem on offense late in the game. With rubio involved in the play and not in the corner, his guy can't play off him and clog the lane. Rubio is also a sneaky good screener that they got a switch with his guy on wig instead giving wig a favorable match up as a result. That worked out for us as rubio being involved in the initial play created chaos for the defense rotation and switching. I just hope we can get towns more involved in this scenario but It worked this game.

Dieng seems to always be in the right place at the right time and thrive when the defense is in disaray. He gets to his spots in these situations.

kekgeek1 wrote:Maybe Mik was right things even out wolves win 3 straight in games decided by 3 or less

Yes, and this was with Rubio on the floor, who is the "meta" scapegoat for losing close games dating back to 2013-14 even though folks can't point to specifics.

I will say though, earlier in the year, that ball movement that led to an open Wiggins 3 in the middle of the 4th wouldn't have happened. Our melt downs involved a lot of hero ball and I didn't see as much of that tonight (although, ironically, Wiggins did make a hero play at the very end).

I wouldn't call this a great win. It was a needed win with very questionable decisions being made down the stretch. Towns not touching the ball down the stretch is one thing, but to not even include him in the action is a joke (the one time he was included we got a wide open 3 from moving the ball out of the double he drew). Running a Wiggins/Rubio PnR is a joke. You have to either pick offense and play Tyus or defense and play Dunn to close out the game. Ricky was bad on both ends to close out this game. It's not hard. Run a Wiggins/Towns PnR if Wiggins is going to run the PnR. The refs helped the Suns a lot down the stretch but we were trying to hand them the game as well with our mind boggling team decisions down the stretch.

Q12543 wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Maybe Mik was right things even out wolves win 3 straight in games decided by 3 or less

Yes, and this was with Rubio on the floor, who is the "meta" scapegoat for losing close games dating back to 2013-14 even though folks can't point to specifics.

I will say though, earlier in the year, that ball movement that led to an open Wiggins 3 in the middle of the 4th wouldn't have happened. Our melt downs involved a lot of hero ball and I didn't see as much of that tonight (although, ironically, Wiggins did make a hero play at the very end).

Wiggins athleticism is made for hero ball situations, which is why he needs those reps with the ball. As painful as it can be to watch sometimes.

Q12543 wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Maybe Mik was right things even out wolves win 3 straight in games decided by 3 or less

Yes, and this was with Rubio on the floor, who is the "meta" scapegoat for losing close games dating back to 2013-14 even though folks can't point to specifics.

I will say though, earlier in the year, that ball movement that led to an open Wiggins 3 in the middle of the 4th wouldn't have happened. Our melt downs involved a lot of hero ball and I didn't see as much of that tonight (although, ironically, Wiggins did make a hero play at the very end).

I am one of the people who has at least pointed out that the wolves are terrible late in games and rubio had been the consent in them (not saying all his fault). But I like the Rubio wrinkle tonight.

I don't wanna say they're turning the corner, but man I can definitely see this team looking different lately.


So, so good to see

The problem with the Rubio wrinkle. He is still zero threat to the defense off a pick and he doesn't actually create space with a pick. You get a switch for Wiggins 26ft from the basket. That's pretty much all it accomplishes and it leaves an extra defender close by if Ricky doesn't clear out because they won't stick to him. It's not Kyrie setting picks for Lebron. I thought it put Wiggins in a tougher spot putting a quicker defender on him so far from the basket with his handle. A good team generates turnovers in that situation by attacking Wiggins as a ball handler because you can just leave Ricky. Chandler almost turned him over on that second to last possession if his swipe is on target. It worked on a bad team. A good team eats that action alive defensively.

khans2k5 wrote:The problem with the Rubio wrinkle. He is still zero threat to the defense off a pick and he doesn't actually create space with a pick. You get a switch for Wiggins 26ft from the basket. That's pretty much all it accomplishes and it leaves an extra defender close by if Ricky doesn't clear out because they won't stick to him. It's not Kyrie setting picks for Lebron. I thought it put Wiggins in a tougher spot putting a quicker defender on him so far from the basket with his handle. A good team generates turnovers in that situation by attacking Wiggins as a ball handler because you can just leave Ricky. Chandler almost turned him over on that second to last possession if his swipe is on target. It worked on a bad team. A good team eats that action alive defensively.

You can double wiggins off the screen. The right play would be to pass it back to rubio who should attack the lane and that should draw a big to him leaving towns or dieng open from either side and you have lavine in the corner spoting up for 3. That is how I think it should play out if they double wiggins right off the screen.