Tonight was easily his best look all year in those situations. I'd take that shot from him anytime. The countless mistakes from so many necessitate relying on a 42% proposition to win a game. Great shooting percentage but still low odds.
Contender or Pretender? Warriors at Wolves GDT
Re: Contender or Pretender? Warriors at Wolves GDT
Re: Contender or Pretender? Warriors at Wolves GDT
How many timeouts with beautifully designed plays in crunch time this year? I honestly cant remember going “what a great inbound play” in Finch’s entire time here. Finch is great with people and great with the media but his vision for this team is clearly find a way to iso Edwards. We need this generation’s Phil Jackson to get Ant to commit to ball movement.
Re: Contender or Pretender? Warriors at Wolves GDT
The irony is that you could argue it was our defense that failed us tonight!
-
AbeVigodaLive
- Posts: 10270
- Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 12:00 am
Re: Contender or Pretender? Warriors at Wolves GDT
Abe's Almost Real Time DVR Review:
- As noted already in this thread... Golden State has won 5 of its past 21 games against anybody but the Wolves. They're 3 - 0 vs. Minnesota in that stretch.
- Golden State was on the last night of a 4-game road trip before a long stretch with a bunch of home games. They were playing without four rotation guys. Minnesota came in rested. Playing at home. And they were down 34 - 10 in the 1st quarter.
- We're not done with GSW yet. Something named Gui Santos started for the Warriors. He's played 38 games in his career after being drafted #55 back in 2022. He's averaging 2.3 ppg. I repeat... he started... and the Timberwolves came in completely healthy for the 40th time in 40 games. And they were down 34 - 10 in the 1st quarter.
- Moments before tipoff Jim Peterson said he was worried about ball movement. Basically, it's the only way the team was going to lose. The first two plays were iso plays where Rudy was ignored at the rim. The Timberwolves finished the first quarter with ONE assist. And they were down 34 - 10.
- The Wolves were all out of sorts, including Edwards blowing a 2-on-1 despite getting right to the rim with Dennis Schroder as the only guy back.
- Elston Turner didn't hold back in the halftime interview. The Wolves simply weren't playing hard in the 1st half. Have I mentioned that they were down 34 - 10 at one point?
___________________________
- Donte Divincenzo. The man wanted to play basketball. He wanted to win. He's finding his place on this team... and willed the Wolves back into the game. 28 / 6 / 9 and 0 TOs. At least a couple of those rebounds were pure hustle and effort. He should be THE fan favorite right now.
- The Wolves hustle got them two 4-point plays in the 2nd half.
- My Julius Randle nitpick of the game (new feature!): 5:24 left... Wolves down 3. Edwards misses a stepback three. Randle is at the top of the arc and doesn't go in for the rebound. He just stands there. Doesn't move an inch. Fair enough... that's the right strategy. The team was struggling in transition and it's better to get back on defense. Only... Randle walks/trots/jogs back down court not looking where any of the Warriors are going. So, it leaves DDV with two players and only him on defense. Three pointer Warriors. The ball goes in almost the same time as Randle trots near the free throw line without a Warriors player within 15 feet.
- Thanks to John K... at one point the Warriors had 22 points on 9 Wolves TOs. The Wolves had 7 points on 12 Warriors TOs. The transition defense was abysmal at times. (see effort)
- In a game where only 8 guys played... and Divincenzo played 39 minutes and Edwards played 40 minutes... both Randle and Gobert played less than 30 minutes. Coincidentally, Trayce Jackson Davis had NINE offensive rebounds, most coming in the 1st half.
- I really like Mike Conley. He's had a very nice career. He's lost three wheels and all four hubcaps. The car is out of gas. And the steering wheel was just thrown out the window. As noted repeatedly, I have serious doubts about Dillingham (along with Finch presumably) but I think it's time. Can Dillingham be active for tomorrow?
- How much are the Wolves willing to pay NAW and Naz? They're both fine players. Pretty good at some things. But at what price? They're merely complementary players and there's a limit a team like the Wolves can afford to pay guys like that.
- Anthony Edwards had at least as many TOs as assists... for the 3rd straight game. He has 15 assists and 18 TOs. I dug his drives to get to the line though. That 3rd quarter was a slog, but it's probably what helped swing the tide from that abysmal start. 30 FTs combined in the 3rd... and the Wolves had 20 of those.
- How many games have the Wolves played well in over the first 40 games? They have 21 wins. But look closer... how many could you look at and say "Hey, they played really well in that game."...?
- The Wolves came out in the 2nd half playing MUCH HARDER. And that made everything even worse. It's what's so insulting to fans who have to pay too much to go to the arena in 2025. The owners make too much money... and the players make too much money compared to everyday people. The Wolves deserved to be booed off the court because it was mostly about effort. Terrible. Awful. Atrocious. Embarrassing.
- As noted already in this thread... Golden State has won 5 of its past 21 games against anybody but the Wolves. They're 3 - 0 vs. Minnesota in that stretch.
- Golden State was on the last night of a 4-game road trip before a long stretch with a bunch of home games. They were playing without four rotation guys. Minnesota came in rested. Playing at home. And they were down 34 - 10 in the 1st quarter.
- We're not done with GSW yet. Something named Gui Santos started for the Warriors. He's played 38 games in his career after being drafted #55 back in 2022. He's averaging 2.3 ppg. I repeat... he started... and the Timberwolves came in completely healthy for the 40th time in 40 games. And they were down 34 - 10 in the 1st quarter.
- Moments before tipoff Jim Peterson said he was worried about ball movement. Basically, it's the only way the team was going to lose. The first two plays were iso plays where Rudy was ignored at the rim. The Timberwolves finished the first quarter with ONE assist. And they were down 34 - 10.
- The Wolves were all out of sorts, including Edwards blowing a 2-on-1 despite getting right to the rim with Dennis Schroder as the only guy back.
- Elston Turner didn't hold back in the halftime interview. The Wolves simply weren't playing hard in the 1st half. Have I mentioned that they were down 34 - 10 at one point?
___________________________
- Donte Divincenzo. The man wanted to play basketball. He wanted to win. He's finding his place on this team... and willed the Wolves back into the game. 28 / 6 / 9 and 0 TOs. At least a couple of those rebounds were pure hustle and effort. He should be THE fan favorite right now.
- The Wolves hustle got them two 4-point plays in the 2nd half.
- My Julius Randle nitpick of the game (new feature!): 5:24 left... Wolves down 3. Edwards misses a stepback three. Randle is at the top of the arc and doesn't go in for the rebound. He just stands there. Doesn't move an inch. Fair enough... that's the right strategy. The team was struggling in transition and it's better to get back on defense. Only... Randle walks/trots/jogs back down court not looking where any of the Warriors are going. So, it leaves DDV with two players and only him on defense. Three pointer Warriors. The ball goes in almost the same time as Randle trots near the free throw line without a Warriors player within 15 feet.
- Thanks to John K... at one point the Warriors had 22 points on 9 Wolves TOs. The Wolves had 7 points on 12 Warriors TOs. The transition defense was abysmal at times. (see effort)
- In a game where only 8 guys played... and Divincenzo played 39 minutes and Edwards played 40 minutes... both Randle and Gobert played less than 30 minutes. Coincidentally, Trayce Jackson Davis had NINE offensive rebounds, most coming in the 1st half.
- I really like Mike Conley. He's had a very nice career. He's lost three wheels and all four hubcaps. The car is out of gas. And the steering wheel was just thrown out the window. As noted repeatedly, I have serious doubts about Dillingham (along with Finch presumably) but I think it's time. Can Dillingham be active for tomorrow?
- How much are the Wolves willing to pay NAW and Naz? They're both fine players. Pretty good at some things. But at what price? They're merely complementary players and there's a limit a team like the Wolves can afford to pay guys like that.
- Anthony Edwards had at least as many TOs as assists... for the 3rd straight game. He has 15 assists and 18 TOs. I dug his drives to get to the line though. That 3rd quarter was a slog, but it's probably what helped swing the tide from that abysmal start. 30 FTs combined in the 3rd... and the Wolves had 20 of those.
- How many games have the Wolves played well in over the first 40 games? They have 21 wins. But look closer... how many could you look at and say "Hey, they played really well in that game."...?
- The Wolves came out in the 2nd half playing MUCH HARDER. And that made everything even worse. It's what's so insulting to fans who have to pay too much to go to the arena in 2025. The owners make too much money... and the players make too much money compared to everyday people. The Wolves deserved to be booed off the court because it was mostly about effort. Terrible. Awful. Atrocious. Embarrassing.
Last edited by AbeVigodaLive on Thu Jan 16, 2025 12:07 am, edited 5 times in total.
Re: Contender or Pretender? Warriors at Wolves GDT
Two unfortunate trends continue...Ant is now 2 for his last 19 shots to tie or take the lead in the final 24 seconds, and we almost never win when Rudy takes fewer than 7 shots.
Re: Contender or Pretender? Warriors at Wolves GDT
Oh, and I should note the topic question has been answered. As currently constructed, the Wolves are a Pretender.
Re: Contender or Pretender? Warriors at Wolves GDT
Yeah, Tim, that performance broke my confidence and optimism in this team. I continue to think that the team has the talent it needs, but lacks heart, which trumps whatever talent the team has.
Re: Contender or Pretender? Warriors at Wolves GDT
This team is very similar to the Warriors in overall roster construction. Both have 1 star which they need to be on fire to have any real hope of winning and a bunch of role players whom you hope night by night may give you something. It seems like Jaden has picked up his play a bit but its really tough to know what we have there when he doesnt get the ball. DDV is a nice player for the price. Rudy is a zero on offense and has been getting punked on the defensive boards too. Conley needs to retire. This team is probably in need of an overhaul and I dont think Finch should lead it. Would be nice to know the ownership situation too all while having the highest payroll in basketball. Go Wolves!!