Minnesota Sports Forum

thedoper wrote:Did OKC just kill our season? This reminds me of that Kevin Martin games a few years back. Ouch.

Was finishing 1 game higher the difference between an NBA Championship or not? I'm going to guess it wasn't. :LOL:

My theory is that Rosas is paying the refs off to make the Wolves lose games so we can secretly tank for a higher draft pick. That would be sneaky. I like it!!!

Offense generally speaking wasn't the Wolves problem in this game. Towns also had 8 assists and the Wolves shot a solid percentage from 3. Defense was a bigger problem and OKC went 36-40 from the FT line. I'm gonna call out Graham for some bad fouls on CP3 earlier in the game when OKC was in the bonus. I'm a game that ended up going to overtime that hurt.

I'm completely baffled by that delay of game call I mean what in the world?

Teague welcome back man holy Buckets he was cooking.

Martin plays hard but...it feels like now they have too much confidence in playing him.

Bell despite stuff played some solid minutes for the Wolves. It's been interesting how they have been working him in on short stints here and there.

Napier was a mixed bag...not catching that inbound pass was just rough. We got 45 points from the PG tandem and lost. Meanwhile CP3 was masterful. It was a fun game him and Teague playing high level basketball. Schroeder was the guy that maybe killed them as much as anyone.

kekgeek1 wrote:

Camden wrote:

KG4Ever wrote:Tough loss, and plenty of blame all around. But Kek and Cam all they do is complain like bitches. I enjoyed the game, not the outcome. But Wolves aren't winning a title this year, so you bitches just need to relax and enjoy the show. We didn't have Wiggs and should have won. We are headed in the right direction.

I actually can't remember a time where I attacked you so the constant shade you throw on here is absurd. What are you doing right now? It sure sounds like you're complaining -- just about myself and another poster on the forum. Stop being a child and discuss the game of basketball like an adult or simply leave.

I will also say that I am very emotional when I watch the games by myself and I post on this board to cope with the terrible play we have seen over the past 16 years. I will also say that I am very emotional when I watch the games by myself and I post on this board to cope with the terrible play we have seen over the past 16 years. So hand up, I bitch a lot during the GDT, that is a fact. I feel like I have a lot better descusion on non GDT.

But I don't get how one can say we are going in the right direction when we don't get our best player the ball. When we have at most 5 years (what won't happen) left of KAT and it is sad seeing those years wasted with this franchise.

Also people were allowed to bitch about Thibs every game last year (and everyone is entitled to their own opinion and thats why I like this board) but I can't bitch about how I perceive Ryan is not using Kat is his best ability.

I think a lot of us are in a similar boat. That is very typical of game threads on almost any board for any sport. It's actually a fairly healthy outlet versus other alternatives, so I totally get it.

Watching that last reply, why was teague even the guy playing free safety? The shortest and worst defensive player on the squad. There was 1 second left, there was no reason for teague to be on the floor in that situation. Saunders was just playing with fire all night.

kekgeek1 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:- KBD came back down to earth in a big way.

- Culver was horrible offensively. Him and Graham are almost unplayable on offense. Okogie isn't far behind.

- WTF is the deal with Jeff Teague? How can he be an indecisive, brick-laying apathetic PG one night and then takes over a game (not the entire game obviously) in another? Can we get something in between the two on a consistent basis? Why on earth doesn't he shoot more 3s in his "normal" games? He'd probably be our 3rd best shooter after KAT and RoCo if he was more decisive and took the open 3 like he did tonight. So frustrating.

- Chris Paul showing why the mid-range game is far from dead. The way he can turn the corner perfectly on picks frees him up for that 10-15 foot shot or an easy dunk for the big every. single. time.

- Adams has an incredibly nice touch on his little baby hooks. He makes those look so easy.

- The first play of the game Ryan ran a nice play to get KAT a corner 3. Seemingly every game he draws up a pretty effective first play to get either KAT or Wiggins an easy basket. What happens to that playbook when the game gets close? He could go down as one of the best shooters in history! Get him the ball!

- This was one of the games in this 10-game stretch we had a chance to win. Things are starting to look bleaker and bleaker....

Thing about Adams is he has been on the massive decline the last 2 years but the wolves make him look good (I like him as a player still but not at the contract).

Teague is so weird. Honestly has to be the most confusing player in Wolves historyHonestly has to be the most confusing player in Wolves history and I don't think it is even close. He is either a top 10 PG or he is not even an NBA player and there is no in-between.

Your point on Ryan maybe that is why I am frustrated with him, he has good play sets in his pocket but when the game matters he hasn't found a way to make the offense run through KAT. Let Kat operate, run Kat off screens. Run elevator action. Run PnR with Kat as the ball handler, run flex action, get Kat the ball at the elbow, have him sometimes post up. But all we do is run PnP action. And it has been easy to defend.

I'd put MIke Miller up there with Jeff Teague. We needed shooting badly (as usual) so we get Miller at the peak of his career, having averaged 6 3pt attempts per game (a lot in those days) and 17 PPG at 40%+ from beyond the arc over the prior two seasons. Perfect! Yet what does he do when he gets here? He decides he wants to be an effing point guard and averages 9.9 PPG on half as less 3 point shots. UN-BE-LIEVE-ABLE.

Why does this shit constantly happen to us!?

lipoli390 wrote:

Camden wrote:Speaking of the mid-range game... it's one of the areas that Jarrett Culver actually thrives in. That's definitely in his bag and yet in this glorious system it's been stripped from his game. Again, it feels like we're forcing personnel to play a style of basketball that doesn't exactly correlate to their strengths and weaknesses.

This is a great point, Cam! And your point raises an important question. That is, why did Rosas trade up to draft Culver knowing the style the Wolves organization was planning to play?? Is there something in the Target Center water that makes otherwise sound minds turn to mush?

I think in general shooting more 3's or making an effort to get all the way to the rim is a good strategy. BUT.....sometimes it's done to a fault, as Houston themselves have demonstrated at times over the years where guys give up an open 15 footer for a highly contested 3. The analytics are probably going to favor the wide open 15-footer over the highly contested 3.

I don't know enough about Culver's game in college to understand if him taking more pull-up mid-range J's would be helpful or not. I personally suspect not simply because he struggles with free throws and that is the most wide open mid-range shot in the game! Bottom line is the kid has a ton of work to do to improve his shot and confidence from outside.

Camden wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

crazy-canuck wrote:But seriously, who calls a tech for an untucked jersey in a close game?

It was an asinine call and another example of the lack of respect this team gets from officials. Nevertheless, there's no excusing Bell for walking casually onto the court with a completely untucked jersey. Calls aside, Culver just needed to do one better than hitting just 4 of his 13 shots. If he had just hit a 5th, he still would have been a horrible shooter tonight, but at least the Wolves would have won.

A number of things could have changed the outcome of this game, but perhaps no individual play was bigger than Shabazz Napier having a case of the yips and letting a perfectly catchable inbound pass slip through his hands. That's a play that high school kids make routinely. The defense is going to foul him upon catching the ball since there was only 14.0 left on the game clock. He gave them a free possession without putting points on the board for the Wolves. He could have pushed the lead to five. Granted, the Thunder missed the shot following that possession but it led to Jordan Bell being at the free throw line and missing both of them. That's inexcusable any way you slice it.

Yep, that one on a list of at least 4 inexcusable screw-ups that reflect unacceptably poor discipline or concentration:

1. Napier's yips on the inbound pass
2. KAT not getting the knee wraps off in time, resulting in the 1st delay of game that led to the technical
3. KAT hitting a free throw he was supposed to miss
4. Bell meandering onto the court with his shirt totally out as if he just got out of bed

Then you have all the missed shots. KBD going 0-7 and Culver 4-13 from the field. The fact that Bell missed 4 of his 6 free-throw attempts can be added to the list of reasons the Wolves lost and it's a reminder of why it's problematic to have him on the court. He has strengths, but they're not enough to make up for his horrible free-throw shooting and lack of any perimeter shot whatsoever.

Jordan Bell would not play another minute for this team if I was in charge. Why is his jersey untucked in the first place? He was getting minutes throughout the game. This is the reason that GS had no interest in re-signing him. He's Michael Beasley without the talent.

I don't know that I will watch another NBA game this year. I am tired of watching this team being disrespected by the officials. This latest call is insane. I have watched repeatedly as guys are tucking in their jerseys' while other players are shooting their FT's. Why is it suddenly a technical during a dead ball? I hope the wolves are protesting this.

Many things went wrong and this was one of the worst losses I can remember. We have had numerous games this year that could of or should have been won. I am really concerned at the fact that we are under performing on a regular basis.

OKC understands what they are trying to do as a team, MN on the other hand looks lost frequently. Out of control JC or Josh, periods of KAT not being involved. What is MN's identity on offense? What is the primary team concept? OKC put us in pick and roll or obtained a switch off the pick and cleared lanes to attack all game, late shot clock the ball goes to Paul, Danilo, Shai, or Schroder. They appear to have an identity or understanding of what they are trying to do as a team on offense, MN not so much.

Teague plays up against Schroder and it seems like playing against certain players in the league depends on his level of motivation. This is what bothers me most about Teague, I see a player that should be just under the elite PG's. However he allows himself to be inconsistent and play well one game followed by many sub par games. I think with a player like this you have to pound into his head "attack Jeff" and if you see him fading take him out have a talk and get him back in and demand he attacks. 20+ points a night should be his goal, that would get him attacking and give him a tangible way to measure if he's using his talents or being passive.

There are many things I could rant about but I'll just focus on Graham. His defense is so over rated, he's physical and hustles but that does not make you a good defender. Put a faster player on him and his physical style / hustle just leads to lots of fouls. As a coach you have to realize his weakness, defending speed and his own shooting. On defense play him against other physical players and avoid speed, on offense his role is constant movement. He should be a basket cutter and look to pass or drive anytime he has the ball. More than anything, unless he improves on offense he should get very little minutes.

sjm34 wrote:Jordan Bell would not play another minute for this team if I was in charge. Why is his jersey untucked in the first place? He was getting minutes throughout the game. This is the reason that GS had no interest in re-signing him. He's Michael Beasley without the talent.

I don't know that I will watch another NBA game this year. I am tired of watching this team being disrespected by the officials. This latest call is insane. I have watched repeatedly as guys are tucking in their jerseys' while other players are shooting their FT's. Why is it suddenly a technical during a dead ball? I hope the wolves are protesting this.

I've never heard Jim Pete complain every game about the bad officiating. I doubt there is anything going on behind the scenes, (Refs betting against the Wolves or something who knows though) but the officiating has been quite ridiculous at times.