GDT: Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers (Preseason)

[thedoper]

Garza and Nate Knight on the end of our bench makes a lot more sense than any of the other options to me. I could see both of them filling in some time for injuries. Also could mean trading Naz for another wing.

[kekgeek]

Finch on Luka Garza: "He's the perfect system fit for us. Great acquisition by our front office. He's a guy I think can really grow into our system here. He can stretch the floor and he can score around the basket. That's a great combo. Not a lot of bigs can do that."

[Lipoli390]

Bright spots from this game:

1. Luka Garza -- As I said in another thread, the Wolves front office will be committing malfeasance if they don't sign Garza to a contract this season. Paschal's two-way contract should go to Garza. I don't think that's debatable.

2. Naz Reid -- After a rough first game, Naz has been the Wolves best player this preseason. He's clearly played his way into the rotation and he's further confirmed my view that he'll command a lottery-protected first-round pick if the Wolves choose to deal him.

3. DLO -- A nice all-around game from Russell tonight.

4. Nowell -- A nice game even though his three-point inconsistency was on display tonight.

5. Kyle Anderson --. Solid game from Anderson. He shot the ball fairly well tonight and that was a good sign.

Dark spots:

1. Edwards -- He said he wants to be an all-star. Well, shooting 2-12 from the field and 1-4 from behind the arc with no free throws is NOT the sort of stuff of which all-stars are made. A truly pathetic performance by Ant. Meanwhile Indiana's rookie Mathurin had 27 points, which included hitting 11 of 12 free-throw attempts. A third-year player with all-star aspirations can't have games like the one Ant had tonight.

2. Minot -- I still like his talent and energy, but he was terrible tonight. He has a long way to go and will need to develop in the G-League over the next two years.

3. CJ Lawson -- I didn't understand giving him one of our two-way deals in the first place and he hasn't done anything in the preseason to change my opinion. I'd give his two-way to Mac McClung, but that's not going to happen. We should be able to find someone more worthy of a two-way deal than Lawson.

4. Elleby --. Maybe there's a spot for him on the Iowa Wolves. But I don't see him becoming an NBA player. If the choice for one of our two-ways is Lawson or Elleby, I'll take Lawson.


Mix bags:

1. McDaniels -- Disappointing to see him shoot poorly and still have trouble defending without fouling. But I liked that he had 8 rebounds in his 24 minutes. That was encouraging.

2. Nathan Knight -- Disappointed to see him pick up 4 fouls in only 14 minutes. But he also had 10 points in those limited minutes.

3. Wendell Moore -- Some good and some bad in his limited minutes. Unlike Minot, Lawson and Elleby, Wendell Moore looks like an NBA player. I'm still not sure how good he'll be, but he looks pretty solid and I think he has some nice upside.

[Lipoli390]

Assuming the Wolves sign Garza, they will have five talented bigs on the roster in KAT, Gobert, Naz, Knight and Garza. Maybe the Wolves will pioneer the big-man corollary to the modern NBA's "small ball." We'll call it "big-ball." it will be Kyle Anderson at the point with KAT, Gobert, Naz and either Garza or Knight. :)

[Jester1534]

Jaylen Nowell is such a hooper. My goodness. Pay the man!

Currently 120-1 for Sixth man of the year

Two weeks ago its was 180-1 I put 20 bucks on it

[Q-is-here]

Bright spots from this game:

1. Luka Garza -- As I said in another thread, the Wolves front office will be committing malfeasance if they don't sign Garza to a contract this season. Paschal's two-way contract should go to Garza. I don't think that's debatable.

2. Naz Reid -- After a rough first game, Naz has been the Wolves best player this preseason. He's clearly played his way into the rotation and he's further confirmed my view that he'll command a lottery-protected first-round pick if the Wolves choose to deal him.

3. DLO -- A nice all-around game from Russell tonight.

4. Nowell -- A nice game even though his three-point inconsistency was on display tonight.

5. Kyle Anderson --. Solid game from Anderson. He shot the ball fairly well tonight and that was a good sign.

Dark spots:

1. Edwards -- He said he wants to be an all-star. Well, shooting 2-12 from the field and 1-4 from behind the arc with no free throws is NOT the sort of stuff of which all-stars are made. A truly pathetic performance by Ant. Meanwhile Indiana's rookie Mathurin had 27 points, which included hitting 11 of 12 free-throw attempts. A third-year player with all-star aspirations can't have games like the one Ant had tonight.

2. Minot -- I still like his talent and energy, but he was terrible tonight. He has a long way to go and will need to develop in the G-League over the next two years.

3. CJ Lawson -- I didn't understand giving him one of our two-way deals in the first place and he hasn't done anything in the preseason to change my opinion. I'd give his two-way to Mac McClung, but that's not going to happen. We should be able to find someone more worthy of a two-way deal than Lawson.

4. Elleby --. Maybe there's a spot for him on the Iowa Wolves. But I don't see him becoming an NBA player. If the choice for one of our two-ways is Lawson or Elleby, I'll take Lawson.


Mix bags:

1. McDaniels -- Disappointing to see him shoot poorly and still have trouble defending without fouling. But I liked that he had 8 rebounds in his 24 minutes. That was encouraging.

2. Nathan Knight -- Disappointed to see him pick up 4 fouls in only 14 minutes. But he also had 10 points in those limited minutes.

3. Wendell Moore -- Some good and some bad in his limited minutes. Unlike Minot, Lawson and Elleby, Wendell Moore looks like an NBA player. I'm still not sure how good he'll be, but he looks pretty solid and I think he has some nice upside.

Good stuff Lip.

While I am down on Ant's inability to get his shooting/scoring going, I thought he otherwise played a good game. Made some nice passes and was active on defense again.

On DLO, what we saw last night is my idealized version of what I'd like to see from him going forward. He had 8 assists and 9 shots. I love that ratio! He should never have games where his number of shots are 2X or more his number of assists. There is too much superior scoring/finishing talent around him for him to be jacking up 15+ shots per night. He is best used as the orchestra conductor.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Bright spots from this game:

1. Luka Garza -- As I said in another thread, the Wolves front office will be committing malfeasance if they don't sign Garza to a contract this season. Paschal's two-way contract should go to Garza. I don't think that's debatable.

2. Naz Reid -- After a rough first game, Naz has been the Wolves best player this preseason. He's clearly played his way into the rotation and he's further confirmed my view that he'll command a lottery-protected first-round pick if the Wolves choose to deal him.

3. DLO -- A nice all-around game from Russell tonight.

4. Nowell -- A nice game even though his three-point inconsistency was on display tonight.

5. Kyle Anderson --. Solid game from Anderson. He shot the ball fairly well tonight and that was a good sign.

Dark spots:

1. Edwards -- He said he wants to be an all-star. Well, shooting 2-12 from the field and 1-4 from behind the arc with no free throws is NOT the sort of stuff of which all-stars are made. A truly pathetic performance by Ant. Meanwhile Indiana's rookie Mathurin had 27 points, which included hitting 11 of 12 free-throw attempts. A third-year player with all-star aspirations can't have games like the one Ant had tonight.

2. Minot -- I still like his talent and energy, but he was terrible tonight. He has a long way to go and will need to develop in the G-League over the next two years.

3. CJ Lawson -- I didn't understand giving him one of our two-way deals in the first place and he hasn't done anything in the preseason to change my opinion. I'd give his two-way to Mac McClung, but that's not going to happen. We should be able to find someone more worthy of a two-way deal than Lawson.

4. Elleby --. Maybe there's a spot for him on the Iowa Wolves. But I don't see him becoming an NBA player. If the choice for one of our two-ways is Lawson or Elleby, I'll take Lawson.


Mix bags:

1. McDaniels -- Disappointing to see him shoot poorly and still have trouble defending without fouling. But I liked that he had 8 rebounds in his 24 minutes. That was encouraging.

2. Nathan Knight -- Disappointed to see him pick up 4 fouls in only 14 minutes. But he also had 10 points in those limited minutes.

3. Wendell Moore -- Some good and some bad in his limited minutes. Unlike Minot, Lawson and Elleby, Wendell Moore looks like an NBA player. I'm still not sure how good he'll be, but he looks pretty solid and I think he has some nice upside.

Good stuff Lip.

While I am down on Ant's inability to get his shooting/scoring going, I thought he otherwise played a good game. Made some nice passes and was active on defense again.

On DLO, what we saw last night is my idealized version of what I'd like to see from him going forward. He had 8 assists and 9 shots. I love that ratio! He should never have games where his number of shots are 2X or more his number of assists. There is too much superior scoring/finishing talent around him for him to be jacking up 15+ shots per night. He is best used as the orchestra conductor.

And yet there have been plenty of games where Minnesota desperately needed D'Angelo Russell to score more -- to shoot even more -- because one or more of these superior scoring/finishing talents just wasn't getting it done on their own or were having an off night. Hell, if D-Lo doesn't shoot 18 times against the Clippers last year they don't even make the playoffs and this current group may never be assembled.

His game script with Minnesota will never be as simple or condensed as what you're indicating because this team actually needs him to both score and facilitate, which speaks to his individual value in that he can switch gears. He's not as limited as Tyus Jones or Jordan McLaughlin, for instance. We don't need him to be handcuffed like that. They just need him to hit shots like he's shown capable of doing.

[Lipoli390]

Bright spots from this game:

1. Luka Garza -- As I said in another thread, the Wolves front office will be committing malfeasance if they don't sign Garza to a contract this season. Paschal's two-way contract should go to Garza. I don't think that's debatable.

2. Naz Reid -- After a rough first game, Naz has been the Wolves best player this preseason. He's clearly played his way into the rotation and he's further confirmed my view that he'll command a lottery-protected first-round pick if the Wolves choose to deal him.

3. DLO -- A nice all-around game from Russell tonight.

4. Nowell -- A nice game even though his three-point inconsistency was on display tonight.

5. Kyle Anderson --. Solid game from Anderson. He shot the ball fairly well tonight and that was a good sign.

Dark spots:

1. Edwards -- He said he wants to be an all-star. Well, shooting 2-12 from the field and 1-4 from behind the arc with no free throws is NOT the sort of stuff of which all-stars are made. A truly pathetic performance by Ant. Meanwhile Indiana's rookie Mathurin had 27 points, which included hitting 11 of 12 free-throw attempts. A third-year player with all-star aspirations can't have games like the one Ant had tonight.

2. Minot -- I still like his talent and energy, but he was terrible tonight. He has a long way to go and will need to develop in the G-League over the next two years.

3. CJ Lawson -- I didn't understand giving him one of our two-way deals in the first place and he hasn't done anything in the preseason to change my opinion. I'd give his two-way to Mac McClung, but that's not going to happen. We should be able to find someone more worthy of a two-way deal than Lawson.

4. Elleby --. Maybe there's a spot for him on the Iowa Wolves. But I don't see him becoming an NBA player. If the choice for one of our two-ways is Lawson or Elleby, I'll take Lawson.


Mix bags:

1. McDaniels -- Disappointing to see him shoot poorly and still have trouble defending without fouling. But I liked that he had 8 rebounds in his 24 minutes. That was encouraging.

2. Nathan Knight -- Disappointed to see him pick up 4 fouls in only 14 minutes. But he also had 10 points in those limited minutes.

3. Wendell Moore -- Some good and some bad in his limited minutes. Unlike Minot, Lawson and Elleby, Wendell Moore looks like an NBA player. I'm still not sure how good he'll be, but he looks pretty solid and I think he has some nice upside.

Good stuff Lip.

While I am down on Ant's inability to get his shooting/scoring going, I thought he otherwise played a good game. Made some nice passes and was active on defense again.

On DLO, what we saw last night is my idealized version of what I'd like to see from him going forward. He had 8 assists and 9 shots. I love that ratio! He should never have games where his number of shots are 2X or more his number of assists. There is too much superior scoring/finishing talent around him for him to be jacking up 15+ shots per night. He is best used as the orchestra conductor.

And yet there have been plenty of games where Minnesota desperately needed D'Angelo Russell to score more -- to shoot even more -- because one or more of these superior scoring/finishing talents just wasn't getting it done on their own or were having an off night. Hell, if D-Lo doesn't shoot 18 times against the Clippers last year they don't even make the playoffs and this current group may never be assembled.

His game script with Minnesota will never be as simple or condensed as what you're indicating because this team actually needs him to both score and facilitate, which speaks to his individual value in that he can switch gears. He's not as limited as Tyus Jones or Jordan McLaughlin, for instance. We don't need him to be handcuffed like that. They just need him to hit shots like he's shown capable of doing.

I agree with Q that what we saw from DLO last night should be the norm for him this season to maximize the team's success. However, the beauty of DLO is that he can be more than that if needed because, if he's on, he can carry the team with his scoring when others are struggling. So I think you and Q are both right.

[Q-is-here]

Bright spots from this game:

1. Luka Garza -- As I said in another thread, the Wolves front office will be committing malfeasance if they don't sign Garza to a contract this season. Paschal's two-way contract should go to Garza. I don't think that's debatable.

2. Naz Reid -- After a rough first game, Naz has been the Wolves best player this preseason. He's clearly played his way into the rotation and he's further confirmed my view that he'll command a lottery-protected first-round pick if the Wolves choose to deal him.

3. DLO -- A nice all-around game from Russell tonight.

4. Nowell -- A nice game even though his three-point inconsistency was on display tonight.

5. Kyle Anderson --. Solid game from Anderson. He shot the ball fairly well tonight and that was a good sign.

Dark spots:

1. Edwards -- He said he wants to be an all-star. Well, shooting 2-12 from the field and 1-4 from behind the arc with no free throws is NOT the sort of stuff of which all-stars are made. A truly pathetic performance by Ant. Meanwhile Indiana's rookie Mathurin had 27 points, which included hitting 11 of 12 free-throw attempts. A third-year player with all-star aspirations can't have games like the one Ant had tonight.

2. Minot -- I still like his talent and energy, but he was terrible tonight. He has a long way to go and will need to develop in the G-League over the next two years.

3. CJ Lawson -- I didn't understand giving him one of our two-way deals in the first place and he hasn't done anything in the preseason to change my opinion. I'd give his two-way to Mac McClung, but that's not going to happen. We should be able to find someone more worthy of a two-way deal than Lawson.

4. Elleby --. Maybe there's a spot for him on the Iowa Wolves. But I don't see him becoming an NBA player. If the choice for one of our two-ways is Lawson or Elleby, I'll take Lawson.


Mix bags:

1. McDaniels -- Disappointing to see him shoot poorly and still have trouble defending without fouling. But I liked that he had 8 rebounds in his 24 minutes. That was encouraging.

2. Nathan Knight -- Disappointed to see him pick up 4 fouls in only 14 minutes. But he also had 10 points in those limited minutes.

3. Wendell Moore -- Some good and some bad in his limited minutes. Unlike Minot, Lawson and Elleby, Wendell Moore looks like an NBA player. I'm still not sure how good he'll be, but he looks pretty solid and I think he has some nice upside.

Good stuff Lip.

While I am down on Ant's inability to get his shooting/scoring going, I thought he otherwise played a good game. Made some nice passes and was active on defense again.

On DLO, what we saw last night is my idealized version of what I'd like to see from him going forward. He had 8 assists and 9 shots. I love that ratio! He should never have games where his number of shots are 2X or more his number of assists. There is too much superior scoring/finishing talent around him for him to be jacking up 15+ shots per night. He is best used as the orchestra conductor.

And yet there have been plenty of games where Minnesota desperately needed D'Angelo Russell to score more -- to shoot even more -- because one or more of these superior scoring/finishing talents just wasn't getting it done on their own or were having an off night. Hell, if D-Lo doesn't shoot 18 times against the Clippers last year they don't even make the playoffs and this current group may never be assembled.

His game script with Minnesota will never be as simple or condensed as what you're indicating because this team actually needs him to both score and facilitate, which speaks to his individual value in that he can switch gears. He's not as limited as Tyus Jones or Jordan McLaughlin, for instance. We don't need him to be handcuffed like that. They just need him to hit shots like he's shown capable of doing.

OK, I amend my "never have games" comment, because if the defense gives him good shots to take or he ends up with the hot potato with the shot clock winding down, then he has to take those shots. But with this current group especially, those should be rare nights.

Chris Paul averaged 11 shot attempts and 11 assists last year for Phoenix. That should be DLO's goal. And Chris Paul is waaaay more efficient than DLO has ever been, yet he still focuses more on setting up others.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Yes, D'Angelo Russell should absolutely strive to do what Chris Paul -- arguably the third-best point guard in league history -- does annually. Obviously, nobody can argue against that, but I'm telling you now that it's an unfair ask and just not who he is. It's not who a LOT of guys are either, which is why CP3 is an all-timer, but I digress...

D-Lo is going to average around 15 shot attempts per game, which is just fine. Part of that is who he is as a player and another part is just a byproduct of roster makeup and the offense Chris Finch has in place, which ensures the ball will be in his hands a lot. I'm less interested in his shot volume, but rather his efficiency. I expect him to have a significant bounce back in that regard -- specifically from three-point range -- and perhaps even the best true shooting percentage of his career now that he's a third or fourth focus for opposing defenses, but I don't expect him to lower his attempts much, if at all, and nor should he.