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Re: Fiba World championships

Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2023 3:19 pm
by Coolbreeze44
thedoper wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 12:35 pm
Coolbreeze44 wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 4:52 pm
60WinTim wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 4:21 pm Actually, KAT got himself ejected late in somewhat-close game against Spain with 2 techs. He still has shit for brains. :(
Not saying anyone will, but if a player was to ruin our season next year, it will be KAT
I agree Cool. But a great season from KAT also makes us exceed expectations. His false humility and delusion is exhausting. We seem stuck with him for now, hope we all make the most of it.
I agree with you too. But now it's about showing us he can change, not just rhetoric. Either he's going to play great and we won't want to trade him, or he will be largely the same and his value will decrease again.

Re: Fiba World championships

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 9:05 am
by Sundog
At this point, it seems like KAT is what he is, a fantastic all-time great shooter/scorer with a maturity problem that he can’t seem to control. That’s the blessing and curse of Karl Anthony Towns.

Other news… Gobert is making over 80% of his free throws. That’s a huge improvement over his lifetime average of about 64%. Small sample size, but good news if he doesn’t regress to his mean (which he probably will… hey, it’s August, we’ll take what we can get).

Re: Fiba World championships

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2023 9:59 am
by kekgeek
Anthony Edwards admits he wasn’t cool with Steve Kerr trying to bring him off the bench

“He said Dwyane Wade came off the bench when Kobe played. I was like, ‘all right, we don’t have a Kobe.’”


How can you not love Ant

Re: Fiba World championships

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2023 10:40 am
by Q-is-here
kekgeek wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2023 9:59 am Anthony Edwards admits he wasn’t cool with Steve Kerr trying to bring him off the bench

“He said Dwyane Wade came off the bench when Kobe played. I was like, ‘all right, we don’t have a Kobe.’”


How can you not love Ant
LOL, he is such an alpha male, love it! But he does it with a smile versus a scowl which is what endears him to so many people.

I watched the Dane Moore podcast (now on Youtube in addition to the other platforms) yesterday and he broke down the play of all the Wolves from their FIBA games so far. Here is a recap:

Ant - Dane surprised that he has become the clear-cut #1 guy in a tournament and format that usually requires team USA players to step back a bit from their normal game due to the sheer amount of talent. Team USA has so far needed Ant to be "the guy" and he's obviously stepped up based on the warm up games and the hype he's generating.

KAT - He's letting the 3-point shot fly with Dominican Republic, including some really difficult attempts. Dane feels that KAT absolutely MUST attempt at least 8 3-pointers a game this season otherwise it's a criminal underutilization of his greatest skill-set and something the team will really need from him. Also felt that KAT looked in really good shape. Unfortunately, he displayed the same immaturity and poor judgment by getting kicked out of a close game that his team could have potentially won. We'll see if he can maintain his cool during the real FIBA games.

Rudy - Playing really well with France, but he and his team mates have a tendency to feel obligated to get him touches in situations that he doesn't excel at. The Wolves can't afford to try to force-feed the ball to Gobert outside of quick duck-ins right underneath the rim and pick and rolls where he is wide open and can handle the pass.

NAW - While not starting, his role is a bit more expanded with Canada as a bench piece. Handles the ball quite a lot, taking some more difficult 3s, and expected to do more in general. Has been good defensively and gets over screens as well as any player.

SloMo - Just doesn't have the team mates to help him much and he himself isn't good enough to take over a game on his own. Doesn't seem to be much value to him playing in the tournament from a pure Wolves perspective. He seems like the most likely to get hurt in this tournament.

Luka - His team isn't in the FIBA world cup but they did participate in some qualifier games where he has been very effective playing next to Jusuf Nurkic. He has lost weight and appears very fit. Could be an important piece if KAT, Rudy, or Naz get moved eventually.

Spagnola - Dane has flipped a bit on him from a couple summers ago where he didn't look ready for the NBA. He looked very sharp playing for Italy, especially his passing chops. He could be an under-the-radar prospect we should keep an eye on after what I presume is going to be quite a bit of roster turnover next summer.

Re: Fiba World championships

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2023 10:19 pm
by Lipoli390
Q-is-here wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2023 10:40 am
kekgeek wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2023 9:59 am Anthony Edwards admits he wasn’t cool with Steve Kerr trying to bring him off the bench

“He said Dwyane Wade came off the bench when Kobe played. I was like, ‘all right, we don’t have a Kobe.’”


How can you not love Ant
LOL, he is such an alpha male, love it! But he does it with a smile versus a scowl which is what endears him to so many people.

I watched the Dane Moore podcast (now on Youtube in addition to the other platforms) yesterday and he broke down the play of all the Wolves from their FIBA games so far. Here is a recap:

Ant - Dane surprised that he has become the clear-cut #1 guy in a tournament and format that usually requires team USA players to step back a bit from their normal game due to the sheer amount of talent. Team USA has so far needed Ant to be "the guy" and he's obviously stepped up based on the warm up games and the hype he's generating.

KAT - He's letting the 3-point shot fly with Dominican Republic, including some really difficult attempts. Dane feels that KAT absolutely MUST attempt at least 8 3-pointers a game this season otherwise it's a criminal underutilization of his greatest skill-set and something the team will really need from him. Also felt that KAT looked in really good shape. Unfortunately, he displayed the same immaturity and poor judgment by getting kicked out of a close game that his team could have potentially won. We'll see if he can maintain his cool during the real FIBA games.

Rudy - Playing really well with France, but he and his team mates have a tendency to feel obligated to get him touches in situations that he doesn't excel at. The Wolves can't afford to try to force-feed the ball to Gobert outside of quick duck-ins right underneath the rim and pick and rolls where he is wide open and can handle the pass.

NAW - While not starting, his role is a bit more expanded with Canada as a bench piece. Handles the ball quite a lot, taking some more difficult 3s, and expected to do more in general. Has been good defensively and gets over screens as well as any player.

SloMo - Just doesn't have the team mates to help him much and he himself isn't good enough to take over a game on his own. Doesn't seem to be much value to him playing in the tournament from a pure Wolves perspective. He seems like the most likely to get hurt in this tournament.

Luka - His team isn't in the FIBA world cup but they did participate in some qualifier games where he has been very effective playing next to Jusuf Nurkic. He has lost weight and appears very fit. Could be an important piece if KAT, Rudy, or Naz get moved eventually.

Spagnola - Dane has flipped a bit on him from a couple summers ago where he didn't look ready for the NBA. He looked very sharp playing for Italy, especially his passing chops. He could be an under-the-radar prospect we should keep an eye on after what I presume is going to be quite a bit of roster turnover next summer.
Thanks for posting, Q! A fun read.

Re: Fiba World championships

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2023 11:36 pm
by kekgeek
I’ll be starting my day tomorrow watching the 7 am game. Kat and DR VS Jordan Clarkson and Phillapeens. Then I’ll watch the replay of the Italy game (I’m not getting up at 4). Then I’ll watch Canada vs France what should be a blast tomorrow at 830.

I work remote on Fridays so should be a fun day for me

Re: Fiba World championships

Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2023 7:25 am
by kekgeek
Kat is getting to the line at will for the DR

Re: Fiba World championships

Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2023 7:30 am
by Q-is-here
kekgeek wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2023 11:36 pm I’ll be starting my day tomorrow watching the 7 am game. Kat and DR VS Jordan Clarkson and Phillapeens. Then I’ll watch the replay of the Italy game (I’m not getting up at 4). Then I’ll watch Canada vs France what should be a blast tomorrow at 830.

I work remote on Fridays so should be a fun day for me
Nice! Looking forward to your reports Kek!

Re: Fiba World championships

Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2023 7:41 am
by kekgeek
Kat is scoring at will for the most part. Kat help D has been poor. They can’t stop Jordan Clarkson though. Great game so far

Re: Fiba World championships

Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2023 7:54 am
by Q-is-here
kekgeek wrote: Fri Aug 25, 2023 7:41 am Kat is scoring at will for the most part. Kat help D has been poor. They can’t stop Jordan Clarkson though. Great game so far
Found the box score....zero fouls and 1 TO for KAT in the first half. Progress!