Minnesota Sports Forum

If Rudy had gone last night we probably would have won. I hope it was worth it, especially if we finish 1 game behind Denver.

I hear ya FNG, but Ant was dragging ass in the 4th and only took 4 shots, all short. Since he is a traditional jump shooter, vs KAT flat footed shot, Ant's stamina is far more visible.

DNatagal wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:58 am I hear ya FNG, but Ant was dragging ass in the 4th and only took 4 shots, all short. Since he is a traditional jump shooter, vs KAT flat footed shot, Ant's stamina is far more visible.

Yeah, I noticed that too. I think there may be many factors involved in his 4th quarter lethargy last game. He's working his butt off on defense, he was playing the back end of a back to back, and also perhaps his diet. In any event, he did kind of disappear that quarter.

The amazing thing is with 21 feet of players out injured and Ant looking tired in the 4th, we still gave the champs a scare!

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:13 pm

DNatagal wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:58 am I hear ya FNG, but Ant was dragging ass in the 4th and only took 4 shots, all short. Since he is a traditional jump shooter, vs KAT flat footed shot, Ant's stamina is far more visible.

Yeah, I noticed that too. I think there may be many factors involved in his 4th quarter lethargy last game. He's working his butt off on defense, he was playing the back end of a back to back, and also perhaps his diet. In any event, he did kind of disappear that quarter.

The amazing thing is with 21 feet of players out injured and Ant looking tired in the 4th, we still gave the champs a scare!

Malone said in his presser that they sent an extra body at ANT every time in the 4th quarter. They were not going to let him take the game over.

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:25 pm Malone said in his presser that they sent an extra body at ANT every time in the 4th quarter. They were not going to let him take the game over.

I happened to see that too. I was originally going to post that here similar with similar sentiments. However...I thought about this more and it can't be that easy. Every team is going to scheme against Edwards. He and Finch have to figure out a way to counter that and be effective. Now...maybe that why Jaden was open/draining 3's...if so, then that was the counter - IDK.

But still - when you are the top dog, obviously teams are going to stack up against you. He was amazing earlier in the game and then disappeared in Q4. It's all part of his learning. I'm not down on him. He's getting there...but still not Kirby Puckett - "jump on my back" just yet. He's getting close though!

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:10 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:25 pm Malone said in his presser that they sent an extra body at ANT every time in the 4th quarter. They were not going to let him take the game over.

I happened to see that too. I was originally going to post that here similar with similar sentiments. However...I thought about this more and it can't be that easy. Every team is going to scheme against Edwards. He and Finch have to figure out a way to counter that and be effective. Now...maybe that why Jaden was open/draining 3's...if so, then that was the counter - IDK.

But still - when you are the top dog, obviously teams are going to stack up against you. He was amazing earlier in the game and then disappeared in Q4. It's all part of his learning. I'm not down on him. He's getting there...but still not Kirby Puckett - "jump on my back" just yet. He's getting close though!

Yeah, while Ant only took 4 shots in his 7 4th quarter minutes, he did have 3 of his 8 assists. 3 assists for 9 points in 7 minutes is elite facilitating, and a positive sign that Ant is learning to find the open man when they run two or three guys at him.

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:10 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:25 pm Malone said in his presser that they sent an extra body at ANT every time in the 4th quarter. They were not going to let him take the game over.

I happened to see that too. I was originally going to post that here similar with similar sentiments. However...I thought about this more and it can't be that easy. Every team is going to scheme against Edwards. He and Finch have to figure out a way to counter that and be effective. Now...maybe that why Jaden was open/draining 3's...if so, then that was the counter - IDK.

But still - when you are the top dog, obviously teams are going to stack up against you. He was amazing earlier in the game and then disappeared in Q4. It's all part of his learning. I'm not down on him. He's getting there...but still not Kirby Puckett - "jump on my back" just yet. He's getting close though!

When you get doubled you simply need to pass it to the open man. Make teams pay. I don't know if you are too young but Shaq in his prime was the most dominant player in the league. Teams would double in the post and he'd kick it out to open 3 shots with regularity. You simply have to count on your teammates. If they don't get a good look then just maybe the ball gets back to him also. Then it's tougher to double again. Make the defense work.

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:58 pm

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:10 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:25 pm Malone said in his presser that they sent an extra body at ANT every time in the 4th quarter. They were not going to let him take the game over.

I happened to see that too. I was originally going to post that here similar with similar sentiments. However...I thought about this more and it can't be that easy. Every team is going to scheme against Edwards. He and Finch have to figure out a way to counter that and be effective. Now...maybe that why Jaden was open/draining 3's...if so, then that was the counter - IDK.

But still - when you are the top dog, obviously teams are going to stack up against you. He was amazing earlier in the game and then disappeared in Q4. It's all part of his learning. I'm not down on him. He's getting there...but still not Kirby Puckett - "jump on my back" just yet. He's getting close though!

When you get doubled you simply need to pass it to the open man. Make teams pay. I don't know if you are too young but Shaq in his prime was the most dominant player in the league. Teams would double in the post and he'd kick it out to open 3 shots with regularity. You simply have to count on your teammates. If they don't get a good look then just maybe the ball gets back to him also. Then it's tougher to double again. Make the defense work.

I remember that, WF. But here's some good news about Ant. Shaq averaged 2.7 assists per game at age 22, and never had more than 3.8 in a season. Ant is already at 5.4 assists per game at 22, and his assists are going up substantially every year. He frustrates me sometimes when he doesn't see an open shooter, but he's already ahead of Shaq, and could easily be a 10-assist guy by the time he hits his prime.

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 3:16 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:58 pm

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:10 pm

I happened to see that too. I was originally going to post that here similar with similar sentiments. However...I thought about this more and it can't be that easy. Every team is going to scheme against Edwards. He and Finch have to figure out a way to counter that and be effective. Now...maybe that why Jaden was open/draining 3's...if so, then that was the counter - IDK.

But still - when you are the top dog, obviously teams are going to stack up against you. He was amazing earlier in the game and then disappeared in Q4. It's all part of his learning. I'm not down on him. He's getting there...but still not Kirby Puckett - "jump on my back" just yet. He's getting close though!

When you get doubled you simply need to pass it to the open man. Make teams pay. I don't know if you are too young but Shaq in his prime was the most dominant player in the league. Teams would double in the post and he'd kick it out to open 3 shots with regularity. You simply have to count on your teammates. If they don't get a good look then just maybe the ball gets back to him also. Then it's tougher to double again. Make the defense work.

I remember that, WF. But here's some good news about Ant. Shaq averaged 2.7 assists per game at age 22, and never had more than 3.8 in a season. Ant is already at 5.4 assists per game at 22, and his assists are going up substantially every year. He frustrates me sometimes when he doesn't see an open shooter, but he's already ahead of Shaq, and could easily be a 10-assist guy by the time he hits his prime.

Ant is a drive and kick or drive and dump off kind of passer, which makes him and Rudy such an awkward pairing. Ant is not a skilled pocket passer or at throwing ally-oops and Gobert needs those passes thrown to him perfectly in order to convert, thus they struggle to connect on a regular basis and our offense tends to get bogged down at times.

I think he does a lot better with pick and pop bigs and a spread offense. Obviously KAT and Reid fit that bill pretty well as bigs, but then you have a defensive dropoff. Ant would look incredible on the Celtics with Porzingas and Horford as the main bigs and a bunch of other guys that can shoot. He'd probably average 6-7 APG in that system if you swapped him in for Jaylen Brown.

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 3:16 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:58 pm

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:10 pm

I happened to see that too. I was originally going to post that here similar with similar sentiments. However...I thought about this more and it can't be that easy. Every team is going to scheme against Edwards. He and Finch have to figure out a way to counter that and be effective. Now...maybe that why Jaden was open/draining 3's...if so, then that was the counter - IDK.

But still - when you are the top dog, obviously teams are going to stack up against you. He was amazing earlier in the game and then disappeared in Q4. It's all part of his learning. I'm not down on him. He's getting there...but still not Kirby Puckett - "jump on my back" just yet. He's getting close though!

When you get doubled you simply need to pass it to the open man. Make teams pay. I don't know if you are too young but Shaq in his prime was the most dominant player in the league. Teams would double in the post and he'd kick it out to open 3 shots with regularity. You simply have to count on your teammates. If they don't get a good look then just maybe the ball gets back to him also. Then it's tougher to double again. Make the defense work.

I remember that, WF. But here's some good news about Ant. Shaq averaged 2.7 assists per game at age 22, and never had more than 3.8 in a season. Ant is already at 5.4 assists per game at 22, and his assists are going up substantially every year. He frustrates me sometimes when he doesn't see an open shooter, but he's already ahead of Shaq, and could easily be a 10-assist guy by the time he hits his prime.

Certainly Ant has the ball much more then Shaq ever did. Shaq had to rely on good post up passes to first get the ball most of the time. He rarely handled the ball like a guard. He probably could have averaged more though. But he was so dominant a lot of times the double simply didn't matter. He'd just bruise his way to the rim and rim rock it. I was a Lakers fan back then. Wolves were my number one, Lakers two. It sucked in 04 and had to root for the Wolves of course and we lost. I kind of quit being a fan of them after. I was pissed at my number two I said Wolves only from then on. lol