Minnesota Sports Forum

Q-was-here wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Abe's Late Late Night DVR Review (and Nap):

- I fell asleep after playing hoops, woke up, started watching... fell back asleep... woke up... fell back asleep... you get the point.

- The Timberwolves seem to be figuring things out. I really like that they didn't settle for Wednesday's "moral victory." Fuck moral victories. Win games. Even games when you're down double digits late on the back end of a back-to-back. Playoff teams win those games (sometimes).

- But... I noticed Naz Reid looked lousy. Yuck.

- The Timberwolves didn't play defense in the 1st half. But sounds like that turned around in the 4th quarter. WOW.

- And apparently, we saw Russell carry the team to victory (during one of my longer naps). Obviously, he has it in him. He's done it before. HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH... especially when it comes with its own unique sort of baggage. I feel like his situation is hanging over the team (or at least the fanbase) right now.

- Kyle Anderson sneakily has helped save the season. He's had one other run in his career where he was a more integral part of the offense. Eventually, he hit a bit of a wall, but the guy is one of the better plug-and-play guys in the Association right now. He can fill so many different roles. I just worry about how his game will be once the athleticism is gone. ahem.

- Toronto confuses me. They seem to have a legit starting 5, but they're only 20 - 26.

Anunoby (would bring back a ton in a trade)
Siakam (25/8/6) right now!
Barnes (prized 2nd year player, ROY)
Gary Trent
VanVleet

Now... the bench is BAD. The starters simply play too many minutes (Fred, OG and Pascal all play 36+ mpg). And there must be a fit issue going on, too. They have a bunch of long-limbed guys who can do multiple things surrounding a pint-sized PG who can't finish inside. Every time I think it will work... it doesn't quite get done. Case in point... yesterday.

- Please Mr. Timberwolves Players... don't let up vs. the woeful Houston Rockets. That would be so Wolvesian of you. Don't be like that. Be better. We deserve it.

Thanks guys!

I found myself thinking the same thing about Toronto....Seems like they should be better than they are, as they have a number of coveted assets. I think their problem is similar to ours: They rarely have a guy that is clearly the best player on the floor on any given night. Add a legit star to their team and they could make a lot more noise in the East.

Camden wrote:Oof. Here we go again.

Start and finish with your best players. D'Angelo Russell is one of them for this team. It's as simple as that.

kekgeek1 wrote:

Camden wrote:Oof. Here we go again.

Start and finish with your best players. D'Angelo Russell is one of them for this team. It's as simple as that.

I am not even trolling. Do you think he is better than Slow Mo. I think Dlo should 100% be an option down the stretch. He is either 5th or 6th on the team in my opinion on value and importance. I don't even think that is a rip.

I think we would all agree that Ant/Mcdaniels/Gobert/Kat are closing games, 99% of the time. I am cool with closing with either Dlo or Slow Mo to end the game. Each have their unique skill set to help win games.

I actually both players can be and have proven they can be really freaking good. I just don't think it is that big of a slight that there could be games Slow Mo should close over Dlo.

Camden wrote:- Kyle Anderson is connective tissue. He's a high-quality role player that looks and plays better than he actually is when he plays next to better players. He's been absolutely critical to this team with Karl-Anthony Towns out and the praise he receives is mostly-deserved. However, he's realistically the sixth-best player on the team. We're now shifting into similar territory this board was in when those here were wanting an expanded role for Jordan McLaughlin. This fan base has an obsession with role players.

- It shouldn't be a hot take to say that a team that rosters D'Angelo Russell should play him in clutch situations, or down the final stretch in fourth quarters. Russell is by far this team's best clutch performer and has consistently been among the game's elite late game performers over the last five years. This season, he's 10th in fourth quarter scoring among guards. He's second among guards in true shooting percentage in the frame (62.8%). He's ninth among all players in fourth quarter assists and seventh in three-pointers made. Play your best players when it counts most.

- What an odd and unjustifiable comment to make. I could just as easily say that "____ is going to realize eventually that he places a lower value on D-Lo than nearly every other actual NBA GM." Firstly, there's no way to know the truth so essentially you're just taking a dig at me for having an opposing view of the roster. Secondly, I have consistently maintained the view that Russell is a good-not-great player, which does come with flaws. However, we have reached a point where his very real strengths aren't being valued nearly enough or barely at all. That's evident in this very thread. Unbelievable. The timing you guys have is great too. Can't even just enjoy the win. You go right back to it.

Q-was-here wrote:

Camden wrote:- Kyle Anderson is connective tissue. He's a high-quality role player that looks and plays better than he actually is when he plays next to better players. He's been absolutely critical to this team with Karl-Anthony Towns out and the praise he receives is mostly-deserved. However, he's realistically the sixth-best player on the team. We're now shifting into similar territory this board was in when those here were wanting an expanded role for Jordan McLaughlin. This fan base has an obsession with role players.

- It shouldn't be a hot take to say that a team that rosters D'Angelo Russell should play him in clutch situations, or down the final stretch in fourth quarters. Russell is by far this team's best clutch performer and has consistently been among the game's elite late game performers over the last five years. This season, he's 10th in fourth quarter scoring among guards. He's second among guards in true shooting percentage in the frame (62.8%). He's ninth among all players in fourth quarter assists and seventh in three-pointers made. Play your best players when it counts most.

- What an odd and unjustifiable comment to make. I could just as easily say that "____ is going to realize eventually that he places a lower value on D-Lo than nearly every other actual NBA GM." Firstly, there's no way to know the truth so essentially you're just taking a dig at me for having an opposing view of the roster. Secondly, I have consistently maintained the view that Russell is a good-not-great player, which does come with flaws. However, we have reached a point where his very real strengths aren't being valued nearly enough or barely at all. That's evident in this very thread. Unbelievable. The timing you guys have is great too. Can't even just enjoy the win. You go right back to it.

Heh, figured I'd get your goat!

I'm totally open to being wrong here and I wish no ill-will toward DLO (or you for that matter). I'm just telling you that I think you value him more than the rest of the NBA front offices. We will find out how he is actually valued either by what we get back in a trade and/or whatever kind of contract he signs this offseason and what role he plays on his next team. That is all TBD...

Camden wrote:By Abe's own wacky methodology, Brandon Clarke is hereby better than Darius Garland and should be valued appropriately. I will hear no counterarguments to suggest otherwise. The case is closed.

Hear me out... sometimes we have to know and understand basketball concepts to apply the data that we find. We also need to value both ends of the floor, understandably. For the most part, we do an excellent job of that here. When it comes to D'Angelo Russell... not so much. His offensive impact is often marginalized and his defensive mistakes are typically exaggerated leaving a distorted impression of his overall impact. Sorry to say, but suggesting that Kyle Anderson and/or Jordan McLaughlin are better than him and should play at more crucial times in the game is not a great take. It just comes across as more anti-Russell rhetoric.

With that said, enjoy your "I Hate D-Lo" club with LST (FNG? LST? FNG?) as your chairman. You guys should make T-shirts. I shouldn't have participated in this nonsense. See you all here for tomorrow's game thread so we can discuss if Austin Rivers is better than Russell too.