Minnesota Sports Forum

monsterpile wrote:Clarke may still show something. He made a lot of the right rotations and walled up. On offense there were quite a few times. He spaced out to the right spot for a wide open 3 but nobody got it to him. He made a few solid passes to open guys.

Murray was probably the other guy that looked like he had something. Not sure if any of the other bigs did Much in he 2nd half but they had to have been better than Trainwreck Payne.

Clarke was disappointing to me. The couple times I saw him wall up, he did it too early and the guard just went right by him as if he was a statue. Hoping for more from him in the next game.

Q12543 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:Clarke may still show something. He made a lot of the right rotations and walled up. On offense there were quite a few times. He spaced out to the right spot for a wide open 3 but nobody got it to him. He made a few solid passes to open guys.

Murray was probably the other guy that looked like he had something. Not sure if any of the other bigs did Much in he 2nd half but they had to have been better than Trainwreck Payne.

Clarke was disappointing to me. The couple times I saw him wall up, he did it too early and the guard just went right by him as if he was a statue. Hoping for more from him in the next game.

Yeah sometimes that wasn't effective. The question is though was the rotation he made correct but nobody else did their job? We should also remember that 2 of those guards are really good in Mudiay and Harris. From what I read about him in the D league he might be a more effective defender in a system. Good luck with that in SL. Having said all that if I didn't know to be watching for the guy...I wouldn't have known he was there tonight like pretty much everyone else on the floor outside of the guys that have contracts and Murray.

It's one game but it's nice to see Dunn and Tyus have good games especially since they went up against a legit young NBA backcourt duo in Midiay and Harris. Man Dunn REALLY competes defensively. He may have some games where he gets into foul trouble. That's ok.

Dunn was stellar tonight, especially the way he competes. We can use another guy who shows some emotion out there and talks a little smack. Someone compared him to KG in that way, I can see it.

Tyus did some nice things...he looks like he belongs physically a little more.

Payne? Yikes. I just don't think he has it above the neck. Skill wise there is something there, but right now if you can cut bait with him do it. Not the type of guy you want at the end of your bench who might be needed when injuries hit. Would rather have a veteran with less skill but knows his role.

Didn't get a chance to watch the game, seen a lot of positive thoughts on Dunns D and quickness. Any highlights of him taking it to the rim and finishing?

Dunn was everything we hoped he would be really. He was a difference maker defensively and a playmaker offensively. He showed a lot of intensity and swagger and an ability to get to the rim with relative ease. He settled for long twos which wet love in these parts. I think we saw a glimpse of what he can do off the ball and why it can work in stretches with Ricky. Having a secondary guy who can run the offense off a broken play late in the shot clock but can also score/create for himself is something this team has never really had. His ability to attack in these situations can really offset some of the shooting concerns, I think. I believe he can coexist with Ricky. If Ricky can shoot it well off the catch from deep, we are in business.

Oh and Tom Penn is nuts if he thinks Ricky doesn't make his teammates better.

If you didn't watch this game, watch this game (League Pass carries them and you can watch them retroactively online). The boxscore doesn't show how disruptive Dunn was defensively. He wasn't perfect, but against a starting NBA backcourt he knocked passes out of bounds, poked away a lot of balls, contested shots, and anticipated the pick really well while guarding the ballhandler.

Dunn will maximize his size and athleticism at the 1, but he's also clearly capable of playing the 2.

Very enjoyable game. It was odd to me that Dunn and Jones kept getting the ball to Payne, but then it occurred to me that they have practiced for a couple days with this roster and realized how awful the big men are...as terrible as AP was last night, he was the only guy our guards felt comfortable passing to.

But let's focus on the positive.

Dunn was completely unfazed by his first professional game. I noticed when I was in LV last year that almost every rookie looked nothing like he did in college. Not Dunn though...he played every bit as well as he did at Providence. His passing and shooting need work, but the way he uses his length and footwork on defense is exceptional...he is going to be a defensive force even as a rookie. And his handle was very impressive too...got to the rim with ease against real NBA competition and displayed that unbelievable crossover move. I know this is knee-jerk of me, but I predict Dunn will contribute more in his rookie year than the typical rookie...he looks ready.

Jones was night and day better than the guy we saw a year ago. First of all as others have noticed, he looks different...actually has some definition in his arms. Also, his vertical really surprised me last night...where did that come from? His strength and leaping ability were instrumental in his getting 10 rebounds. I also loved the way he attacked and dished into the corner (although his teammates didn't make their corenr threes). I hadn't noticed before how quick his release is on his jumper...needs to make his threes though. He looked bad on one move by Murray but other than that, his defense was acceptable. The kid can play.

Jamal Murray was not very impressive...his stat line wasn't bad, but his lack of athleticism is obvious. And Buddy Hield was terrible in the game after ours...5-20, 1-8 on three pointers and 4 TOs. Here's what I think Thibs was thinking as he watched the action last night:

1) I made the right choice with Dunn at 5...he is substantially better than the guys picked after him.

2) Tyus Jones can play. I have a really nice collection of guards with Rubio, Dunn, Tyus, Zach and Rush.

3) There are no other NBA players on my roster, and unfortunately that includes AP.

khans2k5 wrote:Why does Beasley get to play in summer league for the Rockets? I feel like if you hit the 5K scoring mark in the NBA you shouldn't get to play in the summer league.

Really sad to see. And then he goes 3-15 against a D League front line.

longstrangetrip wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:Why does Beasley get to play in summer league for the Rockets? I feel like if you hit the 5K scoring mark in the NBA you shouldn't get to play in the summer league.

Really sad to see. And then he goes 3-15 against a D League front line.

Look back at that draft there is a lot of sad stories. Meanwhile Westbrook is right now the best player of that draft as of right now by a massive margin.