Audition night- Bulls/Wolves GDT

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's I didn't watch the final 3 quarters but let's check in on the worst small guard rotation in the NBA DVR Review:

Last 4 games:
Mike Conley:
77 minutes
2.3 ppg
2.0 apg
0.5 stl
3 - 20 fg (15%)

Bones Hyland:
46 minutes
3.0 ppg
2.3 apg
0.3 stl
5 - 13 fg (38.5%) ... he's shooting 2 - 10 over three of those games though.

Total:
123 minutes
21 points
17 assists
24% fg
Per 36: 6 ppg / 5 apg

Rob Dillingham:
#8 pick in the draft.
Wolves gave SAS a 1st rd pick in 2031 and a pick swap for him.
... and yet... he can't get a minute on the court over the two guys above him. More importantly... he doesn't deserve a minute over them based on how they've all played this season.

[Q-is-here]

Yikes Abe!

We have a two-tiered problem. The top tier problem is that our two best players don't take defense seriously often enough. I say that realizing that most high usage players in the NBA averaging 30+ MPG take plays off or lose their man from time to time. It just happens too damn often with Julius and Ant.

The second tier problem is our lack of guard depth, as you have documented above and is plain to see with our own eyes.

A few games ago I thought that solving the second-tier problem would potentially be enough to put us right there with the other contenders. But now that first-tier problem has reared it's ugly head again it makes you realize that Tre Jones or Collin Sexton or Vince Williams, Jr. isn't going to matter if Ant and Julius take more than their fair share of plays off defensively.

[FNG]

Yeah, we got nothing from Mike and Bones last night...2 for 9 on threes, and 0 for 2 on twos. And Clark didn't help much either with another two misses from beyond the arc. I still maintain Ant and Ju were the reason we lost the game...any kind of consistent defense from both of them and average shooting by Ant would have led to a win. But the entire bench other than Naz didn't help at all.

Mike's and Bone's poor performance the past few games brings the Rob issue to the forefront. Why isn't he seeing the court at all. Most on this board think he needs to play, but I am still not in that camp...I like to think I'm pretty smart about basketball, but I'm pretty sure I and others here don't know as much as Finchy and Micah...and they don't think Rob should be playing if we are serious about winning. Time will tell whether this board or the coaching staff is correct about Rob, but in the meantime, I suspect he will continue to be #3 in the PG pecking order. And we're going to need more from Mike and Bones if we want to consider ourselves contenders.

[rapsuperstar31]

Yeah, we got nothing from Mike and Bones last night...2 for 9 on threes, and 0 for 2 on twos. And Clark didn't help much either with another two misses from beyond the arc. I still maintain Ant and Ju were the reason we lost the game...any kind of consistent defense from both of them and average shooting by Ant would have led to a win. But the entire bench other than Naz didn't help at all.

Mike's and Bone's poor performance the past few games brings the Rob issue to the forefront. Why isn't he seeing the court at all. Most on this board think he needs to play, but I am still not in that camp...I like to think I'm pretty smart about basketball, but I'm pretty sure I and others here don't know as much as Finchy and Micah...and they don't think Rob should be playing if we are serious about winning. Time will tell whether this board or the coaching staff is correct about Rob, but in the meantime, I suspect he will continue to be #3 in the PG pecking order. And we're going to need more from Mike and Bones if we want to consider ourselves contenders.

You can handle one of Ant or Randle but it's hard when both are struggling. Donte while he gets the flashy steals and blocks that can be big game changing moments, also has his share of getting way out of position and getting blown by. There is also this.

Jake Paynting
@JakePaynting
We can complain (rightfully) about defense or effort level or shotmaking but the fact is that the wolves are +11 when their starters are on the floor and -10 when a single bench player is in the lineup.

Look at the two benches in this game — it’s a huge problem.

[Wolvesfan21]

Yikes Abe!

We have a two-tiered problem. The top tier problem is that our two best players don't take defense seriously often enough. I say that realizing that most high usage players in the NBA averaging 30+ MPG take plays off or lose their man from time to time. It just happens too damn often with Julius and Ant.

The second tier problem is our lack of guard depth, as you have documented above and is plain to see with our own eyes.

A few games ago I thought that solving the second-tier problem would potentially be enough to put us right there with the other contenders. But now that first-tier problem has reared it's ugly head again it makes you realize that Tre Jones or Collin Sexton or Vince Williams, Jr. isn't going to matter if Ant and Julius take more than their fair share of plays off defensively.

My only counterpoint is this, a PG who could score 15-20 (heck 12 points) on any given night gives Ant and Ju more energy to play defense as they both don't have to score every other time down the court. We'd probably get more easier looks too. Both Ant and Ju in their ISO games take a lot of energy going to the hoop or bullying into the midrange. A good PG will set even them up with wide open looks.

[AussieWolf3]

I wonder if this four-game losing streak and decent into the play-in group will put Julius back in play? Just a few days ago I thought we were locked in with the top six guys, but four straight losses including two very winnable ones is tough to stomach.

You can't have TWO stars whose interest in the details of the game come and go and Connelly ain't trading Ant.

It's particularly tough to stomach after how positive everything was going in January and everyone was sticking with them even after the Rockets and Spurs losses. They needed to come on strong after those losses tho and these two lastest ones have really put things back in doubt again.

I will still go to bat for the top 6 players and say that's it's one of the best in the league but the drop off from there is a major issue

I think we have a starter problem. Our starting PF had 5 turnovers and was a -8. Rudy was a -1. Our star player, Edwards, hit only 36% of his FG attempts and only 1 of his 8 threes while committing 5 personal fouls. He had only one foul shot attempt the entire game. If we’re a championship team our starters have to perform MUCH better than that against a team like the Bulls. Our starters should have dominated that game, leaving enough of a margin for our bench. I’ll add that our best plus-minus player was a bench guy named Naz Reid. It’s becoming clear we can’t count on this group of starters to bring the consistent intensity and judgment needed to complete for a championship. This isn’t fixable with a trade-deadline deal for another bench player. It will require a more substantial set of moves, a mini-overhaul in the off season.

Certainly, adding Tre Jones this season would be a huge improvement over either Conley or Bone - especially over Conley. But Trey Jones or Coby White won’t bump this team into championship contention with the starters we have. I still think this team has championship talent, but the mentality isn’t there. And I’m coming back to my prior thinking that having two ball-dominant, ball-stalling players together (Randle and Ant) doesn’t work.

I should have been more clear, cause no I don't think this is a loss that can be pinned solely on the bench- this was a terrible game by both Ant and Julius.

At macro level tho, yes we can rely on these starters to compete for a championship. The evidence bears that out in their net rating, record against sub .500 teams, and several other factors- the teams starters are playing at a high level over the entirety of the season. Naz is also having a really good season so far.

The area that has consistently fallen short is every rotation spot after the 6th man.

I don't want to get lost in a reactionary jolt against the 4 game skid, even tho I'm very disappointed in the performance of key players last night.