Minnesota Sports Forum

I'm getting this one started early to share the news that Mcdaniels' covid test was deemed a false positive, and he will be back with the team tonight...great news! I was thinking he'd be out a couple weeks.

After 3 consecutive well-played games, I'm sure a lot of us are looking forward to what our new-look club can do against the Lakers. Just a month ago during the final days of the Saunders era, we were very competitive against them, trailing only by 2 after 3 quarters and eventually losing by only 8. It's foolish to ever predict a win against LeBron, but we're facing them at a very good time. Davis is still out, and Caruso and Gasol have joined him on the injury list. Further, they are not a particularly young team, and played the Warriors just last night. Our team has played very well under Finch the past three games. Is it too much to ask for a victory on the road against the Lakers? Probably. But the bettors on the board might consider throwing a few bucks on the Wolves + 8 1/2.

What kind of defense does Finch throw at LeBron (assuming he plays...if he ever gets a night off, it could be on a back end of a BTB)? Who starts out guarding him, and who else do they use? I'm thinking they may give Ant a chance since the strength of his defense is his on-ball defense and he has the bulk to not get bullied too much. We'll see...should be fun.

I wonder if the board is getting a little too hyped over the last few games. Vegas is usually not swayed by recent fanatical emotion. I agree with FNG though, is the recent play sustainable? I think it's likely the Wolves have turned a corner just a bit. Though prior to Finch the Wolves were in every game down the stretch, just not winning.

Since the layoff and after getting pretty much spanked in the first few games under Finch he was able to get a decent amount of time to spend with the team. Start implementing some of his plays and philosophies. Rubio has been better the last few weeks. Ant has been seemingly been more consistent as well and showing some growth. I think it's reasonable to expect the young guys and rookies to continue to get better over the course of the season. So we should remain at least competitive hopefully for the rest of the season if not play some .500 type of ball.

8.5 seems a little high. I would expect something more like 6.5.

I wonder who the Lakers will attack on defense tonight, they went at Wiseman relentlessly last night. Wiseman is a rookie of course but it was rough to watch, he was getting clowned by a G-league call up at points

Lebron has committed himself to playing every night the rest of the way, one of the few things I like about him. So don't expect him to rest tonight. They will be playing on back to back nights, but they throttled Golden State last night even though they were shorthanded. KAT should be able to have his way without Davis and Gasol in the lineup. Hopefully we can play fast and try to wear down the Lakers a bit. It's a tall order but I think we will be in the game until Lebron and the big market referees insure victory for the home team in the 4th quarter.

WF- of course, we're getting too hyped up after a couple good games...it's what we do! Fortunately we have a few cynics (i.e. realists) on this board to remind us who we really are when we get too optimistic.

Bloop, they did make GS look silly last night, didn't they? One thing that makes me feel a little better about tonight is that the Lakers aren't so ridiculously long without Davis and Gasol in the starting lineup (as I see Cool has already mentioned)...Morris Sr. has alligator arms, and while Jones is long, he is far from an experienced center.

I cant wait to be able to take a piss break and not miss any action while Montrez Harrell shoots his free throws.

Also WolvesFan I dont think I'm overhyped with the last few games. Its just refreshing the competiveness and brand of basketball they been playing since the all star game. Its truly easier to watch a game.

I'm cautiously optimistic. I've been let down a few hundred too many times by this franchise. ;D

I expect to see a lot of Josh Okogie tonight since he will likely be tasked with defending LeBron James most of the game. I don't expect that to be a good thing either being that he's having a poor season.

I just want to see a competitive game where the veterans do their part and a couple of the young guys have semi-big games. Need Anthony Edwards and Jaylen Nowell to keep their positive momentum going.

WolvesFan21 wrote:I'm cautiously optimistic. I've been let down a few hundred too many times by this franchise. ;D

Who'd you root for before 2017?