Minnesota Sports Forum

Tonight marks a big game for our beloved (or sincerely loathed) Wolves as they take on the Bucks. Not only is this the first road game of the year, but it's also their first game coming off of a loss. How they compete in this one will speak volumes, I feel. Will they allow their frustrations to mount and result in the start of a losing streak? Or will they exude an unfamiliar mental fortitude that allows them to compete and potentially steal one against the reigning champs?

As I stated in another thread, this game is entirely winnable. Minnesota's relatively healthy whereas Milwaukee will be without Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and Donte DiVincenzo. Those are some heavy hitters for the Bucks. Obviously, Milwaukee still has Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton playing tonight and beating this team will not be easy whatsoever.

I think the key tonight will be to suppress Middleton's scoring output and/or efficiency. I also think Minnesota needs to dominate points off the bench. Malik Beasley and Naz Reid need to fill it up and prove to be an advantage in this one. However, none of that matters if the Wolves "big three" disappoints. We need a more disciplined Karl-Anthony Towns. We need a much more efficient and impactful D'Angelo Russell. And we need a more aggressive and engaged Anthony Edwards from start to finish.

I'll add that it'd be nice to Jaden McDaniels crack double digit scoring tonight. Bang in a couple threes and get out in transition.

Camden0916 wrote:I'll add that it'd be nice to Jaden McDaniels crack double digit scoring tonight. Bang in a couple threes and get out in transition.

Yeah more ball movement should get him a few more shots. He definitely has to be more aggressive though. Apart from his perimeter D hes been not very noticeable out there.

We get the world champs tonight, but with Lopez, Holiday and Donte out, it's a winnable game. 3-1 with a signature road win would be meaningful.

Tonight I'm most interested in seeing what impact, if any, Ant's post gamer has. I swear he must have mentioned Josh Okogie 20 times ("he's out there guarding their best man every night, and we're not getting him shots", so I expect him to be looking for JO. Obviously I don't know if that's a good thing, but I know Josh does. Like Cam, I would like to see Jaden show a little more on offense (his defense continues to be stellar), and I wouldn't be surprised to see Ant feeding him in the corner too- he should be open. I will be surprised if we don't see a lot more ball movement tonight.

Then again, I'm interested in seeing how Dlo and KAT respond to Ant's interview. Does it fire them up, and do they respond with better games? Or as veterans, do they resent a 20-year-old calling then out? We'll have to see.

It's good for our size deficiency that Lopez is out, but unfortunately fan favorite Bobby Portis returns-he feeds off that Milwaukee crowd, and he could have a field day on the offensive boards against us. And it's good DLo doesn't have to go up against Holiday, but George Hill is a more than capable backup PG. I can't believe the Bucks added pesky Grayson Allen to a bench that already has Portis and Connaughton- the rich get richer.

I don't think we win this one, but I at least want to see a better showing than the last game.

I hate these games between my favorite teams. Please tell me when it's over.

Like to see Okogie guard Giannis. Jaden and V-8 are easily overpowered.

Like to see Okogie deny him the ball as much as possible. Jaden can guard Middleton.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:I hate these games between my favorite teams. Please tell me when it's over.

You can't lose, Cool. Wait, you can't win. Oh, I don't know.

So Ant won't be finding JO early in the game because Finch is going bigger with Vando at the 4. Who gets to guard Giannis...Vando or Jaden? Or even KAT?

Russell
Edwards
McDaniels
Vanderbilt
Towns

Thank God. Finally. Enough with the Josh Okogie experiments.

Two early defensive rebounds for Vando. Weird.

D-Lo's hot to start this one. Finally.