Minnesota Sports Forum

Nice win tonight in front of a vocal, near capacity crowd.

I'm not going to go overboard praising the Wolves for this one. This was a game the Wolves had to win if they want to be a contender this season in the West - playing at home against a less talented team that came in on a back to back without their best player. But I will say that this was the Wolves best team defensive performance of the season by far. I liked the defensive intensity from everyone (except Wiggins). Our guys were getting up tight on the ball-handler, fighting effectively through screens, largely not biting on pump fakes being scrappy.

The keys tonight individually were Towns and our bench.

I can't say enough about how great KAT was tonight. His 26 points, 16 rebounds and 2 blocks speak for themselves, but he was actually better than his stat line. His defense wasn't just better, it was tremendous. He played like a man possessed on both ends -- which is actually typical for him. The difference tonight was that he was much smarter on the defensive end, not biting on pump fakes, and playing within the defensive scheme. Just far fewer defensive mistakes. There was one time he complained about a no-call (a very legitimate complaint) and didn't get back on defense. Thibs called a timeout after that play and really lit into KAT as he came to the bench. That was the last and only time Towns didn't hustle back on defense. :) Thibs praised KAT after the game and mentioned that he "made plays" for others tonight -- another way in which Towns was better than his box score. Tonight's game was yet another example of the fact that this is KAT's team. He's the guy who fights every single possession and gets the team countless possessions through his rebounding or by keeping balls alive for Taj or others to get. At the same time he consistently carries the scoring load with big and highly efficient scoring numbers. You have to see him live to fully appreciate him as you watch him battle for every rebound, fight for position offensively, move without the ball from low to high and back low again and from one side to the other, all the while getting beat by defenders but even getting calls non-stars should get. Happy 22nd birthday to KAT!

The bench was terrific tonight, igniting this team in the 2nd quarter and building a 13 or 14-point lead at the half. Belly, Bazz, Tyus and Crawford -- especially Belly -- were terrific. In case you haven't noticed, Belly is having a stellar season so far and tonight was probably his best game so far. He is playing with so much confidence and he's getting it done on both ends. And I want to give special recognition to Tyus. His box score wouldn't blow you away, but he does a really nice job running the offense and making plays. He plays with better awareness and pace than Teague and his defense is actually pretty good. Finally, it was great to see Bazz hitting shots. The guy next to me looked at Bazz when he first came on the court and said, "he has that look in his eyesm so he should have a break-out game tonight." I didn't notice the look, but I noticed how Bazz played. Great to see him hit his first three of the season. He also played with his usual passion and energy, crashing the boards and really hustling defensively. He also continued to show off some new-found passing skills we've already seen this season from him.

As for the starters other than KAT, everyone but Wiggins played really well. Even Butler, whose shooting was horrific, was excellent defensively and played with great energy chasing down rebounds and loose balls while deflecting passes and generally harassing the Spurs. Taj was steady eddy again tonight. He's so solid and really helped the team tonight with his rebounding, defensive and timely buckets. Teague continued to overdribble tonight and missed opportunities to hit KAT before defenders closed in on him in the low post. But he hit some big shots, played well defensively and had some nice assists. I love that we can rely on him to hit big shots. Sorry, Ricky. :(.

Wiggins made a couple nice passes, including that pass to Teague for a corner 3 in the 4th quarter. But otherwise, Wiggins was terrible tonight. And it wasn't just his shooting. He was the old, low-energy soft self tonight. It didn't go unnoticed. A couple other guys sitting near me were keeping count of the times he just stood and watched loose balls and missed shots in his area without making any effort to pursue them. He generally stood around in the half court offense. It was such a contrast to all the other Wolves players as all the others played with high energy and passion from start to finish. The consensus among some fans near me was that Wiggins must have enjoyed some weed before the game because nothing else could explain how mellow he was tonight. :). Who knows. He is so talented, but he so often just doesn't seem to engage with emotion or motion. It was another one of those games tonight for him. Thankfully, he was the only and I mean only downer in what was otherwise, a terrific night for the Wolves.

So we're 9-5 now. Our next three games are Dallas on the road, followed by Detroit at home and Charlotte on the road in that order. I didn't expect the Pistons to be as good as they've been this season and Dallas will be out for retribution this Friday after losing here earlier this season. We play the Hornets as the 2nd of back-to-back games. So this three-game stretch will be challenging. But I expect us to win at least two of these three.

Thanks for the report Lip. Nice to finally see a strong defensive effort.

Great report Lip. Yeah, Wiggins was not very noticeable last night except when he was clanking difficult jumpers. He finally managed to bank one in by accident and then later made a corner 3 when the game was no longer in doubt. He did make that one nice pass late in the game that led to a Teague dagger 3.

KAT was definitely much better defensively last night. The Spurs are not a great offensive team without Kawhi, but they are so good at moving the ball and making the extra pass. You really have to stay disciplined against them.

Butler is now at a career low in TS%. We aren't going to hang with the big boys (a full strength San Antonio squad, Houston, Golden State, may be OKC as they get their act together) if our two wings keep clanking shots. Hopefully Butler regresses (or is it progresses?) to his mean.

Bjelly is increasingly looking like a great pick with that 2nd rounder all those years ago. I know there was quite a lot of skepticism by some, but he has really put it all together to be a very good bench contributor. Big, big game from him last night.

Lip, you captured a lot of things I was going to include in a report...nice job! I'm glad you mentioned Butler's contribution on a ridiculously bad shooting night (2-13, and he's now under 40% on the season!). But Jimmy is a player you really have to see in person to fully appreciate him...his defensive skill and intensity is extraordinary. His ability to totally shut down Danny Green (Green's points were largely when Jimmy was out or after the game was decided) while still providing terrific help and directing traffic on defense is fun to watch...he is struggling with his shot, but he is truly a special player.

On the negative side, I thought this was the worst I have ever seen Wiggins in person. After actually showing some spark in rotating defensively early in the game, he played like a guy who just didn't care for 80% of the game...really disappointing. Just like I think you have to watch Butler in person to appreciate his greatness, you have to see Andrew in person to appreciate his lethargy. It's just bizarre at times. Maybe he was ill last night...I really hope so, because he brought nothing most of the game. I focused on Belly the couple times he was matched up defensively with a SF, and I thought he did okay. I hope Thibs was watching too, and that he starts giving Belly some minutes at SF on nights like this where Wig is absent physically and mentally.

But why dwell on negatives on such a wonderful night...after 12 consecutive losses to the Spurs, it was great to see Pop pull his starters with 2 minutes left in the game! It was great to see Thibs remember that he has more than 5 guys on his roster :)...an unusually high 67 minutes for the bench despite Gorgui being out again (but still not enough, in my opinion)...and the bench responded with a +35 (the starters were +25). It's fun to see the energy level pick up when Crawford, Bazz, Tyus and Belly are on the court. Good game for the bench, and a good game for Thibs!

Lip has talked about how great KAT was tonight and you guys all saw it too, so nothing to add here...nice birthday game for a gifted player! Thanks to Lip for pointing out a very important part of last night's game...Thibs getting in KAT's face after the big guy "Kevin Loved" and didn't get back on defense while whining about a call. Accountability!

So, this team is now 9-5 despite Butler shooting a career-low 39.7% and Wig sporting a 14.76 PER. I just can't help thinking that these two guys are going to start picking things up, and if so, there are some very good times ahead for this squad.

Wiggins had a few plays I specifically remember in the 1st quarter where he was going after loose balls and rebounds. After that may have been when his effort earned but the effort he gave in the first quarter was more than he gave in the past. Just sayin.

Still dig these reports, Lip. A few comments:

- It's interesting -- and telling -- that some things are so obvious, whether watching in person or on tv. KAT's energy was noticeable. While that one whining play behind the scenes was quite Kevin Love-esque, he played with seemingly newfound intensity and purpose last night. He made the extra pass a couple of times. And he seemed to play "smarter" defensively. There was some commentary/video of him recently that showed how he's so enamored with blocks he can never get... which leaves his guy to pick up the bunny rebound putback. I didn't notice that last night. Overall, just a very solid game by what should become a very very good overall player.

- Butler showed us how to make a difference despite shooting like Ricky Rubio at his worst. Seriously, some of his jumpers never seemed to get above 9'11" at any point in its trajectory. I'm pretty confident he'll get in the flow more offensively. As noted, 9 - 5 is a good record considering the team's current best player has been less than his best.

- Conversely, I'm ready for the next "Wiggins is a Disappointment" thread whenever we want to revisit it. And I think we should just bump that one instead of making a new one. It'll be easier to just bump specific posts in it with "x2" instead of rewriting the same criticisms. Some players simply level off as players. Or they are one-dimensional types. Nothing wrong with that necessarily. Wiggins can be an explosive scorer and has the BEST spin move in the league. But that's what he is. That's basically all he is. That has a place in this league for sure... even on a solid team. But to pay $150M for that? Waiting in futility for another level? That's where the problem comes.

- Tyus Jones is playing slightly more aggressive of late. I dug him looking for the pullup jumper and pushing the ball and hit a cutting Bjelicia for a dunk on the break. Not making that pass remains my biggest Teague/Rubio gripe.

- Belly. I dig. He's figured out how the NBA works to be a more consistent "plus" player on both ends of the court. His stroke looks better. He's picking his spots well. Fingers crossed, but I'm digging him in most of these games.

- Muhammad got an assist last night. WHOA! To be fair, there's no confirmation it wasn't an accident.

- 40+ minutes for KAT in back-to-back games that weren't particularly close. No. Stop. Please.

Very good analysis, abe...nothing I disagree with. The Bazz assist was certainly not a mistake, it was lovely...further, he had a couple other "hockey assists" where his uncharacteristic ball movement led to an open shot. Really good to see.

Yes, 40 minute games for KAT are not sustainable. In all fairness to Thibs, Gorgui's injury is difficult to navigate. But the Taj/Belly pairing or even using Cole in limited minutes are viable options...both better than wearing KAT out. I note that despite his terrific offensive game and some impressive "jump outs" on PnR's, he also appeared tired at times in the second half and his defense lapsed accordingly...it's not surprising to me that he had the worst plus/minus on the team.

longstrangetrip wrote:Very good analysis, abe...nothing I disagree with. The Bazz assist was certainly not a mistake, it was lovely...further, he had a couple other "hockey assists" where his uncharacteristic ball movement led to an open shot. Really good to see.

Yes, 40 minute games for KAT are not sustainable. In all fairness to Thibs, Gorgui's injury is difficult to navigate. But the Taj/Belly pairing or even using Cole in limited minutes are viable options...both better than wearing KAT out. I note that despite his terrific offensive game and some impressive "jump outs" on PnR's, he also appeared tired at times in the second half and his defense lapsed accordingly...it's not surprising to me that he had the worst plus/minus on the team.

I've commented a lot recently on Kat. But man he was amazing last night. That is probably where my frustration comes from because if he plays like he did last night he is so damn good.

You are both right about Kat and 40 minutes that is to much. But it is hard when gorgui and cole (somehow) were out hurt. And taj early foul trouble.

Going into the season I thought PF was our weakest position. But Taj has been more than I could have asked for, 14 mil probably a little much (still fine with the deal) but he has been huge for this team. Belly playing amazing and paying him this offseason could be difficult

Question for Lip and LST does it feel like a home court advantage again. They said it was a sold out game on Wednesday night. That's impressive

kekgeek1 wrote:Question for Lip and LST does it feel like a home court advantage again. They said it was a sold out game on Wednesday night. That's impressive

Good question, kek. I'm interested in what Lip says, because he has gone to most or all home games, and I've only been to the Utah, Pacers and Spurs games. I think the answer is mixed. On one hand, it's difficult to ignore the fact that we are undefeated at home when Butler plays...that sounds like home court advantage! And I felt like the atmosphere at the Utah game was playoff like, and the atmosphere last night was pretty good. But the arena was dead for the Pacers game, and we simply can't let that happen. I think as this club continues to win, the excitement level will build and we will have more Jazz-like crowds and fewer Pacer-like crowds. This town is hungry for a basketball winner, and I think will respond appropriately once they get over their skepticism and see that this team is the real deal. And won't that be fun!!!

Edit: To further explain, I monitor crowd noise using a very sophisticated measurement called the Thibsometer. If I can hear Thibs the whole game, the crowd isn't loud enough. I never heard him once during the Utah game, but last night there were moments when the barking was on full display. We need a goal of more nights where the crowd drowns out the coach!