Game Report - Wolves v. Thunder
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 12:49 am
Target Center was rocking again tonight at a level I haven't seen very often since the KG years. Big and engaged crowed from start to finish.
This was a huge win. The Wolves have been struggling and a very talented Thunder team comes in highly motivated to avenge a their heartbreaking loss to the Wolves in their building. Then the Thunder get an early 10 point lead. But the Wolves fought back and persevered with Butler and Towns leading the way on both ends of the court.
Can't say enough about KAT and Butler. I won't repeat their stats, which speak for themselves. But the stats don't tell you how hard those two guys, especially KAT, had to fight on both ends of the court. KAT was repeatedly being grabbed, held, and smacked by Adams and others. He should have a least five more trips to the line than he got. KAT's clutch three-pointer down the stretch was so huge. You could see when he released the ball that he wasn't going to miss. He's a gamer and he just willed that into the bucket. Jimmy took over from there. Speaking of Butler, I just love the way he plays -- so much grit and heart. It's an entirely different team with him out there. He brings so many things to the team when he's playing -- ballhandling, passing, rebounding, toughness, intelligence, confidence and of course big shot-making ability. His ability to handle the ball and playmake may be his most critical contribution. He takes pressure off Teague, which makes Teague better and he's actually a better passer than Teague. His presence relieves Wiggins of ballhandling responsibilities he would otherwise have.
Speaking of Teague, I thought he was terrific tonight. I watched him closely tonight and saw two things that I think he's struggling with. First, I think he's adjusting to his new team, something that's particularly challenging for a PG. That shouldn't be a surprise. So I see him getting better as he gets more comfortable with the offense and his teammates. Second, he's clearly adjusting to Thibs and that's not easy. I could see him distracted a number of times tonight by Thibs' constant barking from the sideline. Ricky went through that the first half of last season. I also saw the same thing last season with KAT. I'm growing more confident that the best of Teague is yet to come.
Taj was very solid tonight. He's definitely a steadying force on the team.
The bench was disappointing. However, I was surprised Belly didn't get more minutes. He hit a big three and looked solid tonight. Gorgui didn't play particularly well, but that 2-pointer as the clock ran out was clutch. Gorgui's seems to have taken a step back from last season, but again, we have to keep in mind that he's playing with an almost entirely different set of teammates now that he's part of the second team. So he needs to adjust. Watching our bench underscores just how helpful it would have been to sign CJ Miles. I like Crawford, but he's incredibly streaky and tends to take some really poor shots. Bazz gives great effort but clearly hasn't improved his three-point shot or significantly expanded his game.
The pre-game shoot-around was interesting. Jimmy's presence that we see during games extends to pre-game warmups. He struts around with such an air of confidence, but not cockiness. He talks to all his teammates. Interestingly, at one point he started to work with Aldrich on passing out of the post. Aldrich was in the paint and Jimmy was spotting up behind the arc. Butler would tell Cole to pass him the ball with Jimmy repeatedly talking to Cole and having him do the drill over and over until Cole consistently delivered the ball exactly where Jimmy wanted it in his shooting motion. Then he had Cole come out to guard him and Jimmy got Cole to foul on a pump fake. Fun to watch. Wiggins spend a lot of time during the shoot-around working on his foul shot. At one point, Towns came out and stood next to him giving him pointers and giving him encouragement. I see some nice team chemistry forming on this team.
Anyway, it was a fun game and a great win. We're 3-3 now. Although it's hard to forget those previous two embarrassing performances by our Wolves, tonight's performance was encouraging.
This was a huge win. The Wolves have been struggling and a very talented Thunder team comes in highly motivated to avenge a their heartbreaking loss to the Wolves in their building. Then the Thunder get an early 10 point lead. But the Wolves fought back and persevered with Butler and Towns leading the way on both ends of the court.
Can't say enough about KAT and Butler. I won't repeat their stats, which speak for themselves. But the stats don't tell you how hard those two guys, especially KAT, had to fight on both ends of the court. KAT was repeatedly being grabbed, held, and smacked by Adams and others. He should have a least five more trips to the line than he got. KAT's clutch three-pointer down the stretch was so huge. You could see when he released the ball that he wasn't going to miss. He's a gamer and he just willed that into the bucket. Jimmy took over from there. Speaking of Butler, I just love the way he plays -- so much grit and heart. It's an entirely different team with him out there. He brings so many things to the team when he's playing -- ballhandling, passing, rebounding, toughness, intelligence, confidence and of course big shot-making ability. His ability to handle the ball and playmake may be his most critical contribution. He takes pressure off Teague, which makes Teague better and he's actually a better passer than Teague. His presence relieves Wiggins of ballhandling responsibilities he would otherwise have.
Speaking of Teague, I thought he was terrific tonight. I watched him closely tonight and saw two things that I think he's struggling with. First, I think he's adjusting to his new team, something that's particularly challenging for a PG. That shouldn't be a surprise. So I see him getting better as he gets more comfortable with the offense and his teammates. Second, he's clearly adjusting to Thibs and that's not easy. I could see him distracted a number of times tonight by Thibs' constant barking from the sideline. Ricky went through that the first half of last season. I also saw the same thing last season with KAT. I'm growing more confident that the best of Teague is yet to come.
Taj was very solid tonight. He's definitely a steadying force on the team.
The bench was disappointing. However, I was surprised Belly didn't get more minutes. He hit a big three and looked solid tonight. Gorgui didn't play particularly well, but that 2-pointer as the clock ran out was clutch. Gorgui's seems to have taken a step back from last season, but again, we have to keep in mind that he's playing with an almost entirely different set of teammates now that he's part of the second team. So he needs to adjust. Watching our bench underscores just how helpful it would have been to sign CJ Miles. I like Crawford, but he's incredibly streaky and tends to take some really poor shots. Bazz gives great effort but clearly hasn't improved his three-point shot or significantly expanded his game.
The pre-game shoot-around was interesting. Jimmy's presence that we see during games extends to pre-game warmups. He struts around with such an air of confidence, but not cockiness. He talks to all his teammates. Interestingly, at one point he started to work with Aldrich on passing out of the post. Aldrich was in the paint and Jimmy was spotting up behind the arc. Butler would tell Cole to pass him the ball with Jimmy repeatedly talking to Cole and having him do the drill over and over until Cole consistently delivered the ball exactly where Jimmy wanted it in his shooting motion. Then he had Cole come out to guard him and Jimmy got Cole to foul on a pump fake. Fun to watch. Wiggins spend a lot of time during the shoot-around working on his foul shot. At one point, Towns came out and stood next to him giving him pointers and giving him encouragement. I see some nice team chemistry forming on this team.
Anyway, it was a fun game and a great win. We're 3-3 now. Although it's hard to forget those previous two embarrassing performances by our Wolves, tonight's performance was encouraging.