Minnesota Sports Forum

I'm 1 for 1 this year starting game day threads (Sixers, but still, we hardly ever win at home), so I figure we need a perfect record going against the red hot, NINE IN A ROW winning, Rockets. So lets get to it.

In this corner, the road team:





VS

The home team:





Zach Lavine is killin' it. 'Nuff said. Merry Christmas.

Keys to the game:

Score more points than they do. We need this one. Plain and simple. They played last night. Run 'em off the court. Lets do this.

You're a brave man starting up this GDT, misty...this is a tough matchup tonight. Our only hope I think is the weather...maybe those southern boys had some travel issues and will freak out over the bitter cold. Otherwise this has all the markings of a blowout loss against the hottest team in basketball. 9 wins in a row, and 14 out of their last 16, and they won their last two games by 34 and 22! Houston is putting up 3-pointers at a record pace...they made 24 out of 61 (!) last night and have 4 players hoisting up more than 6 per game (the Wolves have 1). And despite having a defense some of us mocked at the start of the year and playing at a frantic pace, they are giving up fewer points per game than the defensive savant Thibs-led Wolves.

Can we take some hope from the fact they played last night? Nope...they coasted to victory last night, and are 4-0 in the back halves of BTBs this year. Even worse, Thibs was quoted in the paper yesterday saying he was happy his team had this gap in their schedule so he could conduct two tough back-to-back practices. Terrific...tired Wolves legs trying to chase Houston's 3-point shooters off the line. Be thankful you have that Christmas party to go to tonight, boys...this one is going to bring out the Scrooge in all of us.

We keep talking about needing more bulk and strength on our squad to improve defensively, yet here is Houston with Ryan Anderson and Clint Capela - two guys I'd hardly call "strong and bulky" - anchoring their front line. Oh, and they have Harden, a notoriously lazy defender at times. Yet here they are right in the middle of the pack defensively and one of the top teams in the West.

While I do sympathize with the sentiment that we need to get bigger and tougher across the board defensively, it feels like we have pretty much every other base covered in terms of the raw ingredients required for a good defense: Length, agility, athleticism, speed. It's defensive IQ and "want to" that's missing more than bulk and strength.

Q12543 wrote:We keep talking about needing more bulk and strength on our squad to improve defensively, yet here is Houston with Ryan Anderson and Clint Capela - two guys I'd hardly call "strong and bulky" - anchoring their front line. Oh, and they have Harden, a notoriously lazy defender at times. Yet here they are right in the middle of the pack defensively and one of the top teams in the West.

While I do sympathize with the sentiment that we need to get bigger and tougher across the board defensively, it feels like we have pretty much every other base covered in terms of the raw ingredients required for a good defense: Length, agility, athleticism, speed. It's defensive IQ and "want to" that's missing more than bulk and strength.

I seem to remember some advanced stats loved Capela last year espcially defensively. It also doesn't hurt to have a long athletic vet defensive wing player like Arica on your squad. I know his defensive chops have been questioned here and there over the years but I'd guess he helps on that end. If you score efficiently it can help your defense. My guess is Houston has been hitting on all cylinders in that end most of the year.

Gonna be a long night if Ricky and Anderson are going to trade 3's

team defensive is progressing, good stuff

LST, are we out of the woods yet concerning our tired legs? Looked pretty fresh the first half. Or if they come out flat this half is it possible the effects of the long grueling practices take time to take hold of the young puppies?

Hmmm...

Towns wow. He keeps this up this game is ours. Amazing so far. Good D by Wiggins on Harden too in spurts.

Oh Bazz, send him out on Houston's bus.