State of the Wolves 4 Games In
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2021 11:58 pm
OK, we have a really small sample size to work with after only 4 games, but what the heck. Actually, I think it's appropriate to include the 4 preseason games as well since the way the team played in preseason is consistent with the way they've played so far in the regular season. So I'd say we have an 8 game sample to work with.
WHAT I EXPECTED
There are some things we've seen that I expected based on what we saw late last season after Finch arrived. I expected the Wolves to play with pace and they definitely have. I expected Edwards to be a dynamic offensive player and that's what he's been so far his season. I expected KAT to get 25 efficient points and night because that's what he's always done since he came to the NBA. I also expected him to play fairly well defensively because he's shown marked improvement on that end of the floor the last couple years. I expected Vando to be a high-energy, rebounding Rodman-like player because that's what we saw last last season and that was actually the book on him coming into the League. I expected Beverley to be a high-energy, feisty talkative defender and team leader because that's who he is and it was obvious that he'd fit that role well with the Wolves. I also expected McDaniels to be an excellent, smart defender and good rebounder because that's what he was last season. So in those respects, I haven't been surprised.
POSITIVE SURPRISE -- DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
Although I expected defensive improvement from KAT and new that the presence of Beverley would help defensively, I never expected to see what we've seen so far from our Wolves. I did not expect to see this team play relentless, stifling defense and be among the best defensive teams statistically. I new Beverley would be very good defensively and that KAT would be decent based on what we saw from his last season. But I didn't expect KAT to be this good. And I knew Edwards had the physical potential to be a great defense, but I wasn't ready to expect that from him; yet he's been stellar defensively so far this season and preseason. Of course, I wasn't expecting much from DLO defensively, but he's been more than OK on that end of the floor; he's been really good. So now we have Edwards, KAT and DLO playing well defensively on top of the players we expected to be good defensively - Beverley, Okogie, Vanderbilt and McDaniels. Put it all together and you have a 3-1 team that hasn't played particularly well on the offensive end.
There's been a lot of discussion on this Board about the importance of developing a team identity and the fact that the Wolves haven't had one. I think we've all suspected that the team might eventually develop an identity as a fast-paced, high-scoring offensive team that needs to score a lot of points to win. That seems to have been the vision Rosas had for this team. But this team has thrown us an unexpected curve ball. I see the Wolves developing an identity as a relentless, attacking, ball-hawking defensive team that keeps opposing offensive players uncomfortable. I see an uber-talented 19-year old who has just discovered something called defense and realizes that he loves it. You probably all read his comment from yesterday about this team having the best defense in the NBA. You could see in his comments the sense of pride and joy he feels in the way he and the team generally has been playing defensively. He's our second-best player now and will eventually be our best player. So to see him not only playing stellar defense but taking great pride in it tells me that what we've seen so far from this team defensively is real and sustainable. I love the fact that DLO, while struggling offensively in the team's first three games, played constantly hard and well on the defensive end. He could have moped and sulked, but instead he stayed fully engaged defensively.
We'll see how the defense holds up over the course of the NBA grind and against the better teams in the League. But so far, the development of an identify as a defensive team is the biggest reason for optimism about the Wolves.
NEGATIVES SURPRISES
The only negative surprise thus far has been the team's offensive struggles. We expected a high-scoring team with defensive struggles and so far we have a defensive team that has struggled offensively. There are two main pieces to the team's offensive struggles. The first is the surprisingly poor offense from to of our best offensive talents - DLO and Beasley. DLO seemed to have come out of his offensive slump against Milwaukee although his 3-point shooting remained sub-par. Beasley has yet to get his shot back, although I like his hustle and improved passing. The good news is that both players have a long enough track record of offensive success to be confident that they will both come around and shoot the ball the way they always have throughout their careers. That's an exciting prospect because if we truly are the defensive team we appear to be, then this team will be really good once they start getting the offense from DLO and Beasley that we expected along with the offense we've been getting and should continue getting from KAT and Edwards. The other piece of our offensive woes is the lack of offensive firepower once you get beyond KAT, Edwards, DLO and Beasley. Beverley will give us some 3-point shooting. But what will we get from Price? Will McDaniels develop the 3 part of the 3&D player I believe he can be? Is there anyone else on this roster who can develop into an offensive threat? Those questions will be important ones going forward, but not nearly as important as we might have thought if the team's defense remains at the level it's been at this first 8 games.
REBOUNDING
To me, this is the team's biggest problem and it's Achilles heel. As expected, the Wolves have been terrible on the boards so far this season, except for last night's game against the Bucks. There is only so much Finch can do with this roster. But the one thing he has to do -- and that he did last night -- is put Vanderbilt in the starting line up with McDaniels and play those guys 30+ minutes a game. Those two together gave the Wolves the edge on the boards last night after getting crushed on the boards the previous two games. Unfortunately, that tandem wont' be enough against teams with more size. I love Vanderbilt's energy, athleticism, nose for the ball and fearlessness crashing the boards and McDaniels is a solid rebounder with terrific length and athleticism. But they're both under 200 pounds and Vando's standing reach is under 9'0. At some point, this team needs to add size to hold its own on the boards and have a good shot at being a playoff team.
So those are my thoughts on the state of the Timberwolves after 4 regular season and 4 preseason games. My thoughts might be entirely different 8 games down the road. But so far, so good.
WHAT I EXPECTED
There are some things we've seen that I expected based on what we saw late last season after Finch arrived. I expected the Wolves to play with pace and they definitely have. I expected Edwards to be a dynamic offensive player and that's what he's been so far his season. I expected KAT to get 25 efficient points and night because that's what he's always done since he came to the NBA. I also expected him to play fairly well defensively because he's shown marked improvement on that end of the floor the last couple years. I expected Vando to be a high-energy, rebounding Rodman-like player because that's what we saw last last season and that was actually the book on him coming into the League. I expected Beverley to be a high-energy, feisty talkative defender and team leader because that's who he is and it was obvious that he'd fit that role well with the Wolves. I also expected McDaniels to be an excellent, smart defender and good rebounder because that's what he was last season. So in those respects, I haven't been surprised.
POSITIVE SURPRISE -- DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
Although I expected defensive improvement from KAT and new that the presence of Beverley would help defensively, I never expected to see what we've seen so far from our Wolves. I did not expect to see this team play relentless, stifling defense and be among the best defensive teams statistically. I new Beverley would be very good defensively and that KAT would be decent based on what we saw from his last season. But I didn't expect KAT to be this good. And I knew Edwards had the physical potential to be a great defense, but I wasn't ready to expect that from him; yet he's been stellar defensively so far this season and preseason. Of course, I wasn't expecting much from DLO defensively, but he's been more than OK on that end of the floor; he's been really good. So now we have Edwards, KAT and DLO playing well defensively on top of the players we expected to be good defensively - Beverley, Okogie, Vanderbilt and McDaniels. Put it all together and you have a 3-1 team that hasn't played particularly well on the offensive end.
There's been a lot of discussion on this Board about the importance of developing a team identity and the fact that the Wolves haven't had one. I think we've all suspected that the team might eventually develop an identity as a fast-paced, high-scoring offensive team that needs to score a lot of points to win. That seems to have been the vision Rosas had for this team. But this team has thrown us an unexpected curve ball. I see the Wolves developing an identity as a relentless, attacking, ball-hawking defensive team that keeps opposing offensive players uncomfortable. I see an uber-talented 19-year old who has just discovered something called defense and realizes that he loves it. You probably all read his comment from yesterday about this team having the best defense in the NBA. You could see in his comments the sense of pride and joy he feels in the way he and the team generally has been playing defensively. He's our second-best player now and will eventually be our best player. So to see him not only playing stellar defense but taking great pride in it tells me that what we've seen so far from this team defensively is real and sustainable. I love the fact that DLO, while struggling offensively in the team's first three games, played constantly hard and well on the defensive end. He could have moped and sulked, but instead he stayed fully engaged defensively.
We'll see how the defense holds up over the course of the NBA grind and against the better teams in the League. But so far, the development of an identify as a defensive team is the biggest reason for optimism about the Wolves.
NEGATIVES SURPRISES
The only negative surprise thus far has been the team's offensive struggles. We expected a high-scoring team with defensive struggles and so far we have a defensive team that has struggled offensively. There are two main pieces to the team's offensive struggles. The first is the surprisingly poor offense from to of our best offensive talents - DLO and Beasley. DLO seemed to have come out of his offensive slump against Milwaukee although his 3-point shooting remained sub-par. Beasley has yet to get his shot back, although I like his hustle and improved passing. The good news is that both players have a long enough track record of offensive success to be confident that they will both come around and shoot the ball the way they always have throughout their careers. That's an exciting prospect because if we truly are the defensive team we appear to be, then this team will be really good once they start getting the offense from DLO and Beasley that we expected along with the offense we've been getting and should continue getting from KAT and Edwards. The other piece of our offensive woes is the lack of offensive firepower once you get beyond KAT, Edwards, DLO and Beasley. Beverley will give us some 3-point shooting. But what will we get from Price? Will McDaniels develop the 3 part of the 3&D player I believe he can be? Is there anyone else on this roster who can develop into an offensive threat? Those questions will be important ones going forward, but not nearly as important as we might have thought if the team's defense remains at the level it's been at this first 8 games.
REBOUNDING
To me, this is the team's biggest problem and it's Achilles heel. As expected, the Wolves have been terrible on the boards so far this season, except for last night's game against the Bucks. There is only so much Finch can do with this roster. But the one thing he has to do -- and that he did last night -- is put Vanderbilt in the starting line up with McDaniels and play those guys 30+ minutes a game. Those two together gave the Wolves the edge on the boards last night after getting crushed on the boards the previous two games. Unfortunately, that tandem wont' be enough against teams with more size. I love Vanderbilt's energy, athleticism, nose for the ball and fearlessness crashing the boards and McDaniels is a solid rebounder with terrific length and athleticism. But they're both under 200 pounds and Vando's standing reach is under 9'0. At some point, this team needs to add size to hold its own on the boards and have a good shot at being a playoff team.
So those are my thoughts on the state of the Timberwolves after 4 regular season and 4 preseason games. My thoughts might be entirely different 8 games down the road. But so far, so good.