Minnesota Sports Forum

I'll start with the obvious - the Wolves are a bad team right now. When I'm watching a bad team, I at least like to see players who consistently play hard - guys with high-rev motors who are highly competitive. With that in mind, here's my current Wolves All High-Motor Team:

1. JMac
2. Malik Beasley
3. Josh Okogie
4. Jarred Vanderbilt
5. KAT (based on his play this season before his injury)
6. Ricky Rubio

These are the only players on the Wolves roster I consider worthy of my All High-Motor Team. I would not have included KAT based on his play before this season even though I think he's always given high effort on the offensive end. But I was really impressed with his motor on both sides of the ball this season before his injury.

Anyway, these are the guys I want to see play, although I'm not sure I relish seeing Ricky who just looks slow and out of sorts while still showing his characteristic shooting problems, which include missed layups.

I should add that I did like what I saw from Juancho last night against the Nuggets - his shooting as well as his energy level and effort. DLO also showed good energy on the defensive end last night.

Good list Lip. I actually think Nowell plays with an intensity that may not be as frenetic as Okogie or Vanderbilt, but he just looks so locked in on both ends of the court when he's out there. I am really anxious to see him get his shot eventually. He may actually be the only player on this roster that can shoot the ball without being a total disaster on defense.

Rubio should be on the list in theory, but he has been disappointing so far. I am really hoping it's just taking him some extra time to get back into game shape and get his legs under him. His shot and finishing certainly has not looked this bad the last couple of years.

I have to give J-Mac an incomplete- just haven't seen him enough yet. When I picture him in my mind though, I see a guy beating his man off the dribble and getting to the basket, but then not knowing quite what to do. He knows he's not big or athletic enough to get off a shot and he's smart enough to know his passing lanes are blocked, so usually he ends up dribbling out and resetting the play. That involves a lot of energy, without a positive impact.

I would contrast that with Culver, who I would add to the list. One thing I admired about him in college and am seeing it again this season is his economy of movement. He's never going to be frenetic out there like Okogie or Vando (both whom I like, by the way), but he is going to get himself into the right position on defense to be effective more times than not. Sometimes I prefer smart movement to Brewer-type wild movement. Tim Duncan was a master of this. He averaged 40 MPG his first 6 seasons but somehow he never seemed tired.

I actually see this roster as generally high motor. Davis has always been considered a high motor guy, and while often ineffective, Reid seems to be very active at both ends of the court. I see Layman as a terrible defender, but he at least seems to work his butt off on defense and is one of our more active guys on offense in moving without the ball- he's always cutting to the basket. One of the reasons I am more accepting of Saunders than almost everyone else here, is that it looks to me like his players want to play hard for him. I didn't always get that impression with the previous coach.

Then there's Edwards. I love the stance he gets into on defense and his active footwork, but I also see what others here have commented on- he occasionally drifts and disappears in the corner on offense in a Wiggins-like manner. He is going to have to not take plays off if he wants to start earning more minutes.