Game Report - Wolves v Warriors
Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 9:36 am
How great was last night's game? Well, it has prompted me to write my first game report in weeks. So much for tanking. The win might push us down to #11 or 12 in the draft order, but I'll accept it in return for the great feeling we all had in the arena at the end of the game.
As you'd expect, there was a sizable Warriors contingent among the 18,000+ in attendance last night. They were clearly the loudest in the arena in the first half, making me think that they might have been at least half of those at the game. But the second half revealed that the Golden State fans were nothing more than a small vocal minority. Throughout most of the second half - expecially the 4th quarter and overtime, the arena had an energy and excitement we haven't had there in months. It was fun.
Some on this Board have fallen prey to a false narrative that the Wolves' players haven't been giving an all-out effort in recent weeks. Last night's game should help correct that narrative. I'd say that last night's game was the culmination of the high level of effort and developement of our young guys that we've seen all along through the Wolves otherwise dreadful stretch run. That effort and developement propelled us to a win over a pretty bad Memphis team and last night it propelled us to victory over a very good Golden State team.
KAT had his second off-game in a row. I can tell you this with absolutely certainty -- KAT is exhausted -- physically and mentally drained. That shouldn't be surprising when you look at the total minutes he's played this season and the load he has had to shoulder on a team with minimal suporting talent. But credit KAT for coming through in the overtime with some big plays, especially that block from behind as he came sprinting down the court.
Wiggins may have had his best game of the season, even though in typical fashion he disappeared as a scorer by early in the second half. But I loved his defense and hustle - yes, his hustle. His loose handle was on display several times, but I'll live with that if he gives the kind of effort he gave last night.
The heroes of the game were many, but I'd put Gorgui and Okogie at the top.
Gorgui was everywhere - playing like a man possessed. He was taking and making his 12-foot shot, knocking balls lose, intercepting passes, getting his body on buys and rebounding the ball. It looked like the confidence Thibodeau sucked out of him had returned. Confidence is so important to success in anything, especially sports.
What can you can about Josh. His defense was phenomenal and disruptive as evidenced by his 4 steals, but his defensive prowess extends beyond those 4 steals. He single-handily disrupted the flow of the Warriors' otherwise pristine offense. At his best, that's what Josh does. But then there was his offense. As I've noted before, Josh seems to have breached the rookie wall and gotten his shot in order. So last night's 24 points on 54% shooting wasn't an aberration; it was a continuation of the development we've seen from him in recent weeks. That's why you play the young guys lots of minutes when you're out of the playoff picture!!! There is no doubt that Okogie has freakish length (7'0 wingspan) and great athleticism to go with his relentless energy and competitive drive. I'll note also that he is fearless - willing to take on anyway and take the big shot. All those things combined are the ingredients of great players. But last night's game also illustrated what I've noted many times about Okogie - the fact that he has a high basketball IQ. He has terrific instincts - reacting to the ball on both ends of the court, knowing where to go in the floor in the offense, knowing when to shoot and when to pass, etc. The only legitimate issue of concern with Josh has been his shot. But I'v noticed that he's actually a good shooter when he gets his feet set. That explains why he's always been a good free-throw shooter. As the game slows down for him and he relaxes a bit, he's no longer rushing his shot but is instead getting his feet set in his shooting motion. I think that's the difference in his shooting that we've seen over the past couple weeks.
Other players worth mentioning include Tyus, Tolliver and Bayless. Tyus wasn't in there down the stretch, but he was instrumental in our second-half comeback before Bayless came in. As everyone knows, I don't like the idea of giving Bayless minutes, but he was a key to last night's win although I think we would have won in regulation if Ryan had replaced him with Tyus in the last couple minutes of the 4th quarter when Bayless was hogging the ball and way too shot-happy. Nonetheless, Bayless was terrific overall. Tolliver was really huge with his 14 points and 9 rebounds.
I'm still on the soft-tank bandwagon, but I'll admit that last night's win was a treat. The most important thing about last night's game is that it was a culmination of some good things that were already happening in previous games the past few weeks and actually ever since Ryan Saunders took over, including the following:
1. A high level of effort and enthusiasm that Thibodeau had all but extinguished;
2. A faster pace, better floor-spacing, less hesitation on shots and more three-point attempts;
3. The development of Okogie as Ryan kept playing him through his shooting and other struggles hitting the rookie wall; and
4. An overall better level of effort and aggressiveness from Wiggins, albeit still uneven.
I can now see a core group of players coalescing for next season consisting of the following:
Young Core:
1. KAT (obviously)
2. Wiggins (necessarily because his trade value is as low as it can go)
3. Covington (his healthy return will be critical)
4. Dario Saric (he's shown enough recently to be positive about him)
5. Josh Okogie (the one guy on our roster who could eventually be our 2nd all-star)
6. KBD (He's been impressive in his limited minutes lately. Could be very good)
7. Tyus Jones (Many will disagree, but he's underestimated in my view. Depends on the contract)
Vets
8. Tolliver (His vet leadership, smarts & 3-point shooting are worth keeping)
9. Rose (I'm not sure about this, but he can be a great offensive spark. He's also well liked by his teammates and a fan favorite. It depends on the contact)
Those are my core 9. I suspect that Gorgui will be back because of his contract. I wouldn't trade him if we have to give up assets or take back a worst contract as part of the deal.
The keys to the Wolves being competitive next season will be Covington's health and Okogie's continued development. Having a healthy Covington, Dario and the Okogie we've seen the past couple weeks alongside KAT would make things interesting. Getting Teague to opt out his his deal would allow the Wolves use use the full MLE to sign a good player without paying the luxury tax. Put all of that together and you have the makings of a competitive team.
OK, maybe I'm still intoxicated with last night's win. :) But no reason not to seek a little positivity out of an otherwise dreadful season.
As you'd expect, there was a sizable Warriors contingent among the 18,000+ in attendance last night. They were clearly the loudest in the arena in the first half, making me think that they might have been at least half of those at the game. But the second half revealed that the Golden State fans were nothing more than a small vocal minority. Throughout most of the second half - expecially the 4th quarter and overtime, the arena had an energy and excitement we haven't had there in months. It was fun.
Some on this Board have fallen prey to a false narrative that the Wolves' players haven't been giving an all-out effort in recent weeks. Last night's game should help correct that narrative. I'd say that last night's game was the culmination of the high level of effort and developement of our young guys that we've seen all along through the Wolves otherwise dreadful stretch run. That effort and developement propelled us to a win over a pretty bad Memphis team and last night it propelled us to victory over a very good Golden State team.
KAT had his second off-game in a row. I can tell you this with absolutely certainty -- KAT is exhausted -- physically and mentally drained. That shouldn't be surprising when you look at the total minutes he's played this season and the load he has had to shoulder on a team with minimal suporting talent. But credit KAT for coming through in the overtime with some big plays, especially that block from behind as he came sprinting down the court.
Wiggins may have had his best game of the season, even though in typical fashion he disappeared as a scorer by early in the second half. But I loved his defense and hustle - yes, his hustle. His loose handle was on display several times, but I'll live with that if he gives the kind of effort he gave last night.
The heroes of the game were many, but I'd put Gorgui and Okogie at the top.
Gorgui was everywhere - playing like a man possessed. He was taking and making his 12-foot shot, knocking balls lose, intercepting passes, getting his body on buys and rebounding the ball. It looked like the confidence Thibodeau sucked out of him had returned. Confidence is so important to success in anything, especially sports.
What can you can about Josh. His defense was phenomenal and disruptive as evidenced by his 4 steals, but his defensive prowess extends beyond those 4 steals. He single-handily disrupted the flow of the Warriors' otherwise pristine offense. At his best, that's what Josh does. But then there was his offense. As I've noted before, Josh seems to have breached the rookie wall and gotten his shot in order. So last night's 24 points on 54% shooting wasn't an aberration; it was a continuation of the development we've seen from him in recent weeks. That's why you play the young guys lots of minutes when you're out of the playoff picture!!! There is no doubt that Okogie has freakish length (7'0 wingspan) and great athleticism to go with his relentless energy and competitive drive. I'll note also that he is fearless - willing to take on anyway and take the big shot. All those things combined are the ingredients of great players. But last night's game also illustrated what I've noted many times about Okogie - the fact that he has a high basketball IQ. He has terrific instincts - reacting to the ball on both ends of the court, knowing where to go in the floor in the offense, knowing when to shoot and when to pass, etc. The only legitimate issue of concern with Josh has been his shot. But I'v noticed that he's actually a good shooter when he gets his feet set. That explains why he's always been a good free-throw shooter. As the game slows down for him and he relaxes a bit, he's no longer rushing his shot but is instead getting his feet set in his shooting motion. I think that's the difference in his shooting that we've seen over the past couple weeks.
Other players worth mentioning include Tyus, Tolliver and Bayless. Tyus wasn't in there down the stretch, but he was instrumental in our second-half comeback before Bayless came in. As everyone knows, I don't like the idea of giving Bayless minutes, but he was a key to last night's win although I think we would have won in regulation if Ryan had replaced him with Tyus in the last couple minutes of the 4th quarter when Bayless was hogging the ball and way too shot-happy. Nonetheless, Bayless was terrific overall. Tolliver was really huge with his 14 points and 9 rebounds.
I'm still on the soft-tank bandwagon, but I'll admit that last night's win was a treat. The most important thing about last night's game is that it was a culmination of some good things that were already happening in previous games the past few weeks and actually ever since Ryan Saunders took over, including the following:
1. A high level of effort and enthusiasm that Thibodeau had all but extinguished;
2. A faster pace, better floor-spacing, less hesitation on shots and more three-point attempts;
3. The development of Okogie as Ryan kept playing him through his shooting and other struggles hitting the rookie wall; and
4. An overall better level of effort and aggressiveness from Wiggins, albeit still uneven.
I can now see a core group of players coalescing for next season consisting of the following:
Young Core:
1. KAT (obviously)
2. Wiggins (necessarily because his trade value is as low as it can go)
3. Covington (his healthy return will be critical)
4. Dario Saric (he's shown enough recently to be positive about him)
5. Josh Okogie (the one guy on our roster who could eventually be our 2nd all-star)
6. KBD (He's been impressive in his limited minutes lately. Could be very good)
7. Tyus Jones (Many will disagree, but he's underestimated in my view. Depends on the contract)
Vets
8. Tolliver (His vet leadership, smarts & 3-point shooting are worth keeping)
9. Rose (I'm not sure about this, but he can be a great offensive spark. He's also well liked by his teammates and a fan favorite. It depends on the contact)
Those are my core 9. I suspect that Gorgui will be back because of his contract. I wouldn't trade him if we have to give up assets or take back a worst contract as part of the deal.
The keys to the Wolves being competitive next season will be Covington's health and Okogie's continued development. Having a healthy Covington, Dario and the Okogie we've seen the past couple weeks alongside KAT would make things interesting. Getting Teague to opt out his his deal would allow the Wolves use use the full MLE to sign a good player without paying the luxury tax. Put all of that together and you have the makings of a competitive team.
OK, maybe I'm still intoxicated with last night's win. :) But no reason not to seek a little positivity out of an otherwise dreadful season.