Minnesota Sports Forum

Multiple possesions he wanted to bring the ball up the court and initiate but someone else would, one possession specifically where Teague wanted the ball on top, but Butler went iso (or P&R?) close to halftime. Teague just threw his hands in the air, clearly not what he wanted. Jimmy also stared down Teague multiple times last night as well as Taj throwing his hands up in the air in disgust when KAT wouldn't provide help defense. Seems like we were battling ourselves more than the Spurs last night.

I didn't notice that, bloop, but thanks for the observation. I'm not sure it's necessarily a bad thing if players are yelling at each other to help out or defend better. It's part of the "getting to know each other" phase, and some dissatisfaction with our old defensive ineptitude might be helpful. I'm going to the opener against Utah, and I'll keep an eye on Teague's body language.

On the espn broadcast Mark Jackson said Teague should be upset he wasn't in the game and belabored the point significantly. At least he wasn't as bad as the 2 color guys from last night's game. Reggie Miller sucks and Chris Webber thought the game was going to go into overtime when Durant's shoot was not going to count. He forgot that Houston was up before Durant's shot.

Interesting observations Bloop. I was watching the game while 'working' so didn't give my full attention.

Teague looked less than impressed sitting on the bench down the stretch while Jones got playing time. I think this is a message from Thibs to Teague that nothing is guaranteed. It could worked and Teague could lift his game or it could backfire and Teague could become disgruntled.

At the end of the day it's going to take this team a few games to gel, especially after only three preseason games. It's clear we have some elite ISO offensive players in KAT, Wiggins and Butler, but from what I watched I wish they'd would just slow down a little. KAT also struggles finishing in contact and still doesn't get the calls he should. But he has to earn that super star status.

Another observation was how many bunnys we missed under the hoop. Somewhere in Serbia Pek is smiling right now. Even he would have made those!

Teague might lose his job to Tyus. How awesome was that move getting the and 1 against gasol. If only we would have had Gus Johnson on the call.

BizarroJerry wrote:Teague might lose his job to Tyus. How awesome was that move getting the and 1 against gasol. If only we would have had Gus Johnson on the call.

Tyus played well for the most part, but he still closed out the game poorly. He missed two wide open mid-range jumpers off the PnR and they used those empty possessions to extend the lead and close out the game. He's not there yet, but I am definitely seeing more promise in him potentially replacing Teague down the line to help the pecking order problem our starting unit has. The offense just flowed better when he was on the court and he's a low usage guy which fits next to our Big 3 better. We'll see though. He might just get completely outmatched by the real PG's of the league and the bench may be his best role moving forward which would make a better case for getting a vet like Teague.

Yup, Tyus is a guy to keep an eye on. He's one of these players where generally good things seem to happen when he's on the court even though he's not taking over the game and you can't always put your finger on it. There is a little Rubio to him in that regard.....

I actually noticed this too, and it falls in line with my belief that the rubio trade was not ideal. Teague can shoot better than rubio, yes. But by adding butler the wolves were staring at three elite offensive players best suited for an iso game. Teague just added another offensive player who is best with the ball in his hands, and unlike rubio, Teague is less of a facilitator and more of a look first scorer. Teague also playa far less defense. With Rubio, there was an ability to command the offense and keep three mouths happily fed, now there are four mouths looking to feed. Plenty of games left to be played to prove me wrong, but I still think Thibs botched this "upgrade".

TheFuture wrote:I actually noticed this too, and it falls in line with my belief that the rubio trade was not ideal. Teague can shoot better than rubio, yes. But by adding butler the wolves were staring at three elite offensive players best suited for an iso game. Teague just added another offensive player who is best with the ball in his hands, and unlike rubio, Teague is less of a facilitator and more of a look first scorer. Teague also playa far less defense. With Rubio, there was an ability to command the offense and keep three mouths happily fed, now there are four mouths looking to feed. Plenty of games left to be played to prove me wrong, but I still think Thibs botched this "upgrade".

This is why Tyus MIGHT ultimately be the perfect compromise. He's a guy that prefers to facilitate and get others involved, yet he has a decent 3-ball and a floater game he can go to when he has to score. But we saw last night and also a bit late last season that when the screws really get tight and he's up against opposing team's starting units, he isn't quite there yet. May be some day.....

Q12543 wrote:

TheFuture wrote:I actually noticed this too, and it falls in line with my belief that the rubio trade was not ideal. Teague can shoot better than rubio, yes. But by adding butler the wolves were staring at three elite offensive players best suited for an iso game. Teague just added another offensive player who is best with the ball in his hands, and unlike rubio, Teague is less of a facilitator and more of a look first scorer. Teague also playa far less defense. With Rubio, there was an ability to command the offense and keep three mouths happily fed, now there are four mouths looking to feed. Plenty of games left to be played to prove me wrong, but I still think Thibs botched this "upgrade".

This is why Tyus MIGHT ultimately be the perfect compromise. He's a guy that prefers to facilitate and get others involved, yet he has a decent 3-ball and a floater game he can go to when he has to score. But we saw last night and also a bit late last season that when the screws really get tight and he's up against opposing team's starting units, he isn't quite there yet. May be some day.....

Rubio needs the ball to be more effective than Teague. Teague's usage dropped last year as the season went on and into the playoffs in Indiana with Paul George, and Lance handling the ball quite a bit. Teague has lead plenty of really effective offenses. I noticed multiple teams Spurs players were staying on Teague when he was out at the 3 point line. That was not happening most of the time with Rubio. I said if Teague finds his role quickly this team would start off well. He started off doing just fine early in the game but not as well as the game went on. This is gonna take some time. Nobody seems to be talking about his terrific block in transition which his shot blocking is a legit plus of his game.

If Tyus can find that balance of knowing when to look for his own and feed others he could be really good assuming he can hit shots which i actually feel better about than I did a few months ago. It will be interesting to see how he does in some other matchups. He looked more physically ready to be an NBA player last night but he won't have the advantage there most nights. The guy knows how to play he might end up being a guy that is a more significant piece than anyone expected to fulfill Flip's legacy.