Game Report - Wolves v. Blazers

[Lipoli390]

We listened in agony to the 4th quarter of the Vikings game on our way to Target Center. We got there in time to watch the Vikings drive that finished with a 49 yard field goal to extend the lead to 6 only to watch the Saints march down the field for a touchdown that sucked the life out of those of us sitting in the Target Center 612 Lounge. It was one of those many depressing moments we've experienced all too often as Vikings fans. But then, just when it seemed that our offense had stalled again for one last frustrating time, the miracle happened and Diggs ended up in the end zone. The 612 Club exploded, high fives were exchanged and then thoughts started to turn to the upcoming Wolves game. I woke up this morning thinking the Wolves would probably lose this one. But after Diggs crossed the goal line with time expired I had this feeling that the Wolves couldn't lose.

More empty seats than I've seen yet this season at Target Center as the game began. It was obviously a combination of the weather and the Vikings game that held down turnout tonight. But with a lot of late arrivals the arena was eventually filled with a decent size crowd. Wiggins had an extra bounce in his step during shoot-around, which was why I posted my prediction he'd have a big game. He didn't have the great offensive game I was envisioning, but he defended and played smart.

The first quarter gave me some pause as the Wolves defense struggled while the Blazers were raining threes, but I didn't lose heart noticing that the score was roughly even at the end of the 1st quarter with as yet zero points from KAT. And my conviction the Wolves would win returned pretty quickly in the 2nd quarter as our Thibs defense returned, Portland started missing some shots and KAT started hitting some buckets. The Blazers ended up scoring only 10 points in the 2nd quarter. And of course, the end result was a 20-point win over a good team that had been fairly hot coming in.

I know that this was the Blazers 4th consecutive road game, so I'm not going to get too giddy over this win. But this really was a nice win for the Wolves. This had all the earmarks of a let-down game after winning four in a row. Yet, after a brief semi-let-down in the 1st quarter, the Wolves quickly regained the form that led to their prior 4 wins -- playing tough defense, forcing turnovers, limiting our own turnovers, rebounding and sharing the ball. The result was another convincing win at home over a plus .500 team.

It seems clear now, what we've seen the last couple weeks -- even against the Nets and Celtics before this home stand -- isn't a fluke. What Thibs has been teaching and preaching appears to be setting in with the players. The team is taking on an identity as a tough opportunitisic defensive team that spreads the scoring among a pretty long list of offensively talented players. It's not as pretty as watching the Warriors and some other teams, but it's proving to be highly effectively.

My game ball goes to Jeff Teague. He's the guy who kept us in the game in the 1st quarter with his scoring. He really picked up his defense after the first quarter as well. He finished with 22 points, 8 assists and 2 steals. His defense was terrific. Beyond that, this was vintage Teague -- quick, aggressive and efficient on the offensive end with an array of floaters, blow-by layups and some perimeter shots. Once again, he repeatedly raced the ball up the court. So he continues to follow through on the lesson he said he learned while watching from the bench -- i.e., the need to get the ball up the court faster.

Otherwise, this was a total team effort. Towns was excellent again with 22 points, and 11 rebounds. Butler was Butler with 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals while Wiggins contributed 17 points and, more importantly, 2 steals and very good overall defensive play. And I was happy to see him score on several post ups tonight. Our bench was terrific tonight, led by Tyus Jones, Jamaal Crawford, Belly and Gorgui. Belly only had 5 points in his 18 minutes, but he grabbed 5 rebounds, including a couple tough ones. He really does seem to be rounding back into his pre-injury form.

Let's take this show on the road and win there.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Agreed on all accounts except I wasn't as thrilled with the bench production as you were, Lip. I was pleased with Bjelica's play, watching him chase his man off screens from baseline to baseline, grabbing five boards, and drilling a three-pointer. Thought he was the best of the bunch, actually.

Besides him, it was kind of meh on that front. Tyus was good in the 12 minutes he played (4 pts, 2 ast, 2 stl), but half of those minutes were when the game was already decided.

Dieng played 20 minutes, grabbed five rebounds and added two blocked shots. That's not a bad outing by any means with those numbers -- also not worth $15M annually, but I digress. What the box score doesn't specifically map out is how he continued his "guide the ballhandler to the rim and THEN try to block the shot against the glass" routine. He got one of them, but was burned a handful of times from just that. Very frustrating to watch despite all the other good things happening in the game. I believe his defense came up short tonight and that led to his -3 plus/minus in a game where everyone that played 10 minutes or more was a positive... except for him.

Lastly, Crawford just couldn't get much to go down tonight. He finished with 10 points in 20 minutes, but it was highly inefficient offense. 3-9 from the floor, 2-7 from three. To be fair, he's been hitting quite often the past month, but I can't consider that a good outing.

Luckily, our entire starting five played a hell of a game. Every starter was in double digits -- three 20+ scorers -- and all shot better than 50% from the floor. And it's worth mentioning that they did their damage in less minutes than usual, noticeably Teague, Gibson, and Wiggins playing 31 or less minutes. They straight up pulverized Portland and I expect Orlando to get smashed in similar fashion.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Wow, what an amazing Vikings finish. I wouldn't call it a miracle, as Diggs was open and it was a great pass and he could have gotten out of bounds with good defense for a FG.

5 wins in a row! We really needed a winning streak like this. Let's keep it going.

[Lipoli390]

Agreed on all accounts except I wasn't as thrilled with the bench production as you were, Lip. I was pleased with Bjelica's play, watching him chase his man off screens from baseline to baseline, grabbing five boards, and drilling a three-pointer. Thought he was the best of the bunch, actually.

Besides him, it was kind of meh on that front. Tyus was good in the 12 minutes he played (4 pts, 2 ast, 2 stl), but half of those minutes were when the game was already decided.

Dieng played 20 minutes, grabbed five rebounds and added two blocked shots. That's not a bad outing by any means with those numbers -- also not worth $15M annually, but I digress. What the box score doesn't specifically map out is how he continued his "guide the ballhandler to the rim and THEN try to block the shot against the glass" routine. He got one of them, but was burned a handful of times from just that. Very frustrating to watch despite all the other good things happening in the game. I believe his defense came up short tonight and that led to his -3 plus/minus in a game where everyone that played 10 minutes or more was a positive... except for him.

Lastly, Crawford just couldn't get much to go down tonight. He finished with 10 points in 20 minutes, but it was highly inefficient offense. 3-9 from the floor, 2-7 from three. To be fair, he's been hitting quite often the past month, but I can't consider that a good outing.

Luckily, our entire starting five played a hell of a game. Every starter was in double digits -- three 20+ scorers -- and all shot better than 50% from the floor. And it's worth mentioning that they did their damage in less minutes than usual, noticeably Teague, Gibson, and Wiggins playing 31 or less minutes. They straight up pulverized Portland and I expect Orlando to get smashed in similar fashion.

I generally agree with you on Gorgui's play last night. I saw him as the weakest link in the second unit. I'm not a big fan of plus minus, but that stat supports your take on Gorgui.

I disagree with your take on Tyus. He actually got the vast majority of his minutes in the 2nd quarter, which was the Wolves best quarter defensively. He was key in turning things around after a pretty poor 1st quarter front the Wolves, especially defensively. As usual, he did a terrific job of running the offense and he was a disruptive force on the defensive end. His plus/minus was positive, but it would be even better if he hadn't also played a few minutes at the end with the scrubs when we went from a 24-point lead to a 17-point win.

Crawford's shot was off last night and I'd say the plus/minus overstates his contribution. Yet, he played well defensively and brought his usual great energy while also hitting some big shots.

I agree that Belly was the best of the second unit last night. He's finally starting to look like the Belly we saw before his injury earlier this season. That's really encouraging because he's critical to this team with his shooting, ballhandling and rebounding off the bench.

[Duke13]

The lineup that played a large stretch of the second quarter was a lot of fun to watch: Tyus, Butler, Kat, Belly and Crawford. Pushed the ball and ran, defense was good. I continue to think Belly and Kat need to play stretches together (12-15 minutes a game). They've played together a bit recently and it's gone well. Belly's confidence and fragile psyche are the key.

[Lipoli390]

The lineup that played a large stretch of the second quarter was a lot of fun to watch: Tyus, Butler, Kat, Belly and Crawford. Pushed the ball and ran, defense was good. I continue to think Belly and Kat need to play stretches together (12-15 minutes a game). They've played together a bit recently and it's gone well. Belly's confidence and fragile psyche are the key.

I agree about that lineup last night. That is probably our most dynamic five. Three of those five are excellent ballhandlers. Belly and KAT are good to very good ballhandlers at their respective positions. So all five can handle the ball well and all five can score both inside and out. On the other side of the ball, Butler and Tyus are both excellent defenders (Butler a great one). Belly's a decent defender and the KAT of the past 3 weeks is a very good defender.

I also agree that confidence is the key to Belly's game. He really does seem to have a fragile psyche. I've never seen him look better than he did this season up until his injury. He was in a zone and more confident than he's ever been since signing with the Wolves. Getting him back to the level he was at as we head into the toughest part of our schedule the next couple months will be extremely important to this team's fortunes this season.

[Sundog [enjin:18897165]]

To the folks that regularly attend Wolves games (Lip/others) -- I noticed on the telecast that the trainers had KAT's knees iced up (in the 3rd quarter, maybe?). I hadn't seen that before -- had you guys? Is that a regular practice for KAT, or is that something new to be concerned about?

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Have we talked about how Thibs seems to be mixing his lineups more and more lately? Unless I haven't been paying attention, I feel like I'm seeing combinations out there I'm not used to seeing that often and I appreciate that he's trying out new lineups. Seems like he's trying to get Gorgui and KAT more burn together, and sometimes putting KAT or Butler or Wiggins out there with the backups and really running the offense through one of those three.

I like it. It may cost us a bit of chemistry here and there, maybe even a game if we have a bad combination at the wrong time, but if it helps to discover more potent combinations *gulp* in case we need them for the playoffs, I'm all for it!

[kekgeek]

Have we talked about how Thibs seems to be mixing his lineups more and more lately? Unless I haven't been paying attention, I feel like I'm seeing combinations out there I'm not used to seeing that often and I appreciate that he's trying out new lineups. Seems like he's trying to get Gorgui and KAT more burn together, and sometimes putting KAT or Butler or Wiggins out there with the backups and really running the offense through one of those three.

I like it. It may cost us a bit of chemistry here and there, maybe even a game if we have a bad combination at the wrong time, but if it helps to discover more potent combinations *gulp* in case we need them for the playoffs, I'm all for it!

To go on that, Thibs in the post game press conference mentioned Tyus and Teague playing together, it was the first time all season where he seemed like it might happen this season.

I have to give Thibs a ton of credit for this turn around, I didn't expect this to happen this season, But hopes of possibly winning 2 playoff series are in my mind and not saying it is going to happen but the thought of it is not impossible to me like I thought it was at the beginning of the year.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Thanks for the report Lip, glad you caught that last Vikings play at the arena!

Thibs does deserve credit for making lineup changes, although some of us were calling for rotational changes a lot earlier in the season and he stubbornly stuck to what many of us saw as a flawed plan. However, he eventually came around and made the following positive changes;

- Got Bazz out of the rotation
- Played MGH situational minutes on the wing to buy a little extra time on the bench for our starting wings.
- Staggers the starters in and out of the lineup vs. a "hockey shift" type of substituting pattern.
- Wiggins was downgraded to the clear cut third option, after Butler and KAT.
- Bjelly getting some minutes at the 3.
- Butler now the only Wolf among the top 10 in minutes per game.

I think all of these things plus KAT finally "getting it" defensively has helped contribute to our winning ways the last 15 games (I think we have won 12 out of 15 or something close to it).

Feels good!