Minnesota Sports Forum

I know Thibs likes Towns and G, thinks they can play together and all that. I'm not sure they can. If Towns is going to keep setting up that far outside I don't think G is the right fit next to him. There was a nice stretch tonight where Aldrich and Towns were out there together and it seemed like a more natural fit to me. I'm not saying Cole is the answer, but I think this tandem has been problematic so far this year. They seem to occupy the same parts f the court on both sides of the ball on a lot of possessions.

I'll bring up an observation I have on Towns defense. I think he has the ability to be a good defender at some point but he isn't right now. I think it's partly because he is caught mentally between playing PF and a more typical C or as an active shot blocker. Dieng does a lot of the dirty work guarding the big players and in many cases getting into foul trouble because of it. Imo one of the things that has to happen before this team takes a step forward is Towns has to figure it out on defense. I expected and expect more out of him on that end. I think he will figure it out. He is gifted physically but not so much right now that he can get away with just relying on it. If he is gonna play on the perimeter he needs to get down in a stance. If he is gonna play post defense he needs to do that.

monsterpile wrote:I'll bring up an observation I have on Towns defense. I think he has the ability to be a good defender at some point but he isn't right now. I think it's partly because he is caught mentally between playing PF and a more typical C or as an active shot blocker. Dieng does a lot of the dirty work guarding the big players and in many cases getting into foul trouble because of it. Imo one of the things that has to happen before this team takes a step forward is Towns has to figure it out on defense. I expected and expect more out of him on that end. I think he will figure it out. He is gifted physically but not so much right now that he can get away with just relying on it. If he is gonna play on the perimeter he needs to get down in a stance. If he is gonna play post defense he needs to do that.

Agreed Monster. Guys like KG and Duncan became great big men because they could shoulder a big load on offense AND anchor the defense.

There was one play where Griffin took KAT right to the rim and easily laid it in. He didn't even have a step on him. He just took it right at his body and KAT offered very little resistance. That just can't happen.

As for the KAT/Dieng combo, it is not perfect by any stretch. Dieng still feels best used as a back up big man that can give you 18-20 minutes per game. But that's on the type of team that can win 50+ games. We aren't that type of team right now and Dieng is our 2nd best big right now. I'm not sure a change is warranted in the short term.

Q12543 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:I'll bring up an observation I have on Towns defense. I think he has the ability to be a good defender at some point but he isn't right now. I think it's partly because he is caught mentally between playing PF and a more typical C or as an active shot blocker. Dieng does a lot of the dirty work guarding the big players and in many cases getting into foul trouble because of it. Imo one of the things that has to happen before this team takes a step forward is Towns has to figure it out on defense. I expected and expect more out of him on that end. I think he will figure it out. He is gifted physically but not so much right now that he can get away with just relying on it. If he is gonna play on the perimeter he needs to get down in a stance. If he is gonna play post defense he needs to do that.

Agreed Monster. Guys like KG and Duncan became great big men because they could shoulder a big load on offense AND anchor the defense.

There was one play where Griffin took KAT right to the rim and easily laid it in. He didn't even have a step on him. He just took it right at his body and KAT offered very little resistance. That just can't happen.

As for the KAT/Dieng combo, it is not perfect by any stretch. Dieng still feels best used as a back up big man that can give you 18-20 minutes per game. But that's on the type of team that can win 50+ games. We aren't that type of team right now and Dieng is our 2nd best big right now. I'm not sure a change is warranted in the short term.

KG was also a freak athletically. You could literally have him guard a PG when he was young. Duncan could never jump and block a shot and rebound. Towns Is all over the place and his teammates in general don't help him out.

You are right Q good teams are deep they have more than just starters. The Wolves need Belly to get better so he can be a guy that they can play more where he helps where Dieng isn't as good of a fit or create advantages. I think Aldrich is showing he is a piece to the puzzle. I think they need one of those undersized athletic but strong PF guys like Booker. They are generally easy to find as FA or as guys at some point in the draft where you are just hoping to get a rotation player.

Again we have to find our what towns is going to be defensively. Can he really guard PFs? That's how the Wolvea have been using him this year for the most part as their default. It's been a mixed bag as I have seen it.

Well said Q, great thing about G's deal is very team friendly where you can have him be a valuable bench contributor also. I'd love to see Belly and or Cole play with Kat to see how that goes. Year is long and I still think there is a lot of room for growth and .500 is attainable but if we fall short of many of our expectations I doesn't make me question the long term potential of this core and coach one bit.

I loved Tibs post game presser. He was calm, composed and answered all the questions thoughtfully. Somebody mentioned earlier they think Tibs will grow impatient and make a move. I don't see that happening at all. Tibs mentioned he had very realistic expectations going into the year and knew there would be a learning curve. I don't see him making a short term move at all. Doc Rivers even cashed the press conference causing him to laugh. He had a very good demeanor I thought.

We need a true PF next to Towns and Towns needs to bulk up and guard 5's and stay near the rim. G needs to be the backup 5 and get some minutes at the 4, but he can't stay as our starting 4 because he can't guard most 4's. G has proven he can't protect the rim so we can't leave Towns on the perimeter with G in the paint. I'm not as worried about G's defense coming off the bench because I don't think it would matter as much. We need a guy like Faried or Thompson who can guard 4's, wreak some havoc on the boards and in general just be a better athlete next to Towns than the slow footed G. I think you get the most value out of Towns if he plays as a true 5 defensively and gives you the offensive versatility to play 4 or 5 offensively.