CoolBreeze's 2 Things I Didn't Like Tonight Plus 1

[Coolbreeze44]

How refreshing - a dominant 4th quarter and a much needed win. Would have been a much different feeling heading to the Bay area if we hadn't come through tonight. It's something we can build on and now a loss to Golden State won't mean a terrible road trip. Here's the thanks-for-giving us a win version of the 2 + 1:

1) I thought Wig was headed for his 4th straight sub par performance. He was missing too many shots and though his energy was better, he was still not making a big enough impact. But in the 4th quarter he did what Andrew does and I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Hopefully the three game malaise was just a slump during a long season and he can begin to move forward again. He was fun to watch in the 4th quarter.

2) Our 3 point shooting has really flat lined over the last few games. I knew we weren't going to continue at the original pace, but it would be nice to see Zach and Wig start hitting from behind the arc again. KAT still looks pretty good from there and I bet that one DrewWig hit in the 4th is going to get him going again. But Zach is the guy we really need to stay consistent.

Plus 1 - I've been saying that Tyus is the one PG we have that can be a legitimate threat to score. One that the defense has to play honestly. Tonight he demonstrated what I was talking about. What he doesn't have in physical ability he makes up for it with skill, guile, smarts, and composure. He's far from perfect, but he might be a great fit for this team. I don't see any way he doesn't start to get more run and he deserves it. It also might have been one of Ricky's best games and I give Thibs credit for sticking with Tyus down the stretch. We finally broke the 15 point barrier Abe has been talking about, good to see.

And that's Cool's 2 things I didn't like tonight +1.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I'm looking forward to watching this one tomorrow...a really important win after laying an egg in NO and having to play the Warriors tomorrow.

Wow...Tyus Jones was a plus 22 in 19 minutes! Some of us have been calling for him to start getting regular minutes, and it looks like Thibs finally heard us...must have given them a light practice yesterday too :) .

I don't know if I saw Gorgui's name mentioned much when I took a look at the GDT, but with 4 blocks and 3 steals, he must have been a disruptive force on defense...good to see.

Rubio with 5 TOs in only 25 minutes...ouch! At least he shot the ball well and contributed 5 steals.

Big win...a loss tonight could have meant coming home 4-12. Let's see if they can build on this win and play well in Oakland tomorrow.

[fondey [enjin:6644772]]

LST, Did you Record the game on TV or is there some other way to watch replays afterward?

[Phenom]

I was at the game last night and it was a very satisfying win. Wolves didn't need a flashy or career performance to get the win. Instead they had to grind through a poor shooting night from most everyone and down the stretch they attacked the Suns weakness in defending the post. That's what winning teams do night to night. Let's hope they learned something.

And that LaVine dunk was spectacular!

[TAFKASP]

Here's my 2+1 for the Phoenix game:

1.0 - The 1st quarter sucked.
2.0 - The 2nd quarter sucked.
2.1 - The 3rd quarter mostly sucked
+1.0 - The 4th quarter rocked!
+1.1 - Tyus gave the team a huge spark!
+1.2 - Credit to Wiggins, he was terrible through three quarters but was excellent in the last half of the 4th!

Does that still qualify 2+1?

[Coolbreeze44]

Here's my 2+1 for the Phoenix game:

1.0 - The 1st quarter sucked.
2.0 - The 2nd quarter sucked.
2.1 - The 3rd quarter mostly sucked
+1.0 - The 4th quarter rocked!
+1.1 - Tyus gave the team a huge spark!
+1.2 - Credit to Wiggins, he was terrible through three quarters but was excellent in the last half of the 4th!

Does that still qualify 2+1?

Absolutely. We have very loose guidelines.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

LST, Did you Record the game on TV or is there some other way to watch replays afterward?

I DVR every game, fondey, because I'm often not home for games...haven't been inclined to watch many of them this year, but glad I watched this one! When I was living in LA and a League Pass guy, I would often watch the reply which generally ran an hour after the game finished...don't know if they still do that.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I just finished watching the game...very satisfying! As others have said, this was Tyus' night...and I'll talk about him in another thread. But there are other accolades (and a few criticisms) to throw around too:

Thibs: I've been a detractor, but hoping for some change and flexibility to turn this season around. I think we saw it last night, as he clearly outcoached the opponent. Playing Tyus was his first great decision. Might seem like an easy call to us, but there's ego involved here...Dunn was his first draft pick and he is emotionally invested in him, so to play Tyus over Dunn takes a lot of humility. But that call won us a game we had to win. Second, we have been calling for him to let Ricky be Ricky (instead of starting the offense with Wig in the second half), but instead he let Tyus be Tyus. Almost every offensive possession started with the ball in Tyus' hands until the last 4 possessions...good to see. Finally, and I don't know this for sure, but the fresh legs we had in the second half (and especially the 4th quarter) tell me he may have foregone his usual intense day-before practice. There's some other evidence this might be true also...in his interview yesterday, he talked about reviewing film for a longer time Friday. Maybe that was in lieu of full court practicing, and further, maybe watching film had an impact on what I'm going to say next about Wig. I give Thibs the second game ball.

Wiggins: Ok, so he still didn't sh0ot well from the outside. But he did some other things that make me think again that he is going to be a true superstar. First, knowing he maybe isn't feeling his shot these days, he attacked the basket more and got to the line 11 times. Second, and more surprising, I counted at least 5 times that he broke down the defense and made the pass to a wide open teammate when the D collapsed on him. The fact that he only had one assist was only due to the poor shooting by his teammates...he gave them perfect looks. Again we don't know, but it sounds like the kind of thing Thibs may have pointed out in the Friday film session. Wig was brilliant as a facilitator tonight. There's no reason he can't be a 25-5-5 guy if he plays smart like he did tonight, especially if he finds his shot, and that's superstar status.

KAT: Remember when the analysts were divided about KAT vs. Okafor for the top pick, and they cited Okafor's brilliant footwork as a distinct advantage? Well, KAT may have caught up in this area...his footwork around the basket is superb, especially for such a young player.

Gorgui: The box score didn't lie...he was really good on defense. He played smart most of the game, and also contributed 4 blocks and 3 steals. His defense had a lot to do with Len's horrible night (6 points and 7 TOs!). He continues to get called for illegal screens way too often though...he and Thibs can whine about these calls as much as they want, but he's doing it way too often.

Belly: While his stat line doesn't look very good, I thought he played really well tonight. He looks so confident driving and dishing, and like Wig, the only reason he didn't have more assists was the poor shooting. I think he can be a very good 3-point shooter too...he's only at 35% to date, but his form is so perfect. I think he can be a 40% guy. I would like to see Thibs go big more often and give Bazz's minutes to Belly...speaking of which:

Bazz: I'm so tired of his game, and maybe Thibs is too since he yanked him after only 7 ineffective minutes (although he did rebound well). Bazz talked about how improved his defense is, but any improvement is lost on me...he is flat out bad defending.

Zach and Dunn: Zach's posterizing dunk not withstanding, I thought both of these guys were terrible. I'm putting them together here because the same thing about them bugged me in this game...their incessant damaging gambling on defense. It's really hurting us. They re both hard-working great athletes, but tonight they both stunk on defense...we need to see a lot of improvement here.

Really good game overall...keep it up!

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

From an individual player perspective, I didn't really take much away from this game. Yes, Tyus provided a very nice spark, but it was one game. Hopefully he keeps it up and gives Thibs options at PG.

Everyone else was up and down. I guess what impressed me most was the fact we grinded out a win primarily by preventing the other team from scoring versus us having to score a bundle of points. Now that is refreshing!

Still.....Lots of sloppy play - 17 turnovers, got killed on the boards, lots of missed jumpers. It's amazing what an uphill battle we have just to get to the level we were at the end of last season!

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

From an individual player perspective, I didn't really take much away from this game. Yes, Tyus provided a very nice spark, but it was one game. Hopefully he keeps it up and gives Thibs options at PG.

Everyone else was up and down. I guess what impressed me most was the fact we grinded out a win primarily by preventing the other team from scoring versus us having to score a bundle of points. Now that is refreshing!

Still.....Lots of sloppy play - 17 turnovers, got killed on the boards, lots of missed jumpers. It's amazing what an uphill battle we have just to get to the level we were at the end of last season!

Yeah, Phoenix is a terrible defensive team, so it's difficult to take much away from the game except that Tyus looked like an NBA PG...at least for one game. Many of us here were just hungry for a win after such a bad start, so hence the added exuberance. Tonight may be more difficult...my sources tell me that the Warriors may be better than the Suns.