Minnesota Sports Forum

Anybody know anything about this Grizzly team...seems like years since we last played them ;) .

Bookies have the Wolves as a 2-point favorite on the road against a team that has won 3 out of 4...wow! But there are some reasons for this line despite the Wolves' inconsistency this season. The Griz played and won on the road last night (albeit it was a blowout so limited minutes for their stars), so the Wolves were rested and waiting for them in Memphis when the Griz got home late last night. Second, anyone who has watched the Wolves' 3 games against the Griz this season (including preseason), can see that the Wolves are far and away the more talented team...we blew them out or played them even in 10 of the 12 quarters. Finally, the wolves are the current darling of the media, and are going to be overvalued by the public as a result (kind of a new thing for us).

All that said, who can predict this one? The Wolves clearly didn't solve their 3rd quarter issues against Philly (even though it was close, I thought we were terrible again), and you're not going to win many games getting blown out after half time. Memphis is a well-coached veteran team playing good basketball right now. I see this as a very important game for Thibs and this club that could turn this season around.

longstrangetrip wrote:Anybody know anything about this Grizzly team...seems like years since we last played them ;) .

Bookies have the Wolves as a 2-point favorite on the road against a team that has won 3 out of 4...wow! But there are some reasons for this line despite the Wolves' inconsistency this season. The Griz played and won on the road last night (albeit it was a blowout so limited minutes for their stars), so the Wolves were rested and waiting for them in Memphis when the Griz got home late last night. Second, anyone who has watched the Wolves' 3 games against the Griz this season (including preseason), can see that the Wolves are far and away the more talented team...we blew them out or played them even in 10 of the 12 quarters. Finally, the wolves are the current darling of the media, and are going to be overvalued by the public as a result (kind of a new thing for us).

All that said, who can predict this one? The Wolves clearly didn't solve their 3rd quarter issues against Philly (even though it was close, I thought we were terrible again), and you're not going to win many games getting blown out after half time. Memphis is a well-coached veteran team playing good basketball right now. I see this as a very important game for Thibs and this club that could turn this season around.

The Grizzlies are the exact opposite of the Wolves: If you look at their team stats on paper, you would think they have only won three or four games. They just aren't that good. Yet, here they are with a 7-5 record.

The problem with the Wolves is that we tend to wilt in a grinding, disciplined game where the other team is physical and minimizes mistakes. Unless we just go nuts offensively, I can't see us winning. Our defense is too weak to withstand any offensive cold stretches.

Will be interested to see what Wiggy does for an encore whilst being guarded by Tony Allen. Probably won't pop for 35 again, but I'd like to see us run our game, not slow it down for these old vets.

The Grizz have been awfully impressive since we embarrassed them on our floor. You don't just walk into Staples center and beat the Clippers unless you're doing something right. Big challenge for us tonight. I say let the horses out of the barn and try to ramp up the tempo on this one. Get out to a lead, play a decent 3rd quarter and finish out a good team on the road. We need a game like this to build the foundation of a playoff run.

Wig, KAT, and Zach are all in the top 11 in minutes played per game.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Wig, KAT, and Zach are all in the top 11 in minutes played per game.

Yep, old habits die hard.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Wig, KAT, and Zach are all in the top 11 in minutes played per game.

They're in the top-15 (Wiggins: 7th, Towns: 13th, LaVine: 15th), but your point is still valid. The young Wolves three are playing a lot of minutes. Ideally, they'd play under the 35-MPG threshold that all three are currently at or above. In Thibodeau's defense -- and this was true in Chicago as well -- he hasn't had a worthy bench to turn to. It's a lot easier to control your best players' minutes when your reserves are productive. We've seen the Spurs and Warriors keep their stars around the 30-33 MPG mark with relative ease, but they were also really, really deep. So far, Minnesota's bench has been up and down and overall just inconsistent. So, I don't blame Thibs for the high minutes to this point, though he probably did play those three a little too much in the Philly game. I would venture to say that was just to make a point, though.

What is nice is that Minnesota leads the entire NBA in 2nd chance points. What isn't nice is that they are also among the league's worst in fastbreak points allowed (21st) and points in the paint allowed (24th). Those are two areas that I'm sure Thibs is stressing during off-days. Our defense in general has to get a lot better.

I bet the Grizz +3. So far this season betting on the Wolves has been the kiss of death. So the plan is to lose more money tonight but watch the Wolves get a big win. If they win by 3 or less even better.

I think the key tonight is simple: Wiggs and Towns keep doing what they did against the Sixers, and hopefully get enough meaningful contributions from some other players, maybe one guy like Zach with 20+. Also try not to take a double digit lead too early--wait until the 4th quarter.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Wig, KAT, and Zach are all in the top 11 in minutes played per game.

If only they'd build nice first half leads then Thibs could rest them more in the 3rd quarter! Yeah, that'll never work.

Let's say Lavine Towns and Wiggins are all legit max level players. Those guys tend to play a ton of minutes. Most top 10 players play more than 35 mpg that's just the way it's been. This resting guys and playing fewer minutes is fairly new. I think the real question about Thibs is more about the practices and all the other stuff than the minutes and based on how he handled training camp it sounds promising his is dialing back some there. SVG said the other day there is other ways to rest guys than resting them during games. If those guys are playing like 38-40 mpg then I will be a little more concerned. 34-37? Eh I'd like to see less but the team has played without a key contributor a majority of games so far and that means you tend to lean on your most important players. I think as the season goes on and the bench and roles get more resolved (assuming relative good health) they won't have to rely quite as heavily on those guys.