Game report

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Fun night tonight at Target Center. Only about 1/3 full, so you could hear the players talking to each other (and the Wolves were very vocal on defense), but it got loud in the 4th quarter. I mentioned this before in another thread, but preseason basketball is more like regular season than any other sport...it was intense out there tonight. The Bucks were without Parker and Carter-Williams, and we were only missing Pek...both teams seem to have a lot of depth though.

A couple of you said that the silver lining in Sam starting an offensively-challenged lineup is that it encourages KAT and Wig to step up and be aggressive in scoring the basketball...and they certainly did that tonight. No shrinking violet act for Wiggins tonight, and both he and KAT were energized and active at both ends of the court...outstanding games for both of them.

I can't remember the last time I saw the Wolves take more uncontested threes than their opponent (the Bucks actually took 7 more threes than we did, but more often than not there was a Wolves' hand in their face while ours were wide open). It's all about defensive rotation and ball movement on offense, and the Wolves rotated and defended the perimeter better than I have seen in a long while. Offensively the ball movement was okay...in other words, excellent compared to our normal standards.

The KG/Prince starting lineup isn't going to score a lot of points, but they did play superb team defense...fun to watch, and not very characteristic of a T-Wolf team. It all starts with Ricky though, and I thought his on-the-ball defense was great tonight. MCW didn't play, and Bayless and Vazquez were unable to really get much penetration all night.

The second unit was really dynamic tonight. Shabazz and Martin are totally without conscious when it comes to looking for their shot, and when they score efficiently like they did tonight, that's a good thing. But they also got their teammates involved for the second consecutive game and contributed 5 assists between them. Zach acted more like a combo guard than a true PG, and I think that's a good thing. He was successful in beating his man off the dribble a few times and also wasn't shy about putting up shots...still, he ended up with 4 assists and only 2 TO's. Even more promising was Zach's defense tonight. I don't know that I have ever seen him so effective on defense. He's such a terrific athlete, there's no reason he can't become a plus defender.

In fact, the most amazing thing tonight to me was the second unit's defense. Everyone played hard, and while they just aren't as smart defensively as Rubio/KG/Prince, tonight they made up for it in effort and athleticism. It's just one game, but at least tonight it looked like Mitchell's focus on defense is having an impact.

The Wolves are as deep as they have ever been, and that allows them to pick up Bjelica who had a dreadful game...6 fouls and no points in 14 minutes. Belly is going to be just fine, but tonight wasn't his night. I would have subbed Payne in for him after he fouled out (Payne's only 3 minutes tonight were at center), but Mitchell decided to go with Rudez, who once again finished with the same number of rebounds as yours truly.

So many players played well, but my favorite player of the night was Karl Anthony Towns. He was lined up against a very physical Greg Monroe, and unlike last game, tonight the rookie easliy won the battle...really great to see, and a little surprising to be honest. He's going to be a very good player.

I'm an unabashed Sam Mitchell fan, but if anyone can provide an explanation for his substitutions in the final minute, I would be grateful. Twice, he subbed in Tyus Jones for defensive purposes, leaving Ricky Rubio on the bench! My first fear was that Ricky was injured, but he looked fine after the game. Odd move by Sam, unless I'm missing something.

Only a preseason win, but very important in my opinion after such a poor preseason. I'm feeling optimistic about the Laker game after tonight.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Glad you could watch the game live and in person Long. They played really well together.

I suspect Mitchell put Tyus Jones in at the end so that he could be on the floor with his fellow Minnesotan Rashad Vaughn. They both probably had a lot of family and friends at the game and it was cool they could share the floor together for a minute or two.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Glad you could watch the game live and in person Long. They played really well together.

I suspect Mitchell put Tyus Jones in at the end so that he could be on the floor with his fellow Minnesotan Rashad Vaughn. They both probably had a lot of family and friends at the game and it was cool they could share the floor together for a minute or two.

That was my initial thought too, q. but it was odd how Tyus would come in during offensive free throws (i.e. for defensive purposes) and then go out during defensive free throws. Seemed weird.

Anyway you're right, they did play well together last night...unusual to actually see some cohesion on the floor defensively. It still surprises me how different we look when Ricky is on the floor.

[60WinTim]

Over the years we have frequently complained about a "vision" or "identity" for the team. For the first time since perhaps the Cassell-Spree-KG era, I feel incredibly comfortable with both the vision and identity of this team.

A major part of the vision is "Wiggins and KAT are our cornerstones, along with Rubio. And we are putting them in position to develop and grow as the cornerstone pieces." The identity is "we focus on defense, and strive for ball movement on offense."

The identity is something Sam had in mind heading into training camp. But the shape of the vision didn't coalesce until midway through the preseason.

Kudos to Sam. I am excited for the season.

[mjs34]

After watching last nights game, I came away feeling like we had a defensive scheme for the first time in a decade. We did a good job limiting penetration and layups, particularly off the PnR. There are still many other areas to shore up, but it looked like the team as a whole has taken a step forward. It was just one game and MCW didn't play last night, but the young guys looked comfortable and were making good decisions. We limited the open 3pt looks as well.

It was nice to see Ricky hit some shots. Let's hope that continues into the regular season, and that he is able to stay healthy for a change.

[60WinTim]

Agreed, sjm.

And BTW, KAT's growth over the preseason should put to rest any doubts about the value of KG's mentorship!

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Watched most of the game and I agree with all the comments. Watching Big KAT score in a variety of ways last night was fun, he looks pretty comfortable out there already.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I was glad to see Towns look to score inside early.

Nice game last night. Lots of people involved.

[m4gor [enjin:6667447]]

yea, Rubio/Prince/KG at 1/3/4 are really forcing KAT and Wigg to score a lot, playing Dieng at 5 and KAT at 4 also looked well, with the depth we have there has to be some period of finding working rotations

[mjs34]

Agreed, sjm.

And BTW, KAT's growth over the preseason should put to rest any doubts about the value of KG's mentorship!

I was worried about KAT's mental stability early on with reports about the Carlito character, but he has made me a believer. I still hate watching his interviews, as he comes off as too much of a brown noser for my taste, but he is clearly intelligent. His skillset might be even better than I thought. I don't know how much of his play on the court is due to KG, but I am guessing that he is happy to have KG in practice with as much as he brings him up.

I don't know why Cam was so down on him!