Fork in the Road - Blazers at Wolves GDT

[60WinTim]

We have had bumps in the road thus far, with too many home losses to teams we should beat if we really are a playoff team. But we have been both entertaining and competitive. With much of the West struggling, we have also been right on the cusp of the playoffs. But some of those West teams are finding their footing.

I rarely put a large emphasis on a single game, especially this early in the season. But tonight starts a stretch of six games against West teams, most of whom are in the same playoff boat as the Wolves. How the Wolves perform over this stretch will determine if we are in the playoff race, or if we are merely a lottery team hoping to get into the playoff race. That is the fork in the road.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Good theme, Tim...this is the fork in the road for the Wolves, and the next few games are going to determine if we are playoff contenders of pretenders. The only comment of yours that I disagree with is that some of our playoff competition are finding their footing. Actually, none of the teams we are competing with for those final playoff spots, with the exception of Memphis, has a winning record in their last 10 games. The Wolves themselves are only 4-6, but our competition is struggling too. And we play 4 of those struggling teams in the next 10 days...it's time to start making a statement.

Portland's backcourt has been terrific this year, but its front-line of Vonleh. Plumlee and Aminu is not very daunting. Aminu shot very well against us last game, but he has regressed back to the mean, shooting only 32 % from the field the past 10 games. We know Portland is going to put up a lot of threes...they are 5th in the league in attempts. But the Wolves are improved in defending the perimeter this year, and are going to have to rotate well on defense to prevent open looks. I am an advocate for Zach at PG, but Portland is the kind of matchup that Sam can use Ricky and Zach in the backcourt together without sacrificing a size advantage much. He didn't pair them together last game against Portland, but it's an option he should consider. Kevin Martin was our best player in the first Portland game (perhaps his last good game) and will probably get the start again, but against this perimeter team I would prefer Prince to start.

One area the Wolves have a clear advantage in against Portland is turnover differential...Portland ranks dead last in TO differential. I have questioned whether a backcourt of Lillard and McCollum can hold up defensively, and it's not surprising to me that they rank last in turnovers created. The Wolves need to exploit this advantage tonight. But more importantly, they need to establish the home-court advantage they have not had this year. Portland is a poor road club, and the crowd needs to be active and involved tonight.

[Monster]

"When you come to a fork in the road take it."

Yogi Berra

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

The Dutchman Todd Gak might be on his last game here if we lose. Could be time for a character change. A well rested healthy team should win tonight, I'd like to see Big KAT have a big game tonight, I think he's overdue.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Can we please see 30+ minutes for Towns? Holy shit.

[Tactical unit]

The Wolves have had plenty of time off to iron out the kinks and prepare for this Blazers team. I'll be disappointed if we come out flat again and even more so if we lose.

[Coolbreeze44]

"When you come to a fork in the road take it."

Yogi Berra

One of my favorites

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

Hard to use the term "must win" 19 games into an 82 game season, but tonight's game is close to that if the Wolves want to remain in the playoff race.

Ricky should be close to or at 100%, Portland sucks, revenge game, Saturday night crowd, KAT coming off rookie of month, Bjelica is back, just had 3 days rest and two practices....if they can't go out and take care of business tonight then the season could easily head into lottery land. Time to play with a seroius sense of urgency, unlike that lackluster first half against the Magic.

[TAFKASP]

When I think forks I think meatloaf!! Mmmmmmmmeatloaf!

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Tough to feel optimistic with the home record we've managed to compile and going up against a couple of shot makers like Lillard and McCollum. And yeah, I know their record is inferior to ours, but that doesn't seem to make much of a difference so far this year.