Minnesota Sports Forum

A truly fun game in a packed, loud arena tonight.

GOOD STUFF

Multiple positive story lines tonight. The three main ones were:

1. Butler showed why Thibodeau doesn't want to trade him. What can you say about 32 points on 60% shooting, along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. And of course, he was clutch with his 3-pointers down the stretch.

2. Karl Anthony Towns was himself again, but with a new and improved knack for protecting the rim. It wasn't his best shooting night, but 3-6 from behind the arc and a perfect 8-8 from the foul line. More importantly, his contribution extended well beyond his scoring with 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks. It was the KAT we've seen for three prior seasons, crashing the offensive boards and fighting tooth-and-nail for the ball in a crowd of defenders. If this is the KAT we see the rest of his career, then he will definitely earn his max money. After watching KAT in shoot-around, I told my wife that KAT would have a great game. His demeanor was totally different than it had been in his previous games. It looked to me like he had snapped out of his depressed state. Well, turns out I was right.

3. Okogie gave Wolves fans a glimpse into the future and it looked really bright. This guy simply ignites the entire arena with his play. We here a lot about the "it" factor. Well, whatever's it is, Okogie has it. He broke through as a shooter tonight with 17 points on 46% shooting. And he continued to excel in nearly every area with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. He also continued to display his natural feel for the game. He made a couple outstanding passes, including a pass to Gibson for a dunk late in the 3rd quarter. He gets rid of the ball quickly and typically makes the right pass at the right time. So he's not just a great athlete with long arms and an inconsistent shot. He's a basketball player with a terrific feel for the game.


BAD STUFF

1. Teague was putrid tonight. His overdribbling and slow-walk approach were on full display tonight. It's bad enough when he's shooting well, but it's especially bad when he shoots as poorly as he shot tonight. Butler, Towns, Okogie, Gibson and Tolliver had to overcome Teague as well as the Lakers to get a win tonight.

2. I loved the hustle and energy of Derrick Rose. But he took 12 shots and only made 4 of them. That's pretty bad to say the least. But I still like what he brings to the table.

Other Stuff:

1. Okogie was fun to watch on the bench in the 4th quarter. He was up and jumping around constantly as he was pulling for his teammates on the floor. He never put his sweats or jacket on while riding the pine in the 4th. At one point after a timeout, Okogie went out onto the floor and approached his teammates for a quick huddle not far from the bench when he suddenly realized he wasn't supposed to be on the court. He had this huge smile on his face and he sprinted back to the bench. His teammates were laughing with him.

2. After LeBron scored on a driving layup around KAT, Thibs called a timeout and as the players came back to the bench, Butler was yelling at KAT telling him he needed to intercept and stop LeBron out high. (Easier said than done). KAT listened was visibly pissed about Butler riding him over that play. I'd have to show you in person the look on KAT's face and his entire physical reaction to Butler's admonishment. Towns did a bad job defending that one, but I'm with Towns on this. Up to that point, Towns was having a monster game, really elevating the play of his teammates. Towns obviously knew what he did wrong and didn't need a teammate caping at him over the obvious. It goes back to a comment Thibodeau made after the infamous Wolves practice a couple weeks ago - leaders unite and inspire.

3. I talked to someone pretty well connected at the game who said that Towns' agent told him he expects Butler will be traded by the end of this week. Maybe that's why Towns snapped out of his funk tonight. :) But I sure would like Butler to stay and play alongside Towns. Unfortunately, it's just not meant to me.

4. I thought Okogie should been playing down the stretch instead of Teague.

Overall, a fun night that we would have enjoyed even if we had lost. Let's see if Butler is around for the game Wednesday night against the Jazz. If he is, I predict it will be his last game as a MN Timberwolf.

One thing (beyond Rose's shooting compulsion)... the Wolves offense down the stretch was less than inspired for its creativity.

But it's a make-or-miss league... and a couple of contested three pointers without passing the ball on the possession worked out. This time.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:One thing (beyond Rose's shooting compulsion)... the Wolves offense down the stretch was less than inspired for its creativity.

But it's a make-or-miss league... and a couple of contested three pointers without passing the ball on the possession worked out. This time.

I watched most of Thibs after the game and someone asked about the offense bogging down late in the game or something like that and Thibs actually had an interesting answer. He said that sometimes we you get a mismatch and lock onto trying to get to it and take to much time and creates problems. He said he thought later in this game they moved the ball better than they have at times but he said they need to move the ball more and they need to work at that.

monsterpile wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:One thing (beyond Rose's shooting compulsion)... the Wolves offense down the stretch was less than inspired for its creativity.

But it's a make-or-miss league... and a couple of contested three pointers without passing the ball on the possession worked out. This time.

I watched most of Thibs after the game and someone asked about the offense bogging down late in the game or something like that and Thibs actually had an interesting answer. He said that sometimes we you get a mismatch and lock onto trying to get to it and take to much time and creates problems. He said he thought later in this game they moved the ball better than they have at times but he said they need to move the ball more and they need to work at that.

The pace and lack of ball-movement late in last night's game were painfully bad. I also head Thibodeau's comments after the game. It would be one thing if last night's late-game offense was unusual, but it was typical of what we've seen from the Wolves offense ever since Thibodeau's been here. So his words ring pretty hollow at this point. Some of it might just be Teague because there is more movement when Rose or Tyus is running the sets. But even then, there is very little off-ball movement, poor spacing and minimal passing. Players play the way they practice and they practice the way they're coached. Also, as my wife pointed out, Thibodeau is highly directive during games and you can see/hear him telling players to go to certain spots. They keep looking to the bench for instructions. They go to their spots (pretty slowly) and stay there.

I spite of the poor offensive system, the Wolves won last night primarily because of the great individual effort and talent of Butler, combined with effort and talent of Towns. Okogie was also key and Anthony Tolliver was terrific off the bench. The system is weak, but the talent is great. If I had my way, we'd keep Butler and move forward with Jimmy, KAT, Okogie and Wiggins under a new head coach. But that's not what Jimmy wants, so it won't happen. But a future built around KAT and Okogie is something I can get excited about, provided we get the right deal for Butler.

While optimistic about Okogie as a legit rotation player... he brings energy and certainly puts in effort, especially defensively.

I'd like to see him make 1/2 his shots in a game first before putting him along with KAT as the face(s) of the franchise.

For the record, in a very small sample size, he still grades out as a below-average offensive and defensive player. But there are signs there... just not as a budding star or anything. I fear that kind of thinking is reminiscent of our 2008 - 2015 Wolves discussions.

A few thoughts....

- This game was bittersweet. It's always nice to get the win and it was nice seeing the rookie make a couple more highlight plays. That being said, we don't win this game without Butler. We would probably only have one or two wins this year if he weren't on the team. That's pretty sad, but it's something we better embrace because he will likely be gone soon.

- Okogie's passing is a bit of a revelation. There isn't a "wow" factor or anything, but just pleasantly surprised at his ability to make some nice passes. He really has two holes in his game from what I can tell: 1) his shooting, obviously, and 2) his tendency to sometimes over-help on defense. But otherwise...hustle, one on one defense, disrupting passing lanes, making his free throws, hitting the open man...he checks a lot of boxes.

- Derrick Rose...I love his attacking mentality but a lot of those attempts in the paint were prayers. He's a good passer. Do more of it when the defense collapses.

- I agree with Lip on Tolliver. He played a great game, made some nice defensive plays too.

- Dieng was horrible AGAIN at protecting the rim. Rondo waltzed in for at least a couple layups right in his vicinity and he was absolutely no factor.

- It was nice to see KAT play a more spirited game. I thought he choked a bit in crunch time and he made some costly turnovers. But it was nice to see him more engaged.

- Tyus Jones did nothing remarkable on the floor, but once again, he led the team in +/- with a +7 even though he only played 16 minutes. It's a consistent theme with him.

A win is great, but if the lakers had any size, we lose this game.

We killed them on the boards and second chance points because they had their smalls try to box out or outrebound our bigs.

Secondly, i really don't understand why rose is out there for crucial defensive possessions at the end of games. Its bad enough that they could switch their primary wing player on to teague and shoot over him, but now they can also go at rose.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first in person game of the year...albeit not in my seats but instead in Row N of Section 231 (about a mile behind Lip!). Never seen so much consensus on this board about a game:

1) Butler was terrific, but can't help already missing him.
2) Great to have Happy KAT back...man he was tough on the offensive boards!
3) Okogie is exceeding expectations...I hope his fighting over screens in contagious
4) Rose is fun to watch, but needs to shoot less and more efficiently
5) Thibs is improving as a coach, but blundered in not substituting Okogie for Rose when we built a 10-point lead...almost cost us the game, except Butler bailed him out
6) It's just bizarre how, game in and game out, Jones continues to dominate the +/- stat. Although he's not especially big or fast, his disruption on defense and refusal to turn the ball over almost always lead to positive results. Yes, he gets a lot of steals, but more importantly when you watch him live, it's incredible how often him just being in the right place defensively forces the opponent to alter their play. Just a great asset to have on the second unit, even when he goes 3-1-0.

Lip, I noticed the 4th quarter Okogie moment you mentioned (through my binoculars :cry: )...he is a fun guy to watch, on and off the court.

I am hearing a few "yeah, but's" about last night's win, and the points are valid. The Lakers are (currently) a poor defensive team (although LBJ and McGee are solid defenders) and not a high percentage 3-point team. But still they have a lot of young talent...they're up-tempo and fun to watch. And they have a guy (#23) who looks pretty good to me. Plus the Lakers came in healthy, while love him or not, we were missing a fairly reliable 20PPG in Wiggins.

The Lakers are just learning how to play together, but they are so talented I don't see them out of the playoff mix. This was a good win, especially considering the drama and absence of Wig.

longstrangetrip wrote:I am hearing a few "yeah, but's" about last night's win, and the points are valid. The Lakers are (currently) a poor defensive team (although LBJ and McGee are solid defenders) and not a high percentage 3-point team. But still they have a lot of young talent...they're up-tempo and fun to watch. And they have a guy (#23) who looks pretty good to me. Plus the Lakers came in healthy, while love him or not, we were missing a fairly reliable 20PPG in Wiggins.

The Lakers are just learning how to play together, but they are so talented I don't see them out of the playoff mix. This was a good win, especially considering the drama and absence of Wig.

Lakers were #1 in transition points there is a bunch of numbers that say they get up and down the floor. There was a tweet that said they average 25 points per game in transition. The Wolves held them to 15. In fact the Wolves won that stat in this game. Kinda impressive in a way. I know a legit criticism of Thibs is the lack of defense of this squad since he took over but if they are legitimately going to push the pace and take a healthy amount of 3's this year then I'd actually be willing to give him a bit of a pass on the defensive end especially if they shore up something like their transition D. In general defense in this new NBA may have to be reconsidered a bit. It will be interesting to see where we are in terms of the entire league in say 30-40 games into the season.

All in all win games whether it's early in the season or later sometimes you play a team that gets hit etc. Until Lebron shows signs of slowing down it's always a good win to beat him. This game was very entertaining which doesn't hurt anything.