Game Report - Wolves v. Pelicans

[Lipoli390]

Great start to the post-Butler era of Wolves basketball in front of a fairly small, but vocal crowd. (I see tonight's game, not Monday night's game as the official beginning of the post-Butler era). I can't stress enough how different the atmosphere was on the court and bench among Wolves players. From the beginning of shoot-around to the end of the game, the players were talking to one another, pulling for each other, smiling and simply enjoying one another. The joy that has been missing from this team for so long was back. The positive energy was so powerful that even Thibodeau's sour personality couldn't extinguish it. You could see KAT, in particular, oozing confidence as he talked to his teammates, especially the two new guys, during shoot-around. His confidence shined through during the game as well.

Chemistry matters, and watching the Wolves tonight, I saw a team with great chemistry. But chemistry doesn't matter much if you don't win. The good news, of course, is that the Wolves won, beating a good Pelicans team.

Our two new guys made positive contributions and showed a bit of what they're known for. Covington played well defensively and shot well from behind the arc. Saric hit some shots too. Both played extremely hard. I love the intensity they both bring to the floor. And I really like Covington's sunny personality. They guy exudes positive energy on the court, on the bench and in interviews. I'm feeling better about this deal after one game.

The obvious key to the game was KAT. He again played like a future Hall-of-farmer. Up against one of the League's elite big men, Towns put up 25 efficient points, 16 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 assists. Even better was that, even though Davis scored a lot of points, he shot under 40% from the field and had only 11 boards. Meanwhile, KAT had what I'd consider to be the two plays of the game down the stretch - blocking the Anthony Davis layup attempt without committing his 6th foul, and the give-and-go pass to Wiggins for that flying Andrew slam. KAT did a tremendous job defending Davis all night in spite of some really terrible one-sided officiating in favor of Davis.

Others may disagree, but I'd rank Okogie as the second most important player last night after KAT. He was knocking down threes and making smart plays as he also brought his characteristic defensive intensity and overall energy to the Wolves. It was Okogie who sparked the Wolves to an 11 point lead early in the 4th after the Wolves stunk up the arena in the 3rd. When Okogie and the second unit entered the game at the beginning of the 4th it felt like the Wolves were going to lose the game. Okogie turned that around with his energy and his play, especially that steal that led to 2 points for the Wolves on the other end.

It was nice to see Wiggins shooting that 3-pointer often and with confidence. And his late game heroics were huge. I like the way he defended all game. He's starting to show a nice level of consistency on that end of the court. Like Towns, Wiggins showed a renewed sense of confidence on the court last night. It was great to see. His ball-handling remains a huge problem for him, but he can be very effective if used the right way.

Teague was good in the first half, but looked horrible in the 2nd half. I can't put my finger on it, but I don't like what he does to the flow of the offense. He continues to overdribble and miss taking advantage of opportunities for his teammates. At the game, we could see multiple opportunities when KAT had great post position, in several instances mismatched against Mirotic, yet Teague failed to get KAT the ball even though KAT is clearly calling for it. My wife noticed that Teague doesn't seem as connected to his teammates as they are to one another. There was one point in particular when the entire team, except Teague, were huddled on the floor just before play resumed. Teague was standing on the court well outside the huddle just staring off into space. I don't want to make too much of that instance, but there were other examples that suggested Teague isn't as connected to his teammates as they are to one another. Don't get me wrong, Teague is alway cheering and pulling for his teammates when on the bench and he plays hard. Just a subtle thing that's worth watching.

I should add that I think we won in spite of Thibodeau. First of all, given the way Okogie was playing, it was ridiculous that he played only 16 minutes while Covington played 41 and Wiggins almost as many. It was especially ridiculous to pull Okogie and Tyus after those two generated that early 4th quarter run for an 11 point lead. Second, the lack of offensive imagination or variety was painfully obvious and costly in the 2nd half. Thibodeau can't simply go entire games with nothing more than Teague pick-and-rolls. The Pelicans obviously adjusted to that patter in the 2nd half and it cause the Wolves huge lead to evaporate.

Nevertheless, in spite of Thibs, this was a nice win. I have to admit that the win is even sweeter for me knowing that the Sixers lost to Orlando in Butler's debut there. Call me petty, but I can't help but take some pleasure in that. :) Prince night on Friday against Portland should be a lot of fun. That will be a hugely important game for the Wolves in front of what should be a packed house.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I only saw the 4th quarter, but I have to agree that the energy level was intense by the entire roster. And yeah, Friday night is going to be fun...another win is not out of the question.

Glad to hear you ranked Josh as our second most important player last night. Apparently Thibs didn't though, as he only gave him 17 minutes to put up his +15. And even though his stat line is remarkably empty, Tyus' plus 16 tells me he should have had more than 11 minutes...he just has a knack for disrupting offenses with his positioning and quick hands. This team is talented and enthusiastic (now), and I also see a slightly better Thibs this season in some of the areas I have criticized him about in the past. My biggest fear is that Thibs lapses back into his former bad habits and wears our starters out. It worked last night, but he has proven it is not a sustainable strategy over the course of a season.

So, Wig is now shooting almost 42% on threes, but worse than that on 2's. At what point can we start to trust that his 3-point success is more than a mirage. Also, how did Josh look on his threes last night...does it seem like he can become at least an average 3-point shooter, or is his 27% YTD more what we should expect?

[AbeVigodaLive]

I only saw the 4th quarter, but I have to agree that the energy level was intense by the entire roster. And yeah, Friday night is going to be fun...another win is not out of the question.

Glad to hear you ranked Josh as our second most important player last night. Apparently Thibs didn't though, as he only gave him 17 minutes to put up his +15. And even though his stat line is remarkably empty, Tyus' plus 16 tells me he should have had more than 11 minutes...he just has a knack for disrupting offenses with his positioning and quick hands. This team is talented and enthusiastic (now), and I also see a slightly better Thibs this season in some of the areas I have criticized him about in the past. My biggest fear is that Thibs lapses back into his former bad habits and wears our starters out. It worked last night, but he has proven it is not a sustainable strategy over the course of a season.

So, Wig is now shooting almost 42% on threes, but worse than that on 2's. At what point can we start to trust that his 3-point success is more than a mirage. Also, how did Josh look on his threes last night...does it seem like he can become at least an average 3-point shooter, or is his 27% YTD more what we should expect?

I think it's the type of 2s he takes...

Going downhill to the rim is good. Passing up a 24 foot three pointer to take a contested 18 - 22 foot jump shot is bad.

Anything over 35% (about league average) on a lot of attempts for Wiggins will be a good thing for the Wolves.



[Note: Covington is a career 36% guy... so the wings may only be average out there... but still good enough to keep firing away.]

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Nice report Lip. Watching Okie and Cov jump passing lanes and fight high on picks is fun. More Wig and Kat dunks going forward please.

Thibs played Cov 41 minutes? And our bench was playing well. Thibs will try and burn him out too.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Terrific game report Lip. It's nice to hear the guys were loose on the bench and interacting positively with each other.

LST, Okogie's 3-ball looks good when he's set. He shot 38% on 166 attempts in college and is a good free thrower, so all signs point to someone that should at least be a league average 3-point shooter eventually, but ya know...Wolves and all...no guarantees especially when it comes to shooting.

What Okogie does need to stop are the pull up J's off the dribble. Those shots look horrible and, like Wiggins, he should extinguish them from his game. He also lacks creativity on drives to the hoop. It's either he muscles/dunks it in or it's a terrible miss because he can't adjust. Until he proves otherwise, I'm hoping that at minimum he becomes Covington 2.0 at SG.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Nice report Lip. Watching Okie and Cov jump passing lanes and fight high on picks is fun. More Wig and Kat dunks going forward please.

Thibs played Cov 41 minutes? And our bench was playing well. Thibs will try and burn him out too.

Yeah, i don't get what thibs is doing with these minutes. Wiggs and teague arent fully healthy yet, but he still trots them out for almost 40 minutes on a night when okogie and tyus are playing well.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Nice report Lip. Watching Okie and Cov jump passing lanes and fight high on picks is fun. More Wig and Kat dunks going forward please.

Thibs played Cov 41 minutes? And our bench was playing well. Thibs will try and burn him out too.

Yeah, i don't get what thibs is doing with these minutes. Wiggs and teague arent fully healthy yet, but he still trots them out for almost 40 minutes on a night when okogie and tyus are playing well.

I get the minutes alarm... but it must have been contagious.

Minnesota had two players over 37 minutes.
New Orleans had three players over 38 minutes, with Davis at 41.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Nice report Lip. Watching Okie and Cov jump passing lanes and fight high on picks is fun. More Wig and Kat dunks going forward please.

Thibs played Cov 41 minutes? And our bench was playing well. Thibs will try and burn him out too.

Yeah, i don't get what thibs is doing with these minutes. Wiggs and teague arent fully healthy yet, but he still trots them out for almost 40 minutes on a night when okogie and tyus are playing well.

I get the minutes alarm... but it must have been contagious.

Minnesota had two players over 37 minutes.
New Orleans had three players over 38 minutes, with Davis at 41.

New Orleans' bench is inferior to Minnesota's. Davis hardly sat in the 2nd half, which frustrated me because I knew we could get some separation with him out of the game. Their starters "beat" our starters if you look at +/- but our bench kicked some butt when he was sitting.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Nice report Lip. Watching Okie and Cov jump passing lanes and fight high on picks is fun. More Wig and Kat dunks going forward please.

Thibs played Cov 41 minutes? And our bench was playing well. Thibs will try and burn him out too.

Yeah, i don't get what thibs is doing with these minutes. Wiggs and teague arent fully healthy yet, but he still trots them out for almost 40 minutes on a night when okogie and tyus are playing well.

I get the minutes alarm... but it must have been contagious.

Minnesota had two players over 37 minutes.
New Orleans had three players over 38 minutes, with Davis at 41.

New Orleans' bench is inferior to Minnesota's. Davis hardly sat in the 2nd half, which frustrated me because I knew we could get some separation with him out of the game. Their starters "beat" our starters if you look at +/- but our bench kicked some butt when he was sitting.

Yesterday the Wolves bench was better. When Randle plays like that... the Pelicans bench looks shorter than ever.

The guy came in as a 18/9 guy off the bench.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Nice report Lip. Watching Okie and Cov jump passing lanes and fight high on picks is fun. More Wig and Kat dunks going forward please.

Thibs played Cov 41 minutes? And our bench was playing well. Thibs will try and burn him out too.

Yeah, i don't get what thibs is doing with these minutes. Wiggs and teague arent fully healthy yet, but he still trots them out for almost 40 minutes on a night when okogie and tyus are playing well.

I get the minutes alarm... but it must have been contagious.

Minnesota had two players over 37 minutes.
New Orleans had three players over 38 minutes, with Davis at 41.

Outside of mirotic, the pels starters are healthy. Wiggs and teague are playing through nagging injuries. I mean thibs has already played rose too minutes and it's caught up.

I get that he needs bodies out there, but when the bench are playing well, we don't need to risk further injury.