Minnesota Sports Forum

I'm really torn on this. I feel Thibs may go with Gibson, but Dieng played well last season and seems popular with Thibs. I wouldn't rule Belly out either as it sounds like he's over his injury.

I went with Gibson starting because Dieng has some offeneisve abilities that might be helpful off the bench. If Belly is healthy and even playing somewhat well this could be a really good and really versatile front court. It could come down to if someone of either unit finds chemistry with Dieng or Gibson. Lavine had a really good feel with Dieng maybe Crawford or Tyus really clicks with him or Gibson.

G is the best player - he should start.

I doubt Bjelica would start. Between Taj and Dieng, they're both solid defenders and similar players, so I could see it going either way. I kind of like the idea of having Taj come off the bench so that we've got a veteran playing with the backups and hopefully providing a steady hand, but I voted for Taj to start though, because whoever starts at the PF should be giving up a bunch of shots and should just focus on defense, and I think Gorgui's got more offensive game so I'd rather have Taj play that more one-sided role. I think Gorgui should get more minutes and keep playing with Towns for stretches, but I'd start Taj with the starters and get him to play the role of a defensive specialist. It will also help that Taj has more experience with Thibs and should thus be a good help for Towns defensively.

Gorgui scores at a slightly higher percentage and his true shooting % is a little higher, plus he's shown a little more versatility in his offensive game (I'd love to see the bank shot come back, and he should definitely be shooting corner threes). So I'd like to see Gorgui come off the bench and be able to get a little more of an offensive focus, including playing the 5 alongside Belly at the 4.

Starters:
Teague
Wiggins
Butler
Taj
Towns

Full Bench Unit:
Tyus
Crawford
Bazz
Bjelica
Dieng

Man, that bench backcourt is going to be weak defensively. We really needed to get Tony Allen this summer. If our bench defense starts looking terrible, it might make sense to think about trying to stagger Butler a bit to play him with the reserves more. Maybe bring Bazz off the bench for Butler relatively early, then put Butler back in for Wiggins after the rest of the bench is out there. This would also make sense somewhat because Teague is actually a pretty decent scorer, so having 4 scorers out there with the starting unit might not be the most efficient roster use (then again, Bazz is a scorer too!). Butler still needs to get 36-38 minutes, but that could be an emergency fix. Still, either way, our backcourt defense could be a real problem whenever Butler's not on the floor. Ugh, I like Crawford and Bazz, but that's two offensive guys, and we could have used a stronger defender. I do have hope that Bazz's defense will come along. And as a team, we've got to start playing better defense overall, because we don't have a lot of great individual defenders.

I think peak Belly has always been the best guy to start because of his glue guy type play. There's a reason he was closing games out last year. He can hang out on the perimeter and move the ball well offensively and he's a versatile defender who was playing solid last year. G is a good PnR defender, but he's atrocious protecting the rim and can't hang on the perimeter defensively like Belly. Gibson is a tough defender who could help keep Towns fresh from getting shoved around on the block all game long. He's the least versatile offensively, but he stays in his lane. I'd like to see G and Gibson off the bench and we give G a little more offensive responsibility. But all this depends on Belly's health and if he's the same guy he was pre-injury. If he's not, I'd start Gibson to try to establish a defensive identity early in games like we did 2 years ago with KG.

Taj. We need D to make up for Towns gambling so much. They're the right match.

I voted for taj. Best defender of the 3 and helps us set the tone on defense to start games.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:G is the best player - he should start.

Yes. I'm disappointed but not surprised by the vote. No doubt Gorgui is the better player. If Taj is the better defender that's all the more reason to bring him off the bench to play with Crawford, Bazz and Tyus. As one of the Wolves assistant coaches told a friend of mine, having Butler on the court is like having an extra half defender.

Actually, I'm guessing that Thibs will start Gorgui.

Mmmmm, I could go either way on this one. Dieng was probably the team's best defensive starter last year, although that's not saying much. Also, most teams tend to go bigger to start games, so if ever there was a time to play KAT and Gorgui together, it's at the opening of each half. Taj can guard in space better, so it makes sense to see him play later in quarters when teams tend to go smaller and defensive switching becomes more important.

I don't know which way Thibs will go with this one...I suspect he is fond of both G's and Taj's games. Personally I would choose G because I think he is the better player at this stage of their careers. Plus he started every game last year, and I don't like the idea of replacing him with a 31-year-old average player. Taj has the better defensive rep, but G had better steals, blocks and defensive rebounding numbers last year, so I don't know if that rep is deserved anymore. Plus Gorgui is clearly the better passer and shooter, and has a comfort level with our 2 young stars after playing so many minutes with them. Taj will be a good addition to the locker room and provide some toughness off the bench, but I can't make a logical argument to start him over G.