Game Report - Wolves v Blazers

[Lipoli390]

Another small crowd tonight. But louder and more fun. Probably because there was more to get up for tonight with the way the Wolves played.

Portland did not play well. They appeared to be taking the Wolves a bit lightly. But I don't want to take anything away from the Wolves. The T-Wolves played well tonight, especially on the defensive end, and definitely earned the win.

Wiggins dominated the box score for the Wolves tonight. But Corey came up big too, going 10 for 10 from the line and hitting huge buckets, including that shot at the buzzer at the end of the first half. Sometimes that guy drives you nuts with his horrible shooting, gambling defensive style and notoriously poor handle. Other times, corey reminds you of the substantial value he adds. Tonight was the latter. Corey's intensity and will to win were in full view tonight and that intensity and will to win were what took this team to it's first win in a while.

As for Wiggins, the guy is amazing in this sense. He'll score around 20 points as he did tonight while simultaneously displaying one the worst handles at his position in the NBA. That's testament to his extraordinary potential when you also consider his defensive prowess. I was particularly heartened by his 10 rebounds and the clutch nature of some of his shots. He's a great athlete, and he also appears to have a terrific perimeter shot. But his handle has to improve dramatically if he's going to be a great NBA player.

I was really impressed by Shabazz. I love the way he attacks. His entry into the game in the first quarter seemed to be a turning point for the Woves. Shabazz played extremely well, especially defensively. If he can develop anything approaching a good perimeter shot, he'll be very good. He was mad when Flip pulled him in the second half. He appeared to be mad at himself for missing a couple shots down and pissed about being taken out of the game. I like that he was angry. I like that he's hard on himself and I'm glad he gets pissed about sitting down rather than playing. But get this. When Brewer hit that three at the buzzer in the first half, the first guy off the bench to celebrate was Shabazz. He jumped off the bench ran out to greet Corey and did a huge high body five. He didn't sulk.

Zach played well also in spite of his 5 turnovers. He made some sweet passes and some nice perimeter shots. I have no doubt he's going to be a superb NBA player down the road.

Overall, a nice game for theT-pups.

[worldK]

Always appreciate your game reports lip.

I thought bazz got the hook in the 3rd because he blew that 3 on 1 fastbreak opportunity. It was a bad play where he was tunnel visioned, didnt pass when he should have and didnt make the easy and right play. Still, he was a big boosts in the first half. He and adrien along with wiggins got us the lead and momentum in the 2nd quarter. Flip put bazz back in the 4th so I thought it was a teaching moment for flip to bazz on blowing that play.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Went to the game. I don't go to many.

- After introductions, we stopped for a beer. I asked my buddies "what's with the delay?" because it was eerily quiet. I was shocked when I walked in to a very quiet (nearly silent?) arena with 4 minutes already gone.

- The Blazers overlooked the Wolves tonight. They played terribly. Atrocious effort. Minnesota seemed faster to the ball all night. And Muhammad may be a guy without a position. Without a handle. But he hustles. He reminds me of a guy who'd have thrived on those old Bill Musselman teams. If he keeps that "motor" he'll stay a rotation guy around the league for several years.

- Wiggins played with confidence in that 4th quarter. Impressive. I'd still like to see him and LaVine attack instead of settling for long two pointers... but they look pretty when they shoot those jumpers at least.

- At one point, it was LaVine. Muhammad. Bennett. Adrien. Wiggins. I couldn't recall a team with an entire lineup of subpar passers like that in all the years I've watched ball. But it didn't hurt the Wolves.

- The Wolves were 1 - 12 on three pointers.

- Because... the Blazers stunk. The intensity they finally started to play with in the 4th made the effort in the first 3 quarters so much more pathetic. Embarrassing loss.

- Adrien would be another Bill Musselman type guy. Another tweener who hustles.

- Corey Brewer did a lot of Corey Brewer type things.

[Lipoli390]

Adrien was a nice addition. We just couldn't go on with Robbie as our back-up center. Adrien provides som much-needed muscle. He can rebound and block some shots. He definitely made a difference last night against the Blazers.

[bleedspeed]

Adrien was a nice addition. We just couldn't go on with Robbie as our back-up center. Adrien provides som much-needed muscle. He can rebound and block some shots. He definitely made a difference last night against the Blazers.

He certainly is a good 3rd PF for this team. We looked so small out there. He adds a guy to the roster that is not easy to push around and doesn't like to be push around. Just what we need with this young team.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Thanks for the report Lip. I think they've hit on something defensively with this switching strategy. They did it against Golden State with reasonable effect and it really seemed to work against Portland. It isn't ideal because you end up with mismatches, but it eliminates the pick and roll game to a large degree and teams were just murdering us with that. It will be interesting to see what they do against OKC, which is less of a 3-point shooting team, so it's a bit easier to go under screens rather than switching. We'll see....

My only criticism is with the decision-making by some of our guys. LaVine made just some careless mistakes out there, including a series of poorly executed passes and also a forced layup that he missed when he should have been dribbling the ball out to use up clock. While he's clearly a gifted athlete with some nice skills, he has a very low b-ball IQ. I can see why Flip might be hard on him; hopefully the experience and coaching will add a dose of smarts to go along with his athleticism and confidence.

Lastly, what we are witnessing with Thad Young is the consequence of not having our #1 or #2 scoring options (Martin and Pek). He simply doesn't have the game to be a go-to player, yet Flip has very few options. Even Shabazz needs to be set-up to a degree since he is fairly limited off the dribble. Luckily Wiggins stepped up and was making his mid-range jumpers last night. That was huge.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Yeah, nice win last night. And great defensive effort, albeit against a team that probably wasn't trying too hard. Can someone please tell me why Bennett isn't getting much burn? I haven't been watching the games.

[bleedspeed]

Yeah, nice win last night. And great defensive effort, albeit against a team that probably wasn't trying too hard. Can someone please tell me why Bennett isn't getting much burn? I haven't been watching the games.

Because Young is so good.

Honestly I didn't see much from him. He seemed to be late on defensive rotations from what I saw and then didn't always body up when he did. He looked out played by Adrien.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Yeah, nice win last night. And great defensive effort, albeit against a team that probably wasn't trying too hard. Can someone please tell me why Bennett isn't getting much burn? I haven't been watching the games.

Because Young is so good.

Honestly I didn't see much from him. He seemed to be late on defensive rotations from what I saw and then didn't always body up when he did. He looked out played by Adrien.

I suspect that he's givingThad as many minutes as he can to generate some trade value, because Flip knows he's walking after this year.

[bleedspeed]

I suspect that he's giving Thad as many minutes as he can to generate some trade value, because Flip knows he's walking after this year.

It might be having the opposite effect at this moment