CoolBreeze's 2 Things I Didn't Like Tonight Plus 1

[Coolbreeze44]

At least the chasm between us and the Spurs isn't that great. Hahahahahahahahaha. Again, let's try not to make judgments game by game. A team like the Spurs will bring out the worst in you. Not much tougher back to back than to travel and play the Spurs. Thankfully Parker was out or we might have looked bad. LOL. Here is the 2 + 1:

1) Maybe GR3 could be getting some opportunities at this point. He can't be any worse on defense than some of these glorified D leaguers. Thad Young and Robbie Hummel couldn't guard most WNBA forwards. The cat's out of the bag, play the young guys and Ricky when he comes back.

2) Not sure it happened tonight, but I hate it when the Wolves players intentionally try to get off a last second shot right after the buzzer. Don't want to ruin that 3 point percentage. I know it's a small thing, but you don't see a team like the Spurs waste an opportunity.

Plus 1 - It's simply Zach again tonight. He was easily our best player, and really doesn't look like a teenager any more. I'm not saying he's polished or "arrived", but he DOES look like one hell of a draft pick at #14. Going to be very interesting to see what his role becomes when Ricky comes back. He HAS to play. Whose expense is it going to be at?

And that's CoolBreeze's 2 things I didn't like tonight Plus 1

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Yeah, can't expect to win that one...even with Parker and Ginobli out. The snakebit Wolves arrived in San Antonio at 5AM after mechanical issues with their plane...can't make it up. And in addition to Rubio, Martin, Pek, Mo and Ronny being out, Thad admitted he has been playing on a very painful ankle...I had been wondering if he was hurt, because he has been terrible.

I had the game on, but wasn't watching very closely. After a while, I realized I was watching more closely when Bazz and AB were in, less closely when our starters were in. The rebounding gap between our starting forwards and their reserves is becoming ridiculous. Last night AB and Shabazz had 13 rebounds, and Young and Wiggins...2. You're just not going to win many games with your starting forwards pulling down 2 rebounds.

I am close to admitting that I was wrong about Zach LaVine. Having watched his forgettable freshman year at UCLA, I didn't see him ever being a good NBA player. But he looks like a different guy. As others have pointed out, he has a swagger that we wish Wiggins would develop. He's getting to the basket better and I also trust his shot more than I thought I would. Effective rebounder too. He had 10 assists last night, but I still think his future is at SG not PG. Flip needs to find him minutes there once everyone returns. He can have all the minutes Flip is giving Bud right now, plus some of Corey's. He needs 20 a night.

Wiggins still has an enormous ceiling in my estimation, but does he really deserve to be our starting SF now? He's averaging 10 and 2 the last 5 games on 33% shooting and not adding much in peripheral stats either. Maybe a different role would help him. And good lord, Shabazz deserves to start. Switch their roles and minutes for awhile.

I'm sympathetic to Thad Young trying to play through an ankle injury, but how long can we afford to give him starter's minutes when he just isn't able to rebound the basketball? He's a capable scorer, but doesn't do enough other things to justify a starting role. Starting AB is a nod to our youth movement, and is the right move now. He's not the scorer Thad is yet, but I think his offensive game can be developed. Run some plays for him other than those long 2's and let him move 2 feet further out for some 3-point attempts.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I agree it's still too early to say anything about Zach and how he will end up. It's all about sustained performance, All players that get as much time as he's getting are going to have some good games. Let's see if he can keep it up. He certainly doesn't lack confidence, that is for sure. What a contrast to Wiggins, who has seemingly gone into a shell over the past few games.

[Coolbreeze44]

It's not that Zach had a good game, it's the way he plays and the IT quality he exudes. You can just tell he is going to be something special. Sure I'm speculating but that's what a message board is for.

[mjs34]

Cool, I think you are spot on in your analysis. I have been asking for GR3 to get minutes in Bud's spot for some time. There just isn't any reason (other than trade value) for Bud to be on the court. His offensive is below average, and his D is atrocious. Why not go with a guy that has the ability to guard, and likely won't be any worse offensively in the limited minutes when needed.

I stated before the season that I thought Zach was going to be our "go to" guy. Not because I thought he was going to be ROY or anything, but because he has the mental makeup to play that role, and can create his own shot. Something most others really struggle with.

I think the staff is actually putting too much pressure on Wiggins offensively, and that is why we seeing him regressing as of late. Let him take shots when he feels comfortable. It will come to him eventually with the skillset he possesses. With almost no outside shooting, there is very little space inside for AW to operate. Let him play D, continue to knock down the 3pter, and pick his spots to drive.

I can believe the ankle issue with Young, as I just commented to a buddy the other day that he didn't look very athletic going up around the rim. What isn't a product of a sore ankle is watching shots go up, and not making any effort to find or block out an opponent, and Thad is guilty of that more often than not. Either way his minutes need to be reduced. I will say it again, Bennett is our best and highest IQ defensive big. I watched him effectively shutdown the baseline drive several times, while playing physical defense and also playing the PnR very well over the last few games. I literally have no idea what Flip is looking at that he would call him out, of all our bigs.

One thing that has to happen is that Bazz has to be on the floor in late game situtations. He is a scorer, and that is something this team has been missing.

Flip has to get rid of the zone D. First off, the team seems incapable of understanding the rotations needed, and are continually sagging into the paint for no reason leaving more than one guy open for a 3. With the athleticism and similar size of most of our players, it is silly not to play man and do a lot of switching off of picks and screens. It is clear at this point that Flip has about as much understanding of playing D as Adelman did. It is clearly not a high priority in his mind based on his substitution patterns or we would have already seen more of GR3 over Bud.

[Coolbreeze44]

Good stuff SJ. Bennett is 5x the defender Young is.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Bennett's been much better defensively than I anticipated, but better than Young? I don't see that being the case.

[Coolbreeze44]

Bennett's been much better defensively than I anticipated, but better than Young? I don't see that being the case.

Seriously Cam? I've been appalled by Young's defense.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Why don't we run many screens for Wiggins? It seems like the only plays our offense is designed to go through him are post ups. I would think getting him some open jumpers or driving lanes off of screens would be much more conducive to his game. For being a guy with a limited handle a decent looking jump shot, we certainly don't tailor much to his strengths and away from his weaknesses. I just don't think at this point that our offensive game plan is very good. They run Bud off of screens when he is in the game. Why can't we do the same for Wiggins? I get that we are injured and don't have much, if any playmaking ability, but ball movement can help when you lack playmaking and we just don't seem to have a lot of ball movement.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I could be wrong, but I swear I've seen Wiggins come off down screens only to shoot a 20-footer. Good amount of times too. Just me?