Minnesota Sports Forum

.500 after two games, and that's probably what we all expected. But nonetheless it was good to win at home and get that first one in the W column. Here is tonight's 2 +1:

1) I realize we are in the business of winning basketball games, but I sure would have liked to see Wiggins get some run down the stretch. He showed glimpses of how dynamic he can be in the 2nd half and I wanted to see if that confidence was going to continue. But I totally understand why Flip went with the vets to close the game out. I just hope Andrew grows up fast enough and forces Flip to keep him out there due to his play.

2) I thought our shot selection was a big factor in letting Detroit back into the game. The 19 point lead didn't last long once we stopped running our offense. Of course Caron was on fire and that was a big factor too, but I had the feeling we relaxed, took some bad shots, and stopped doing things that got us the lead. Just symptomatic of a team with a lot of youth and new parts.

Plus 1 - Ricky's shot is definitely improved from a form perspective. Anthony Bennett impressed me again tonight with his athleticism. And I liked that Zach got some run and Bud didn't. I hope it's something we get used to.

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

Good to have the 2+1 back, cool, although now that I've moved back to the Midwest, it may arrive after my bed time sometimes!

I was with you on Wiggins last night, as I wanted to see him in there at crunch time. But I wanted a win more, as did Flip, and maybe his ballhandling was just too sloppy last night to trust him in a close game. Too bad, because it was fun to see him assert himself on the offensive side in the 3rd quarter, especially on the play where he hung in the air for about a minute after absorbing contact and still made the shot. And I wondered if he might have been a good option to put on the absurdly hot Caron Butler. But ultimately, Flip's bizarre choice of putting Kevin Martin on Butler somehow worked, as Martin showed more defensive hustle than I have ever seen, and shut Butler down when we needed it...crazy, but it worked. I was happy to hear Flip compliment KMart for his defense after the game.

I'm not as much in agreement with you about shot selection, as I thought it was pretty solid most of the game. I attribute the 4th quarter flop to the unconscious Butler. This is a guy who has shot under 35% on threes for his career and went 0-5 the night before in Denver, but last night everything went in...even when a hand was in his face. As he hit shot after shot, I felt that familiar feeling of impending doom...the Wolves were going to lose another close one, and at 0-2 the season was going to be in jeopardy. This is the kind of game they would have lost in the Love/Adelman era. The offense would have become stagnant and predictable in the final 5 minutes, and the defense would have been uninspired, and we would have lost by three. Instead, Flip kept the energy level up and let Ricky run the offense, and vets Thad and Mo hit shots that a certain departed superstar seldom hit at the end of games (and reportedly, didn't again last night in Cleveland). Very fun to watch, and very encouraging.

And a big thumbs up on your +1. Ricky said in his post-game interview in Memphis that he is working with the shooting coach every day, and it is crystal clear in his mechanics. He actually looks comfortable moving to his right after a pick, and hitting a much softer j...what a difference that will make in his game if he can keep it up. And AB's athleticism is astonishing in a guy that big...I again found myself rubbing my eyes watching him on defense, not believing a guy that big can have such quick feet. And his shot mechanics are perfect, as Jim Peterson pointed out last night. It's also fun to see his long arms emerge from a crowd to snag a rebound...I think he has elite rebounder potential.

The schedulers gave us a nice present, giving us the Bulls the night after they host the Cavs. The Cavs will be angry after an opening night loss to the Knicks, and we may see a tired Bulls squad on Saturday...nice spot for an upset.

Flip addressed the Wiggins in crunchtime dilemma. He said he thought about putting him in at the 6 minute mark, and then the 3 minute mark, and that he would have been kicking himself for not putting him in had we lost. But leaned against it because he wanted Wiggins last stint on the court to be a positive one that he could carry into the next game.

Yes, very good to see Ricky hitting that mid-range jumper with confidence. As we all have said before, he doesn't need to be a great shooter to move into the upper echelon of NBA point guards - he just needs to be adequate. I like what we're seeing.

What I don't like is how Flip is using Anthony Bennett. A number of you have heard me rail on what a horrible shot the long 2 is, but AB is taking it to a new level. AB has taken 12 shots over the course of his first two games. 10 out of those 12 are long 2-point jumpers. What the hell!? Here we have this strong, athletic wide-body and the crux of how we use him offensively is pick and pop jumpers? How about rolling to the hoop on occasion or posting up? I don't have a problem with AB taking wide open jumpers - but not as his only source of offense!

Another revelation is Thad's 3-point shooting. Historically Thad has never been much of a 3-point shooter and for a while he just stopped taking them (probably a coaching decision). But last year Philly's new coach gave him the green light, but without much success (30%). But watching him early this year his release looks very good and I feel pretty confident that he can knock them down at a good clip. That is a really key development considering how 3-point shooting has been a historical weakness for this squad.

Q12543 wrote:Yes, very good to see Ricky hitting that mid-range jumper with confidence. As we all have said before, he doesn't need to be a great shooter to move into the upper echelon of NBA point guards - he just needs to be adequate. I like what we're seeing.

What I don't like is how Flip is using Anthony Bennett. A number of you have heard me rail on what a horrible shot the long 2 is, but AB is taking it to a new level. AB has taken 12 shots over the course of his first two games. 10 out of those 12 are long 2-point jumpers. What the hell!? Here we have this strong, athletic wide-body and the crux of how we use him offensively is pick and pop jumpers? How about rolling to the hoop on occasion or posting up? I don't have a problem with AB taking wide open jumpers - but not as his only source of offense!

Another revelation is Thad's 3-point shooting. Historically Thad has never been much of a 3-point shooter and for a while he just stopped taking them (probably a coaching decision). But last year Philly's new coach gave him the green light, but without much success (30%). But watching him early this year his release looks very good and I feel pretty confident that he can knock them down at a good clip. That is a really key development considering how 3-point shooting has been a historical weakness for this squad.

Excellent point on Bennett Q. He would seem to have much more to his game than reinventing Dante's elbow jump shot + 6 feet. Get him on the block and let him go to work.

And where is the back pick at the elbow for Wiggins as he rolls to the tin for the alley oop jam? You know, the play we used to run for DWill.

One major issue is rebounding. As good as Young is he is a terrible rebounder and more often than not Pek is left fighting for a defensive board against three opposition players on his own.

I like the idea of bringing Bennett into the starting line up and moving Young to the 3 and Wiggins to the 2 with Brewer coming off the bench. Young moves to the 4 when playing with the second unit. Young's strength is his perimeter defence and he is simply too small against oppositio sntarting PFs in this league.

Problem with moving Thad to the 3 is that his defender will be quicker, and that will hurt his driving chances. I think we just have to live with the rebounding and try and make up for it at another position. I was hoping having WIggins at the 3 or Brewer not leaking out, would make up for it , and looking at totals, it has. Ricky is up a little early on as well. My bigger concern is the lack of size holding position down low, but if he can continue to score efficiently, I will be happy to have him cancel the other PF on most nights. Still want to see Bennett take over at some point though.

Cool, who is this Dwill guy you speak of? Running plays for him?? :)

KiwiMatt wrote:One major issue is rebounding. As good as Young is he is a terrible rebounder and more often than not Pek is left fighting for a defensive board against three opposition players on his own.

I like the idea of bringing Bennett into the starting line up and moving Young to the 3 and Wiggins to the 2 with Brewer coming off the bench. Young moves to the 4 when playing with the second unit. Young's strength is his perimeter defence and he is simply too small against oppositio sntarting PFs in this league.

I like this idea Kiwi. I see Bennett as a starter in the near future anyway It would make us really long, and would provide the 2nd unit even more firepower with Williams and Martin.

sjm34 wrote:Problem with moving Thad to the 3 is that his defender will be quicker, and that will hurt his driving chances. I think we just have to live with the rebounding and try and make up for it at another position. I was hoping having WIggins at the 3 or Brewer not leaking out, would make up for it , and looking at totals, it has. Ricky is up a little early on as well. My bigger concern is the lack of size holding position down low, but if he can continue to score efficiently, I will be happy to have him cancel the other PF on most nights. Still want to see Bennett take over at some point though.

Cool, who is this Dwill guy you speak of? Running plays for him?? :)

Wasn't he the #2 pick in the draft? If I remember right we got the great LRMAM for him. What a steal!!

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:Yes, very good to see Ricky hitting that mid-range jumper with confidence. As we all have said before, he doesn't need to be a great shooter to move into the upper echelon of NBA point guards - he just needs to be adequate. I like what we're seeing.

What I don't like is how Flip is using Anthony Bennett. A number of you have heard me rail on what a horrible shot the long 2 is, but AB is taking it to a new level. AB has taken 12 shots over the course of his first two games. 10 out of those 12 are long 2-point jumpers. What the hell!? Here we have this strong, athletic wide-body and the crux of how we use him offensively is pick and pop jumpers? How about rolling to the hoop on occasion or posting up? I don't have a problem with AB taking wide open jumpers - but not as his only source of offense!

Another revelation is Thad's 3-point shooting. Historically Thad has never been much of a 3-point shooter and for a while he just stopped taking them (probably a coaching decision). But last year Philly's new coach gave him the green light, but without much success (30%). But watching him early this year his release looks very good and I feel pretty confident that he can knock them down at a good clip. That is a really key development considering how 3-point shooting has been a historical weakness for this squad.

Excellent point on Bennett Q. He would seem to have much more to his game than reinventing Dante's elbow jump shot + 6 feet. Get him on the block and let him go to work.

And where is the back pick at the elbow for Wiggins as he rolls to the tin for the alley oop jam? You know, the play we used to run for DWill.

Q Bennett is hitting that shot so far. I think one for sure was a bad shot where it was early in the shotclock and a guy was in his face, btu yeah. He looks plenty comfy taking it and Pete mentioned he loads it up well. I still say Flip and the staff has told him to take that long shot hit that and work on the 3 in practice etc. Its a similar thing to what they are doing with Rubio. He isn't taking three's he is going to around the FT or a little beyond and taking that jumper. Its a really good way to build up your jumper to distance. Also Bennett has dove to the rim a pretty good chunk and that one big jam was one of those times. A few times people haven't hit him. Also imagine if Bennett gets that jumper to fall. Guys will get up on him and then his ball-handling will come into play and he may be blowing past them. they are different, but really I've said it before alot of Thad and Bennett's games are really similar in strengths offensively.

Q Collins when he was coaching told Thad not to shoot 3's and he didn't. The 2nd and 3rd year of his career when he shot a good volume he hit over 34% which you would be fine with if he shot that for the year right? I keep saying IF Young can keep hitting at even that rate he will be really useful on offense, but he has some reasonable body of work that says he can hit 3's its not totally coming out of nowhere. He had a green light last year, but we have discussed on this board about how that wasn't good for his efficiently. I think he will get alot of easy looks on the 3 point line and if teams run him off that he can attack the closeout and score or create for others. Thad has potential of a perimeter oriented game on offense that could take away from some of what he doesn't do well closer to the basket. I'm very happy to have him on the team I think he plays winning basketball.