Minnesota Sports Forum

Don't want to make Lip-like judgments based on one preseason game, but I will make the following 3 points:

1) Don't want to hear Bud is a changed player this year, he is exactly as you remember him last year.

2) Ditto for JJ.

3) Corey Brewer certainly doesn't need Kevin Love's outlet passes to be effective running the court or scoring the ball. He is going to be really good in the role Flip has for him.

Other observations:

- Wiggins athleticism is stunning. There is so much potential in him it's crazy. Needs to get good coaching and be pushed early in his career to develop the work ethic of the greats.

- Lavine continues to look pretty natural as a point guard. Hope he develops as we all want.

- Ricky - Again it's one game but I don't think we can expect much improvement in his offensive game. He also looked slow and almost out of shape. Wonder if the contract thing is weighing on him. All of a sudden, I'm not sure he is the point guard of the future. I like him and think he can be good without scoring a lot, but for the first time I am wondering about his long term future here.

- We all know scoring is going to be an issue in a lot of games. By last night's game you can tell how important Pek's offense is going to be. Gorgui continues to look like a player, but we need all the offense we can get.

As I thought, the team is going to be fun to watch win or lose. They have a totally different look and feel than the Wolves teams of recent history.

You must have been looking at Bud thru dirty glasses, because I think there's a huge difference between the way he moves on the court now compared to last year.

But everything else I agree with. I am not too worried about Ricky, but I'll agree he looked "worn-out" yesterday... World Cup still dragging him down?

Bud is a changed player from last year. He's physically better. Only played seven minutes last night, but his body is clearly better.

Agreed on Barea and Brewer.

Rubio did have a left hand finish after faking a pass to Dieng. The finish looked pretty natural and comfortable.

Pekovic is going to feast in his 28 minutes a night. Nikola needs a touch every possession.

With you on Bud Cool. I just don't see him coming back from those injuries unfortunate as it is. I am welcome for him to prove me wrong, but I am thankful that Flip is coaching this year which means all of Bud's PT will be earned rather than given because of familiarity.

It's not so much the health of Bud that is the problem. It's the fact he's not very good. Remember you spend 50% of your time playing defense when you are on the court.

Speaking of Lip, where the hell is he?

Gotta be healthy to play defense and have range on your jumper. One step at a time.

TheSP wrote:Speaking of Lip, where the hell is he?

I remember him laying low last preseason as well. I think Lip is a bright lights guy. He will get cranked up as we get closer to the season. And I'm sure he will report on the home preseason games.

I only saw the highlights, but Wiggins had some very Kobesque moves last night. But let's not get too excited everyone, it will be a long season for him.

Not suprising, our criples are already missing games. Sigh. Also, why do I get the sick feeling Bazz won't see many minutes this year? I'll wait 5-10 more games to see how he meshes, but my gut tells me 10 minutes a game.

Why should any of us want Pek or Martin playing in these early pre-season games? I don't wanna see Thaddeus or Brewer much in them either.