Game Report - Wolves v. Knicks

[Lipoli390]

This is my first game report in a while. I wish I could say that tonight's outcome was a surprise, but it wasn't. It was perfectly consistent with this team's pattern throughout the season -- killing winning streaks and reverting to .500 by losing home games against beatable opponents. Other familiar themes: (1) Our starters coming out flat in the first quarter, (2) terrible bench play, (3) Martin disappearing and missing wide open looks when it counts and playing horrendous defense, (4) Adelman slow on the trigger getting his starters back in the game in the 4th and extra slow getting Ricky back in the game, (5) terrible defense along with a lack of quickness and athleticism causing us to consistently lose out on getting lose balls.

Although I wasn't surprised by the outcome, I was deeply disappointed because this was a win we really needed to keep us on track for a realistic shot at a playoff bid this season. A team with playoff aspirations at this point in the season has to win games like tonight's. And although we should not have fallen behind the way we did tonight, we still should have nailed down a win in the second half after coming to within 2 in the 3rd quarter. I know that Q has written that he enjoys watching this team play. Honestly, I don't. It is very frustrating to watch this team on a regular basis, especially live, and see a roster that is slower and less athletic that just about every team they play while also noticing that this team is a poor three-point shooting team and completely bereft of any player who can create his own shot and take over a game off the dribble -- something that nearly every NBA playoff caliber team has. And of course, there's this team's inability to get stops and absence of an NBA-caliber bench.

As for tonight's game specifically, here are a few additional thoughts.

1. Love had a bad game. Some of the credit goes to Chandler who really stifled Kevin inside. But Love missed a number of open threes that he can make. Nevertheless, I can't blame Kevin for tonight's loss. He's done everything you could expect from an elite player all season. It was up to others to step up and Love didn't get enough from his teammates.

2. Three bright spots were Ricky, Corey and Shabazz.

a. Ricky was the main reason we came back in the 3rd. He was exceptional, orchestrating the offense brilliantly, hitting key baskets and willing his team from 15 points down to within 2 points before Adelman went to his bench.

b. Corey got torched by Melo on the defensive end tonight. Corey also missed all three of his corner three attempts and made several out-of-control forays into the paint. Yet, he gave it his all on both ends of the court, scored 16 points, hit 6 of 6 free throws and overall gave a tremendous effort. As I've said before many times, the organization has put Corey in a difficult position that requires him to do way too much outside his core strengths. As an example, tonight he was expected to guard the much bigger and stronger Melo one on one and then he was expected to carry a huge load on the offensive end as a shooter, ball-handler and scorer. That's not his fault. Part of why he puts the ball on the floor for out-of-control forays into the paint is because no one else in our starting line except Ricky attacks the bucket. Yet, the modern NBA game requires dribble drive scoring to compete effectively. Corey's good basketball instincts tell him that the team needs to attack off the dribble and he does it himself because no one else will or can. Although I think Corey is overpaid relative to comparable players like DeMarre Carroll, I still really like him and think he's been a net positive for the Wolves this season.

c. Shabazz can rebound and score mid-range in. He had some terrible turnovers tonight, but those turnovers were due in part to his all out effort and enthusiasm as well as the fact that he's a rookie. He was 5 for 5 from the field and really gave us a lift offensively tonight. He actually guarded Melo fairly well, forcing him to take some tough shots. I'm feeling better about Shabazz although I acknowledge he has a long way to go and I'm not sure how good he can be. Like others in this Board, I wish he had been given more minutes earlier in this season

3. Although I think Adelman gets unfairly criticized a bit on this Board, I'm ready to see him go. I understand that his bench is horrible, but given the importance of tonight's game, he had to get his starters back in the game early in the 4th. He failed this team tonight at a critical moment in a critical game. I know that Q thought we should have had Luc in the game on Melo instead of Brewer. While I think Luc would have guarded Melo more effectively than Brewer did, Brewer was making critical offensive contributions that Luc could not have made. Luc isn't just a bad offensive player, he's an absolutely horrible offensive player -- horrible shooter, terrible hands, horrible passer, pathetic ball-handler, etc. To be fair to Adelman, he's constrained by a very limited roster filled with one-way players, and absolutely no bench. But I think Adelman's time as an NBA head coach has come to an end.

4. Martin did tonight what he's done repeatedly all season. He consistently missed wide-open looks tonight in a critical game when we really needed him to score. I know that Q has praised Martin's movement without the ball, but as someone who has seen him play a lot in person this season, I'll say that he's not exceptional in that department. He's certainly no Rip Hamilton without the ball. Actually, Martin way too often just disappears.He stops moving and makes it obvious to all that he doesn't want the ball. He's passive and often plays scared. He's not a guy you can count on to score even though that's the role he was signed to fill. On the defensive end, he's as bad as anyone in the League.

Interestingly, this team still has a shot at making the playoffs this season. Unfortunately, I just don't see that happening. I'm still mystified over Flip's failure to make a run at signing Jimmer to punch up our bench scoring and long-range shooting. I'm mystified at a number of things Flip did and didn't do over the past 10 months.

Bottom line is I don't see this team making the playoffs this season and I'm not sure I see light at the end of the tunnel beyond this season. As we saw tonight and even in our fortunate win over Denver Saturday, this team can't get stops. In addition, we don't have an NBA-caliber bench and we don't have a go-to scorer who can score consistently off the dribble. Those problems are inherent in this roster and won't be fixed without significant roster moves this off-season. I'm not impressed by Flip, but in fairness, he inherited a flawed roster. This next summer will be an opportunity for him to show us what he's got. If he succeeds, I'll be first in line to sing his praises. As a Wolves fan, I'll certainly be pulling for him.

That's it for now.

[Phenom]

On a night where many things weren't working, I wish Adelman had stuck with what was. He should have rode Ricky and the group that was getting it done. The rotation is too large right now. There is no reason to play Luc anymore other than for situational defense. Chase's minutes should be lessened and probably given to Ricky. Let JJ keep his minutes and just play more with Ricky. Chase needs to play into bigger minutes by producing like Shabazz is doing.

It makes me ill to want the playoffs so badly and realize it is probably out of reach and that there is also a good chance the team can lose its pick as well. Sucks.

[Lipoli390]

I agree, Phenom. Chase is completely worthless right now. He's taking minutes that Shabazz has earned. And no doubt that Adelman needed to stick with his starters in the 4th except perhaps for Martin. 32 minutes for Ricky in such a critical game? Not acceptable.

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

Love was due a for an off game, he's human. K-Mart unfortunately has been off and on all year so nothing new for him. Still, we entered the 4th down 2 with all the momentum. You gotta win the game at that point.

I actually didn't see any of the game but have now read/heard what happened. What was the lineup at the start of the 4th? It sounds like Ricky and Shabazz really had it going. Did it make sense to leave Ricky or both of them in? Hindsight obviously says yes, but realistically was that the move at the time? Did Love play the entire 3rd?

This is an off the wall theory, but I'm starting to wonder if Adelman is actually a bit intimidated with JJ. The guy has played so poorly yet continues to play a major role in the rotation. Then even if he gets yanked after playing badly he reacts like he has been done an injustice for being taken out of the game (and he rarely gets yanked). I just don't get it. Of all the things I thought might hurt us this season, stupid coaching was not one of them.

[worldK]

Agree with pretty much what you said lip.

Its clear that flip needs to make an overhaul of the roster to build around love-rubio-pek 1 last time. I would be open to trading pek if the right deal comes along.

JJ needs to go, the fans have turned on him. He was not this bad the previous 2 seasons.

Ive been a supporter of adelman and thinks he did a good job the previous 2 years with what he had to work with and the injuries and all. But like lip, Im ready to see him go after this season. To be clear, I dont think any other coach would have make a difference this season to be honest and i dont blame rick as much as others have, but its time for a new voice.

Luc and shved are expirings but i dont see them having any value to anyone, we might have to trade a 2nd or a euro stash to get rid of them and i would be willing to do that.

Martin needs to go. Yes, he put up good numbers and could get hot every now and then that seems to make his 6.5m salary looks like a bargain. But he cant be counted on in big games. Like lip pointed out, he seems to shy away from the ball at times and he can be a ball stopper and dont contribute much aside from scoring. He is just the type of player that can get his numbers but doesnt make his teammates better.

We need to add a new starter in the lineup next season. Along with a backup lead guard and more athletes at all positions. Brew/bud/shabazz/dieng and turiaf are good role players to have but if we need to package them in deals then im willing to deal them.

[bleedspeed]

II am sorry, but Kevin Martin is not the problem here. He like Brewer might be counted on to do to much. He is a quality signing at 6.5M. He made 40% of his 3pt's tonight and still scored 12 points on 10 shots and got to the like 4 times. Why the hell did Budinger get 10 shots? He had zero trips to the line and missed more wide open shots then imaginable. This lose is on Adelman, JJ, and Budinger. I hope all three are gone next year.

[all_day_88 [enjin:6666373]]

Love was due a for an off game, he's human. K-Mart unfortunately has been off and on all year so nothing new for him. Still, we entered the 4th down 2 with all the momentum. You gotta win the game at that point.

I actually didn't see any of the game but have now read/heard what happened. What was the lineup at the start of the 4th? It sounds like Ricky and Shabazz really had it going. Did it make sense to leave Ricky or both of them in? Hindsight obviously says yes, but realistically was that the move at the time? Did Love play the entire 3rd?

This is an off the wall theory, but I'm starting to wonder if Adelman is actually a bit intimidated with JJ. The guy has played so poorly yet continues to play a major role in the rotation. Then even if he gets yanked after playing badly he reacts like he has been done an injustice for being taken out of the game (and he rarely gets yanked). I just don't get it. Of all the things I thought might hurt us this season, stupid coaching was not one of them.

Adelman went with our bench to start the fourth like usual even though the knicks went with their starters and then Adelman left the bench in until the knicks blew the game wide open before going back to the starters minus rubio

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I appreciate the game report, lipoli, despite the huge disappointment of a loss to the Knicks. As a long-time season ticket holder before my move to Hollyweird, I feel bad that you had to watch such a poor performance. I understand the psychology of the season ticket holder, and I imagine there is a lot of pent up emotion ready to support this team if they can show they deserve it. Unfortunately they laid an egg last night.

I'm usually not a Zgoda fan, but he nailed a tweet before last night's game. He correctly called it a classic trap game, coming home after a good road trip to face a bad team. They came out ridiculously flat, but I really thought they were going to pull it out when they came within two. Huge let down.

Like you, I think this is the kind of game a team must win if they expect to make the playoffs. But I would argue that Dallas and Memphis also lost games last night that a contender needs to win. Denver was 1-9 before last night, and the Nets just aren't very good. Their losing is the only thing that allows me to retain my playoff optimism this morning, and even though my model has the Wolves just missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker to Memphis, I still think they are going to do it.

The wolves will undoubtedly come out smoking against Detroit on Friday, and hopefully that carries over against a pretty good Toronto team. And hopefully they can win back the home crowd because we're going to need them with a home-friendly schedule ahead of us.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Also, lip, good call on pointing out Muhammad's defense against Anthony. Two things are needed to defend him...effort and size, and Shabazz used both reasonably effectively. Unfortunately Corey is just overpowered by Melo. Shabazz always does a couple things defensively that leave me shaking my head, but overall he did a surprisingly good job last night against a guy who is almost impossible to stop. Even Luc, whose footwork I admire immensely, looked silly last night when Melo blew by him on a drive.

[bleedspeed]

I would have liked to see more Shabazz last night on Melo. It would have been a great learning experience for him. I am guessing they could have used the game film all offseason to coach him on defending. I think Shabazz would have been motivated as to what he has to be to be an elite SF.