Series Primer Wolves and Lakers

[Phenom]

Playing Luka will be a pain in the ass. It always will be. Can the Wolves treat Luka like Joker and take away the carnage that they create with passing? Can they turn the water off for LeBron, Reaves and Rui?

A year ago I jumped on the matchup putting Towns on Durant and it happened and it worked well.

I'm thinking Julius on Luka. Luka won't simply outmuscle him. Julius has solid height. He can be a facsimile of SloMo from last playoffs.

Ant on LeBron, Jaden, Donte and NAW chasing Reaves around.

The Lakers will want Vando and DFS on Ant. Rudy will need to make the Lakers pay for going small and having, especially Vando, on the floor.

I want this series win for Rudy the most. I'm tired of people shitting on Rudy. It would be great to have him come out on top vs Luka.

Lastly, the curse of Kareem Rush. I've been pushing this narrative after seeing guys like Obi Toppin rain 3s. Game after game these lower rotation guys kill the Wolves will scorched shooting. Kareem Rush knocked our beloved Wolves out of the 2004 WCF last time they played the Lakers. He was 6-7 from 3 in game 6. That season he shot 34.8% on about 2 attempts per game!!!

Wolves will break this wretched curse and beat LA.

[Q-is-here]

Playing Luka will be a pain in the ass. It always will be. Can the Wolves treat Luka like Joker and take away the carnage that they create with passing? Can they turn the water off for LeBron, Reaves and Rui?

A year ago I jumped on the matchup putting Towns on Durant and it happened and it worked well.

I'm thinking Julius on Luka. Luka won't simply outmuscle him. Julius has solid height. He can be a facsimile of SloMo from last playoffs.

Ant on LeBron, Jaden, Donte and NAW chasing Reaves around.

The Lakers will want Vando and DFS on Ant. Rudy will need to make the Lakers pay for going small and having, especially Vando, on the floor.

I want this series win for Rudy the most. I'm tired of people shitting on Rudy. It would be great to have him come out on top vs Luka.

Lastly, the curse of Kareem Rush. I've been pushing this narrative after seeing guys like Obi Toppin rain 3s. Game after game these lower rotation guys kill the Wolves will scorched shooting. Kareem Rush knocked our beloved Wolves out of the 2004 WCF last time they played the Lakers. He was 6-7 from 3 in game 6. That season he shot 34.8% on about 2 attempts per game!!!

Wolves will break this wretched curse and beat LA.

Yeah, it will be very interesting to see how we deal with Doncic and whether we apply the Durant/Jokic treatment where we let him get his while trying to shut down everyone else OR do we try to cut the head off the snake and make others beat us.

Against Dallas last year, nothing we seemed to do worked against him and Kyrie. Doncic got his AND he buried us with a parade of lob dunks for Gafford and Lively, who made 40 out of 48 of their field goal attempts!

We were able to turn the proverbial water off on PJ Washington, but that was about it. Jaden Hardy, Derrick Jones Jr., and and Josh Green shot a combined 50% from 3 on us. You better believe that Rui and DFS are going to be planted in the corners just waiting for those open 3's off Doncic/Hayes/LeBron pick and rolls.

I think we could potentially out-offense the Lakers IF they play mostly man to man. But I worry that they go into a zone defense, close off the paint, and then suddenly we start chucking 3's and go cold. They will absolutely have no problem with Randle launching 3's and I fear that Naz has zero confidence heading into this series.

[WildWolf2813]

If I were Finch and I needed an extra defender to get stops, use Clark.

However, if this team needs a jolt of offense, use Shannon.

[Monster]

Which coaching staff is gonna get the most out of this matchup?

[Yosimar]

If I were Finch and I needed an extra defender to get stops, use Clark.

However, if this team needs a jolt of offense, use Shannon.

With Jaden guarding who he's gonna be tasked to guard he'll be in foul trouble early and often. I see Clark getting a lot of those minutes to replicate that defensive stopper role.

[AbeVigodaLive]

If I were Finch and I needed an extra defender to get stops, use Clark.

However, if this team needs a jolt of offense, use Shannon.

With Jaden guarding who he's gonna be tasked to guard he'll be in foul trouble early and often. I see Clark getting a lot of those minutes to replicate that defensive stopper role.

A rookie being the defensive stopper against all-time greats might not be advantageous for the Timberwolves.

Whether it's experience, skill, or just reputation... I don't think Clark stands a chance over the long haul. He hasn't been around long enough to earn the benefit of the doubt trying to guard Doncic, James or even Reaves.

[FNG]

If I were Finch and I needed an extra defender to get stops, use Clark.

However, if this team needs a jolt of offense, use Shannon.

With Jaden guarding who he's gonna be tasked to guard he'll be in foul trouble early and often. I see Clark getting a lot of those minutes to replicate that defensive stopper role.

A rookie being the defensive stopper against all-time greats might not be advantageous for the Timberwolves.

Whether it's experience, skill, or just reputation... I don't think Clark stands a chance over the long haul. He hasn't been around long enough to earn the benefit of the doubt trying to guard Doncic, James or even Reaves.

I love Clark, but he really struggled against the veteran foul-baiting Jokic. Luka has a lot of the same moves. I think Finchie will have Clark on a very short leash, just like he did in the last Nuggets game.

[Q-is-here]

With Jaden guarding who he's gonna be tasked to guard he'll be in foul trouble early and often. I see Clark getting a lot of those minutes to replicate that defensive stopper role.

A rookie being the defensive stopper against all-time greats might not be advantageous for the Timberwolves.

Whether it's experience, skill, or just reputation... I don't think Clark stands a chance over the long haul. He hasn't been around long enough to earn the benefit of the doubt trying to guard Doncic, James or even Reaves.

I love Clark, but he really struggled against the veteran foul-baiting Jokic. Luka has a lot of the same moves. I think Finchie will have Clark on a very short leash, just like he did in the last Nuggets game.

Wait, Clark guarded Jokic!? That is a stretch. But the size difference between Jokic and Luka make them hard to compare. He's probably 4-5 inches shorter and 30-40 lbs. lighter. He's still big and strong for a ball handler, but the difference is less extreme between Clark and Doncic than Clark and Jokic.

I think Clark will be deployed for brief stretches to guard either Doncic or Reaves, but it will be in his usual 9th man capacity.

[FNG]

A rookie being the defensive stopper against all-time greats might not be advantageous for the Timberwolves.

Whether it's experience, skill, or just reputation... I don't think Clark stands a chance over the long haul. He hasn't been around long enough to earn the benefit of the doubt trying to guard Doncic, James or even Reaves.

I love Clark, but he really struggled against the veteran foul-baiting Jokic. Luka has a lot of the same moves. I think Finchie will have Clark on a very short leash, just like he did in the last Nuggets game.

Wait, Clark guarded Jokic!? That is a stretch. But the size difference between Jokic and Luka make them hard to compare. He's probably 4-5 inches shorter and 30-40 lbs. lighter. He's still big and strong for a ball handler, but the difference is less extreme between Clark and Doncic than Clark and Jokic.

I think Clark will be deployed for brief stretches to guard either Doncic or Reaves, but it will be in his usual 9th man capacity.

Yeah, Finchie only played Clark 9 minutes in a double OT game, because he kept switching onto Jokic and it was a mismatch. Not only because of size, but also because he fell for every herky jerky move Jokic made...he ended up with 4 fouls in those 9 minutes! Luka isn't nearly as big as Joker, but he has a lot of the same moves and can bait Clark into fouls like Joker did. Clark is an aggressive defender, and he's an easy target for a savvy player who can draw fouls. I agree we might see him on Reeves, but I think Finchie still has PTSD from watching Jokic toy with him and is unlikely to expose the rookie to a similar situation.

[Phenom]

So I have listened to a lot of playoff podcasts this week. The tally is about 12-2 in favor of picking the Lakers. Andrew Sharp of SI and Nate Duncan are the ones who picked the Wolves. I'm a little surprised Duncan picked them. I haven't heard an official prediction but it doesn't sound like Britt Robson and Dane Moore will be picking them.

The Wolves are one of the best net rating teams in the league. This is often a great indicator of playoff success. It feels like the Lakers are getting too much love. Are we primed for a repeat of last years first round? I don't anticipate a Wolves sweep to be sure but that's mostly because Luka is so hard to slow down.

I am so ready to get this going and see these questions answered.