Minnesota Sports Forum

Kicking this thread off since we have a couple days until the games start.

It's been an awesome few days sitting back and soaking in the first round victory against the hated Lakers while watching other teams battle it out. Now the tension is beginning to build again!

Charles picked the Wolves. Kenny and Shaq are concerned with the Wolves ability to go small. Can the Warriors survive with Jimmy at the 4 guarding Ju, Ru or Naz?

Phenom wrote: ↑Sun May 04, 2025 11:06 pm Charles picked the Wolves. Kenny and Shaq are concerned with the Wolves ability to go small. Can the Warriors survive with Jimmy at the 4 guarding Ju, Ru or Naz?

I don't think what the TNT crew thinks is relevant at all. Even less so than virtually every other NBA commentator.

Not a novel take... But it's a show where (1) entertainment is the top priority and (2) NBA discussion is a distant second priority. There's very little to take from their takes.

That being said, I much prefer the TNT broadcasts to the ESPN broadcasts.

Phenom wrote: ↑Sun May 04, 2025 11:06 pm Charles picked the Wolves. Kenny and Shaq are concerned with the Wolves ability to go small. Can the Warriors survive with Jimmy at the 4 guarding Ju, Ru or Naz?

Not that these guys really take any time to study teams, but let's just indulge them for a minute.....

I actually think it's the opposite and the Wolves may want to think about guarding Golden State in the same way the Lakers guarded the Wolves. which means playing a bit smaller and more agile. That would allow us to switch everything while also throwing a lot of different looks at Steph Curry.

The reality is the Warriors don't have the type of elite shot creators off the dribble that the Lakers had, so I don't really see them hunting for mismatches in the same way the Lakers tried to target Conley or Reid. I mean, if Jaden is guarding Curry and then Conley suddenly gets switched onto him, are we that worried? Plus switching means not having to try to get over screens, where Curry only needs the slightest crack of daylight to get off a shot. Just switch it.

Houston couldn't really use this strategy with Sengun and Adams out there. They tried to just out-muscle and out-rebound the Warriors - and did for most of the series - but at the end of the day no amount of rebounding advantage can recover from 3's raining down.

Just another thought on how we defend Golden State....I wonder if that pseudo-zone look the Lakers showed us is also applicable here and somewhat similar to a 100% switching defense, where every time someone tries to screen for Steph, he just gets passed off to the next guy. Like don't even bother trying to get over, through, or around the screen. Same thing for Hield and even Podziemski. We should be doing everything we can to funnel shots to Draymond, GPII, and even give Butler space if he's outside of 16 feet.

Where the hell is the series record poll?!?

Wolves in 5.

Most of the podcasts I've checked in on has Wolves in 6 or 7. Many seemed apprehensive or perhaps loathe to do so. Many have dummied up.

Phenom wrote: ↑Mon May 05, 2025 6:07 pm Most of the podcasts I've checked in on has Wolves in 6 or 7. Many seemed apprehensive or perhaps loathe to do so. Many have dummied up.

Yeah, the dropoff in NBA media fawning from the Lakers to Golden State is pretty big. The Lakers basically have their own tier among the NBA media elites. Also, picking the Lakers to win that series, while fashionable, was also not a big stretch. A lot of us, me included, didn't expect the Wolves to play with such poise in close games. It would really impact their credibility if they all picked Golden State after their 7-game struggle session with Houston.

Now the bad news is we're no longer underdogs.