3 things to improve the Wolves this season
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 1:43 pm
The Wolves were very good the last quarter of the season (albeit against not always the best competition) and have been to the conference finals 2 years in a row. It appears the West will be even stronger this season, so the Wolves may have to be better if they want the same level of success as last year...or better. I'm interested in the THREE (3) things you would like to see improved over last season. Here are my three:
1) Be much better in the non-Rudy minutes. The Wolves defense the past two seasons has been among the league's best when Rudy was on the floor, but was below average last season when he sat. They absolutely have to be better defensively when he is not playing. Some here are hoping that Joan is the answer here, but I have not seen a guy who looks ready to contribute big minutes at 19. So I think we are going to need to see better defense from Naz and Ju when Rudy sits. I heard Naz sayin an interview a week ago that he was going to be much more focused on defense this season, and Ju actually showed an ability to defend at the center position late last season, so I don't see this as being impossible. If we can at least be average when Rudy is out, we will be a much better team.
2) Clutch time offense: I don't have the stats on this, but I believe I have heard that we rank very low in the association in the clutch. Maybe this is Finchy's fault, or maybe it's Ant's...since he often controls the offense at clutch time. We need to be better.
3) Pace of play: Only the Phoenix Suns ranked lower than us in pace of play last season. With Finchy playing just 8 guys mostly last season, playing at a faster pace (and picking up full court on defense) was challenging. Also Ant is our most ball dominant player, and he is not inclined to play at a fast pace. Finchy has said he is going to address this issue in two ways: expanding to a 9 or 10 man rotation, and encouraging the rebounder to get the ball to a PG immediately rather than Ant. I think he will follow through on expanding the roster, but I still expect to see Ant originating much of the offense and keeping the pace deliberate. We'll have to see.
What are your three?
1) Be much better in the non-Rudy minutes. The Wolves defense the past two seasons has been among the league's best when Rudy was on the floor, but was below average last season when he sat. They absolutely have to be better defensively when he is not playing. Some here are hoping that Joan is the answer here, but I have not seen a guy who looks ready to contribute big minutes at 19. So I think we are going to need to see better defense from Naz and Ju when Rudy sits. I heard Naz sayin an interview a week ago that he was going to be much more focused on defense this season, and Ju actually showed an ability to defend at the center position late last season, so I don't see this as being impossible. If we can at least be average when Rudy is out, we will be a much better team.
2) Clutch time offense: I don't have the stats on this, but I believe I have heard that we rank very low in the association in the clutch. Maybe this is Finchy's fault, or maybe it's Ant's...since he often controls the offense at clutch time. We need to be better.
3) Pace of play: Only the Phoenix Suns ranked lower than us in pace of play last season. With Finchy playing just 8 guys mostly last season, playing at a faster pace (and picking up full court on defense) was challenging. Also Ant is our most ball dominant player, and he is not inclined to play at a fast pace. Finchy has said he is going to address this issue in two ways: expanding to a 9 or 10 man rotation, and encouraging the rebounder to get the ball to a PG immediately rather than Ant. I think he will follow through on expanding the roster, but I still expect to see Ant originating much of the offense and keeping the pace deliberate. We'll have to see.
What are your three?