Minnesota Sports Forum

Early game tonight at 5 pm. ANT is out, but Clark has been upgraded to questionable.

I thought the Wolves would go 3-2 in October. They fell short at 2-3. I have them going 12-3 in November, but that might be tough depending on how long ANT is out.

They need to start winning some games!

Difficult to say how this one will go. We're missing Ant, but they're missing Miller and Williams. The wild card is Bell...how healthy is he?

I liked Ju's postgame comments after the Laker loss...he was adamant that they were going to be better in the next game. Charlotte is not very big, and Bridges is certainly not big enough to defend Julius one on one...he'll get 30 easily if they try. But I think they will double him, and it will be incumbent upon Ju to make the right pass and the recipient to make the shot.

Our offense certainly looks different with Ant out. I liked the spread pick and roll they showed more...it was especially effective during their 4th quarter surge. But our defense has been a big issue. Jaden is a great defender, but he has never been as good as NAW was at fighting through screens (pretty sure he would have been on Reeves at the end of last game). Clark is also pretty good (although not always disciplined) but he isn't available either. We simply have to improve our defense and our rebounding. Charlotte is even worse than us on defense, so I expect a wide open high-scoring game...over 230 is probably the best bet of the night.

Fun sports night with an early Wolves game followed by a WS Game 7!

Can we stop them? Not as concerned about the offense.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Nov 01, 2025 12:43 pm Can we stop them? Not as concerned about the offense.

That's the question...I would say yes if Ball is out, maybe if he plays. I sense we are going to see a different and improved defense tonight for three reasons.

1) Julius's intensity he showed post game Thursday...I think he will be focused tonight, and maybe it rubs off on his teammates.

2) Zone defense: I've hated it for the last couple seasons, but it was surprisingly good Thursday. The reason? I think Ant. While he can be an effective man defender when he wants to, he doesn't seem to understand how to play zone...constantly in the wrong place! But with him out, and especially if Clark is out, I expect to see more zone tonight. (And I guess as 2a) if Clark plays, our defense gets better).

3) Beringer. I know I'm chairman of the "he's not ready" club, but I want to see him tonight. The main reason is the defense without Rudy is awful...135.46 when he sits! But the other reason is Charlotte starts a rookie at center. Yes, he's 4 years older than Joan and pretty big, but he's a rookie...and not very good. I think this would be a good game for Joan to get a taste.

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sat Nov 01, 2025 10:23 am Early game tonight at 5 pm. ANT is out, but Clark has been upgraded to questionable.

I thought the Wolves would go 3-2 in October. They fell short at 2-3. I have them going 12-3 in November, but that might be tough depending on how long ANT is out.

They need to start winning some games!

My 8-6 or so when Ant is scheduled to be back might even be optimistic! Like I said then, this team without Ant can lose to anyone, sure we might be favored like today by 4.5 points. Still only a low 60% winning chance. They need to play with focus and intensity every game, obviously we haven't thus far!

Clark is a "GO" tonight. It looks like Ball is a go tonight as well.

Would be nice if Rudy can grab a rebound today rather than just tipping them to the other team.
He needs to finally wake up and play this year.

thedoper wrote: ↑Sat Nov 01, 2025 4:24 pm Would be nice if Rudy can grab a rebound today rather than just tipping them to the other team.
He needs to finally wake up and play this year.

thedoper wrote: ↑Sat Nov 01, 2025 4:24 pm Would be nice if Rudy can grab a rebound today rather than just tipping them to the other team.
He needs to finally wake up and play this year.

He of the thumbless paddle hands.

The fact we have no other interior defensive presence is not justification for keeping and playing Rudy. He's a terrible basketball player at this point in his career. We must find an alternative.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 01, 2025 4:52 pm The fact we have no other interior defensive presence is not justification for keeping and playing Rudy. He's a terrible basketball player at this point in his career. We must find an alternative.

Id love him for 10 mil. The opportunity cost is high at this point.