Minnesota Sports Forum

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:23 am No one on the injury report except DDV.

Seems like the only way to beat the Spurs is to spread them out and get into the paint or kick it out for 3's. Ok, so just sit Rudy more, right? Sure, but you still gotta make the 3's. Why on earth would anyone guard Randle (26%), Shannon (25%), or even Jaden (17%) out beyond the arc closely at this point? Even Ant is well below his regular season average but his are rarely catch-and-shoot 3's off someone else's pass. He's trying to make the really tough step-backs, etc.

It'll be an uphill climb....

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:23 am No one on the injury report except DDV.

Seems like the only way to beat the Spurs is to spread them out and get into the paint or kick it out for 3's. Ok, so just sit Rudy more, right? Sure, but you still gotta make the 3's. Why on earth would anyone guard Randle (26%), Shannon (25%), or even Jaden (17%) out beyond the arc closely at this point? Even Ant is well below his regular season average but his are rarely catch-and-shoot 3's off someone else's pass. He's trying to make the really tough step-backs, etc.

It'll be an uphill climb....

kekgeek wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:40 amGo team

Monster wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:38 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:23 am No one on the injury report except DDV.

Seems like the only way to beat the Spurs is to spread them out and get into the paint or kick it out for 3's. Ok, so just sit Rudy more, right? Sure, but you still gotta make the 3's. Why on earth would anyone guard Randle (26%), Shannon (25%), or even Jaden (17%) out beyond the arc closely at this point? Even Ant is well below his regular season average but his are rarely catch-and-shoot 3's off someone else's pass. He's trying to make the really tough step-backs, etc.

It'll be an uphill climb....

Rudy has been so good in the playoffs so far.

Yes the 3 point shooting or lack thereof is a problem. Ayo is a guy that could help although he isn't typically a huge volume 3 point shooter but he has increased that in the postseason. Most teams can't win with those poor 3 point shooting percentages. They also need to rein in those turnovers.

thedoper wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:46 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:23 am No one on the injury report except DDV.

Seems like the only way to beat the Spurs is to spread them out and get into the paint or kick it out for 3's. Ok, so just sit Rudy more, right? Sure, but you still gotta make the 3's. Why on earth would anyone guard Randle (26%), Shannon (25%), or even Jaden (17%) out beyond the arc closely at this point? Even Ant is well below his regular season average but his are rarely catch-and-shoot 3's off someone else's pass. He's trying to make the really tough step-backs, etc.

It'll be an uphill climb....

Yeah its a conundrum. The last 2 games our offense was not clicking. If we cant make 3s we have no chance.

FNG wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:59 am

Monster wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:38 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:23 am No one on the injury report except DDV.

Seems like the only way to beat the Spurs is to spread them out and get into the paint or kick it out for 3's. Ok, so just sit Rudy more, right? Sure, but you still gotta make the 3's. Why on earth would anyone guard Randle (26%), Shannon (25%), or even Jaden (17%) out beyond the arc closely at this point? Even Ant is well below his regular season average but his are rarely catch-and-shoot 3's off someone else's pass. He's trying to make the really tough step-backs, etc.

It'll be an uphill climb....

Rudy has been so good in the playoffs so far.

Yes the 3 point shooting or lack thereof is a problem. Ayo is a guy that could help although he isn't typically a huge volume 3 point shooter but he has increased that in the postseason. Most teams can't win with those poor 3 point shooting percentages. They also need to rein in those turnovers.

Monster, I'm a huge fan of Rudy...I even call this successful era of Wolves basketball "the Rudy/Finchy era". And while I love what he did in the Denver series, I don't agree his overall play in the playoffs has been so good. The trio of Rudy/Ju/Ant was very effective on the offensive end all season, but they have been a disaster in the playoffs. The numbers are stunning...offensive rating of 117.5 during the regular season, but a pathetic 93.6 in the playoffs! They have been really difficult to watch in the half court. Fortunately, again our supporting cast is keeping us alive. Naz has been a pleasant surprise as it seems like he has mostly returned to the offensive brilliance of the first half of the season...we're going to need him to hit 4 or 5 three-pointers tonight. Ju and Ant returning to form could lead to an easy win tonight against a Spurs team that might be feeling overconfident after the last two wins, but more likely it will be Naz, Jaden, Ayo and ??? that we turn to for offensive efficiency.

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 11:45 am

thedoper wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:46 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:23 am No one on the injury report except DDV.

Seems like the only way to beat the Spurs is to spread them out and get into the paint or kick it out for 3's. Ok, so just sit Rudy more, right? Sure, but you still gotta make the 3's. Why on earth would anyone guard Randle (26%), Shannon (25%), or even Jaden (17%) out beyond the arc closely at this point? Even Ant is well below his regular season average but his are rarely catch-and-shoot 3's off someone else's pass. He's trying to make the really tough step-backs, etc.

It'll be an uphill climb....

Yeah its a conundrum. The last 2 games our offense was not clicking. If we cant make 3s we have no chance.

What's equally frustrating and encouraging is that the offense was clicking. They had a great process and approach in game 3, generating a ton of good looks

What's frustrating is that they didn't convert and it's not a safe bet that they will in the future. That doesn't mean they should overhaul the approach, but they may need to tweak it.

I remain fairly optimistic that the Wolves can remain competitive in this series. I don't think it's being discussed enough but Ant was very good in this game and a few bad bounces from being sensational. Ultimately this series and any future ones come down to him play, his health, and his leadership --- however comforting or discomforting that is to you.

Edwards is the only one who can truly break this defense, and based on his play last game I think he's right on the precipice, and he's why:
1) his playmaking was very good in this game, and he seems to have figured out how he wants to diagnose and attack them.
2) his floater. I've hardly seen it discussed but Ant sank, to my memory, 3 to 4 of em in game 3. Can the Wolves make the necessary adjustments to get a corner crasher or roll man behind Wemby if he starts cheating up to defend the floater threat? This is a pretty recent development to 5s game, but he seems to have a floater in his bag now lol.

A secondary branch off Edwards play is that Ju quietly had his best game as a playmaker in the post season, but the shots weren't converted. Can he build off that and keep generating open looks? Can we get those passes more to Edwards for catch and shoot opportunities?

I'm concerned that the Twolves have run out of emotional juice after what must have been a pretty gutting loss considering how well they played.
However, if they're still in good spirits and come in with the requisite edge, I believe they win this one