Let the games begin - Wolves at Miami GDT

[60WinTim]

And may the odds ever be in your favor...

I expect we are embarking on a process of players and coaches "figure things out" over these first 20 games or so. The hope is we win more games than we lose during that process.

Whatcha looking for tonight?

[rapsuperstar31]

I'll be curios to see how we defend their two bigs the most. It sounds like Bam was playing quite a bit spaced out behind the three point line in the pre-season. I wonder if we make him shoot that and live with the results.

[Wolvesfan21]

I dont expect much figuring things out. Not like integrating Rudy or integrating Randle. Both those took time and made sense to take time. Melo and JK should just slide right in more seamlessly I would think/hope. Much better fits.

And it's not like many/most other teams have new players too. Just like tonight for instance.

I see no excuses for not playing well to start the year.

[Phenom]

I am curious about LaMelos minute load. Alot was made of his 28 mpg last year on the way to one of his biggest games played seasons. The team didn't seem to be very concerned with his injury history so it seems like he will be firmly in the mid to high 30s each night unless this team is winning blowouts.

I am curious if TJ can impact the game outside of scoring. Most of the time he's just out there.

I am curious about how much Finchy trusts Cody. If he gets in tonight and not in a blowout, I think that says something.

[Wolvesfan21]

I am curious about LaMelos minute load. Alot was made of his 28 mpg last year on the way to one of his biggest games played seasons. The team didn't seem to be very concerned with his injury history so it seems like he will be firmly in the mid to high 30s each night unless this team is winning blowouts.

I am curious if TJ can impact the game outside of scoring. Most of the time he's just out there.

I am curious about how much Finchy trusts Cody. If he gets in tonight and not in a blowout, I think that says something.

I posted this before but I am concerned about the long haul of the season, not just for Melo but for Ant too. I would seriously limit both their minutes to keep them good for april and may. Ant said he took two months off just to heal up his knee/s. We need him healthy too down the stretch when hopefully we are in the playoff / championship hunt again.

[FNG]

I just finished listening to Dane's latest pod with Jake Paynting where they discuss what they're looking for tonight, and Jake's views are almost exactly mine (sorry, Jake...there goes your career). This is what I'll be focusing on tonight.

1) The non-Rudy minutes. We have struggled with this for a few years now, but with only a raw teenager backing up Rudy, I'm concerned the problem may be accentuated this season. Like most here, I'm quite high on Joan long term. But I'm not alone in noticing he's far from a polished player at this stage...not surprising, he's only played basketball for a few years. I think at least in the early part of the season, we are just going to have to survive the non-Rudy minutes. Playing Lyles next to Joan may help with his defensive rebounding issues, but there are still going to be many head-scratching moments...and to be fair, many moments where we will see his enormous potential. I want to see if Rudy looks fit enough to play 35+ minutes, and I want the Wolves to get outscored by less than 10 points when he is off the court.

2) How many pick and rolls? The Wolves have ranked near the bottom of the Association is recent years in pick and rolls, but Charlotte has ranked near the top with Ball running the show. I want us to run the court if the opportunity is there, but employ a large portion of PnR's when we're in the half court. And it has to be more than a 2-man game with Rudy and Ball. It was heartening to see JK play PnR with Ball in the first offensive play of the preseason, and Ant even set a few picks. It's not Jaden's game, but I would love to see him get involved in the 2-man game with Ball too.

3) Who is going to replace what Donte brought last season? I think for many reasons Donte was our most important player last year...just look at how we struggled after he blew out his achilles. Nobody came close to Donte last season in terms of "doing shit". Until he returns to the court (and I'm now thinking early January after seeing video of how well he is moving on the court already), someone is going to have to fill that role. Although he's not a starter, I think Ayo is the most likely candidate.

4) What will Kuminga be? He may turn out to be a problem if he thinks the key to getting the big contract next year is scoring a bunch of points. We can't afford to have him forcing things and taking shots away from more efficient scorers like, well...almost everyone. Early returns from preseason tell me he may be ready to play active defense, rebound, and play within himself on offense. If he does, that is going to be a very good thing for us.

5) Zone offense. Miami plays more zone than almost any team in the association, and the guys Finchy relied on to be in the center of the action against zones (Randle, Naz, SloMo) are gone. How is our offense going to look if Miami runs a lot a zone tonight. Who will Finchy designate to play in the paint, or will he design a new zone offense? Is there a role for Rudy or Joan against zones, or will we see a lot more minutes from Lyles?

So many questions, but I am as excited for this season to start as any I can remember. The first four games against good Eastern team is going to be tough...I'd be satisfied with a split.

[AussieWolf3]

How and if they can break Miami's zone defense will be a pretty interesting thing to watch tonight.

Outside of that, I'm honestly just very curious to see how the rotation plays out and how Joan fairs in a very difficult matchup

[60WinTim]

Well thought out list of things to look for, FNG! And it won't be just for tonight, it will be for the next 20 games as we give the players and coaches time to figure everything out.

[60WinTim]

How and if they can break Miami's zone defense will be a pretty interesting thing to watch tonight.

Outside of that, I'm honestly just very curious to see how the rotation plays out and how Joan fairs in a very difficult matchup

Also, we saw Finch use JK numerous times to guard the primary ball handler. It will be interesting to see if that was just an experiment, or whether it's a thing. Of course, a frontcourt of Bam and Giannis might make Finch go a different direction.

[Phenom]

Heat are mucking up the lanes. Wolves need to tighten up