2026 Second Round Playoff Thread: Minnesota vs San Antonio

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upnorthkid said:
I dunno. A forcing, over aggressive Wemby is exactly who you want to play. He fouls more and takes worse shots percentage wise. The spurs carve when they move the ball and pick and roll with him
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I’m looking at how he responded with a monster Game 2, after crapping the bed in Game 1🤷‍♂️
 

tikited said:
They still can win this if Ant can stop pouting and actually play some defense.
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Given Ant's situation with his knees plus the overall minutes he played in both G3 & G4 it's not surprising he is not exerting himself to the full extent on the defensive end, until it's really needed.

It may not even be an "effort" thing.
 
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Gopher_In_NYC said:
I’m looking at how he responded with a monster Game 2, after crapping the bed in Game 1🤷‍♂️
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19, 15 and 2 is all right on line with his averages (downflated scoring due to the blowout, inflated boards to us shooting like ass). I think he’s just going to put up massive numbers in this series because he’s a unicorn but I’m very ok with him launching 3s over getting inside. His shot chart from game 3 is a devastating one for the wolves
 

upnorthkid said:
19, 15 and 2 is all right on line with his averages (downflated scoring due to the blowout, inflated boards to us shooting like ass). I think he’s just going to put up massive numbers in this series because he’s a unicorn but I’m very ok with him launching 3s over getting inside. His shot chart from game 3 is a devastating one for the wolves
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I see a 30+ performance coming in game 5.
 

Ope3 said:
Given, Ant's situation with his knees plus the overall minutes he played in both G3 & G4 it's not surprising he is not exerting himself to the full extent on the defensive end, until it's really needed.

It may not even be an "effort" thing.
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Yeah, I get that, but he didn't give full effort at any time from what I saw. I thought he would turn it on around the 7 minute mark in the 4th. That's when things started to get away from them. But, he just exploded offensively, so his defense didn't matter.
 


tikited said:
Yeah, I get that, but he didn't give full effort at any time from what I saw. I thought he would turn it on around the 7 minute mark in the 4th. That's when things started to get away from them. But, he just exploded offensively, so his defense didn't matter.
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I was concerned with Ant when on a Wolves fast break 2 on 1 when he had a clear opportunity for an easy dunk (chance to rev up the crowd), he opted for the lay-in.

While it's clear he does not have a minutes restriction, he obviously is making business decisions on defense, I am guessing that's in conjunction with the Coaching/Training staff. Pure speculation on my part.

Could it cost them a game or the series? Yeah. On the other hand, no Ant would make it nearly impossible for the Wolves to advance.
 

Playoff suspension precedents (single incidents)


J.R. Smith - Elbow Jason Terry (head/chin) → F2, ejected, 1-game suspension


Dillon Brooks — Hit Gary Payton II (head/neck, fast break) → F2, ejected, 1-game suspension


Metta World Peace — Elbow James Harden (head)
→ F2, ejected, 7-game suspension


Dwight Howard - Elbow Samuel Dalembert (head) → 1-game suspension


Nene - Neck grab + head contact on Jimmy Butler → ejected, 1-game suspension


Anthony Peeler - Elbow Kevin Garnett (face) →
2-game suspension
 

On the last 7min comment

Ant locks up Castle with 730 when we're down 6. Drills 3 on the other end
Helps in on the almost turnover with Randle.
Drills 3 to take the lead then stuffs Harper drive forcing him to pass out of it (who was killing them off the drive against multiple other matchups)
He then takes the Castle assignment with about 4 min left in the game and they shut him out the rest of the way and he does this while scoring on the other end.

They (Finch) played Ant on the corner 3 shooter to let him rest. He is very clearly not 100% both from his knees or from his conditioning (probably because he's doing so much rehab/not in as aggressive game shape, plus the intensity is crazy high).

Spurs made a mistake not getting him into the action more down the stretch before this or making him work defensively and chose to run through Fox who had Jaden on him. Don't know why we're blaming Ant for that. I agree I'd love it if he brought that intensity all game long. Having another ball handler/back court scorer would help make that easier so he could get a blow and us not wilt in scoring (losing DD really hurts us there). There are basically no guards who do it both ends of the court at a really high minutes clip anymore, probably in part because of the pace of the game

Note: nowhere am I saying he played great as a defender, I loved every minute of it, etc. Just saying he did make defensive contributions down the stretch, as did the whole team after being very so-so all game against a team missing their unicorn in the middle of the court
 
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upnorthkid said:
On the last 7min comment

Ant locks up Castle with 730 when we're down 6. Drills 3 on the other end
Helps in on the almost turnover with Randle.
Drills 3 to take the lead then stuffs Harper drive forcing him to pass out of it (who was killing them off the drive against multiple other matchups)
He then takes the Castle assignment with about 4 min left in the game and they shut him out the rest of the way and he does this while scoring on the other end.

They (Finch) played Ant on the corner 3 shooter to let him rest. He is very clearly not 100% both from his knees or from his conditioning (probably because he's doing so much rehab/not in as aggressive game shape, plus the intensity is crazy high).

Spurs made a mistake not getting him into the action more down the stretch before this or making him work defensively and chose to run through Fox who had Jaden on him. Don't know why we're blaming Ant for that. I agree I'd love it if he brought that intensity all game long. Having another ball handler/back court scorer would help make that easier so he could get a blow and us not wilt in scoring (losing DD really hurts us there). There are basically no guards who do it both ends of the court at a really high minutes clip anymore, probably in part because of the pace of the game

Note: nowhere am I saying he played great as a defender, I loved every minute of it, etc. Just saying he did make defensive contributions down the stretch, as did the whole team after being very so-so all game against a team missing their unicorn in the middle of the court
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When I get home I'll breakdown tape in my secret lair.
 

Slim Tubby said:
That was an extremely dangerous and violent act that is getting swept under the rug for ratings. Nothing more, nothing less. The lack of a fine is a slap in the face harder than Wemby's elbow.
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I ‘think’ he did receive a fine of 2,000 dollars, which is mandatory on a flagrant 2.
Obviously your point stands.
 

The non suspension really damages the credibility of the league. That and referees who are obviously not objective make games increasingly a semi mockery. The NBA is my favorite league in my favorite sport but it is getting more difficult to remain all in.
 

jamiche said:
The non suspension really damages the credibility of the league. That and referees who are obviously not objective make games increasingly a semi mockery. The NBA is my favorite league in my favorite sport but it is getting more difficult to remain all in.
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It's almost as if the league forgot it had a cheating scandal not too long ago.
 



JimmyJamesMD said:
Why did it feel like Fox shot 18 for 23 and not 8 for 23?
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Ha, I would have believed the 18/23 if you would have just said that. Felt like he made everything he threw up in the 3rd.

It’s likely we both just remember a great streak towards the end….. really did feel like he was unstoppable for a bit.
 






tikited said:
It's almost as if the league forgot it had a cheating scandal not too long ago.
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We also can't forget the investigative reports of Ballmer paying Kawai Leonard off the books from a shell company to circumvent the Salary Cap that somehow the NBA has made disappear.

Adam Silver is an absolute rat.
 





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