All Things 2021-2022 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread

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Timberwolves blowout the Lakers. 107-83 final.
 
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The Timberwolves took out six games of frustration on the Los Angeles Lakers in one quarter Friday in their 107-83 victory at Staples Center.

Karl-Anthony Towns exploded for 18 points on the strength of four triples as the Wolves went 15 for 24 from the field and 7 for 13 from 3-point range in a 40-point offensive quarter. .

And yet they were more impressive on the other end. Minnesota came out of the halftime break with the defensive effort it displayed for the first couple games of the campaign.

The things the Wolves did in the second half Friday — knocking down shots and playing with intensity and purpose on the defensive end — are what can get them back on track.

Towns finished with 29 points. D’Angelo Russell had 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Patrick Beverley, who provided the initial spark early in the third quarter that lit the second-half flame, had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was confident ahead of Friday’s game that would be the case.

“I have every confidence that we’ll turn this around,” Finch said Friday morning. “We have 72 more games. I still like the way that we’re playing hard and competing.”

Finch and a number of players pointed to the team’s second-half effort in its loss Wednesday to Golden State, where the Wolves chipped away at the Warriors’ lead on a number of occasions. That type of performance, they noted, was a positive sign that they could carry forward.

They were right for one evening. Now, can Minnesota deliver a similar performance in the same building Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers?

www.twincities.com

Timberwolves blitz Lakers in third quarter to snap losing streak

The Timberwolves took out six games of frustration on the Los Angeles Lakers in one quarter Friday in their 107-83 victory at Staples Center. Karl-Anthony Towns exploded for 18 points on the streng…
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
KAT is a little better but is pretty comparable to Love when he was here.
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kg21 said:
In some ways KAT seems like Kevin Love or Al Jefferson. Good numbers but don't do a thing to help you win. All three are poor defensive players, also.
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Good thoughts. Reminded me that in Love's last year here they went 40-42. Would have cracked the playoffs if Pek could have played more that 54 games. But with that Frankenstein body and the NBA wear and tear, that was not meant to be.

That isn't what I'm talking about.

Pek & company always deferred to Love on rebounds. That certainly pumped up Kevin's numbers. The last year, when it was clear that Love wouldn't be coming back, The Godfather quit deferring to Love on the court. Will always remember the look on Love's face when Pek would just take uncontested rebounds himself, rather than let them go to Love.

Priceless. ;)
 
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Patrick Beverley’s return to Staples Center could not have been scripted any better for the Clippers. One night after he helped the Minnesota Timberwolves blow out the rival Lakers, his former team honored him with a video tribute, then held him to five points en route to a 129-102 blowout for its seventh consecutive victory.

Losing on the second night of a back-to-back was not the way Beverley and his new team wanted to end a four-game road trip, especially considering it was his first game against the Clippers in their arena since he was traded to Memphis in a multi-player deal for Eric Bledsoe in August. Beverley was dealt to Minnesota just nine days later.

With the win, the Clippers (8-4) clinched the season series with Minnesota, having already won the first two matchups in Minnesota, and made it six victories in a row versus the Timberwolves dating to last season..


www.latimes.com

Clippers roll past Timberwolves, Patrick Beverley for seventh straight win

Paul George scored 23 points as the Clippers routed the Minnesota Timberwolves and ex-teammate Patrick Beverley 129-102 for a seventh win in a row.
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com
 



I watched most of the second half of the game last night and the Suns are great at all of the little things that make the difference in a tight game. The wolves, of course, don't have a clue. They can't win against a good team without stringing together a bunch of spectacular plays, which is a fluke.
Chris Paul has to be the smartest player in the NBA. Nobody is better at running a team, the game and the refs. It isn't just that he gets calls, he steals calls. KAT and PatBev might be two of the dumbest players in the NBA. KAT is back to ref baiting and last night he got the crowd chanting at the refs. That obviously helped (sarcasm). Last night Finch sent PatBev into the game to guard Paul and PB was super hyped. It took Paul about five seconds to bait him into a three point shooting foul. I counted three ridiculous calls that Paul got in the fourth plus an obvious up and down travel that wasn't called. That was the difference.
Then there was DLo....
 

jamiche said:
I watched most of the second half of the game last night and the Suns are great at all of the little things that make the difference in a tight game. The wolves, of course, don't have a clue. They can't win against a good team without stringing together a bunch of spectacular plays, which is a fluke.
Chris Paul has to be the smartest player in the NBA. Nobody is better at running a team, the game and the refs. It isn't just that he gets calls, he steals calls. KAT and PatBev might be two of the dumbest players in the NBA. KAT is back to ref baiting and last night he got the crowd chanting at the refs. That obviously helped (sarcasm). Last night Finch sent PatBev into the game to guard Paul and PB was super hyped. It took Paul about five seconds to bait him into a three point shooting foul. I counted three ridiculous calls that Paul got in the fourth plus an obvious up and down travel that wasn't called. That was the difference.
Then there was DLo....
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9th win in a row for the Suns though even the Arizona Newspaper started their game story calling it "actually pretty ugly for sizeable stretches".

Towns anti-ref campaign is truly futile. While, much like the NBA itself, it's very WWE like, but because of that, it only works against him and the Wolves. Maybe if he played for the Lakers, Clippers, Warriors and maybe now the Suns, it might. But who's kidding. They all get the calls anyway.

That said, KAT was the only player keeping them in the game. Getting 35 pts and 13 rebounds while going 10-19 from the field, 5 for 9 from the field, 10-11 from the line before fouling out. He kept them in it. Though his 7 turnovers maybe kept them from winning it.

Can't forget Ant, who had a pretty brutal night himself. 9pts, 2-9 from the floor though 12 rebounds, 6 assists, but 7 turnovers before he too fouled out of the game.

How? "

"Edwards turned the ball over with 1.4 seconds left and proceeded to foul Jae Crowder, who went 1-of-2 from the line to make the difference three."

Finally, Tauren Prince, like most of the bench didn't play. Beasley did play. He wasn't good, but he was passable.

Lotta hate for Rubio but looking at what Prince and Beasley have given us? Keeping him, and not having them, may have been the way to go.

Tom Thibodeau and Rosas back to back? If ruining a promising team to make the fans hope they leave was the goal. Though 2 guys may have done their jobs.

www.azcentral.com

5 takeaways from Suns road escape over T-Wolves for 9th-straight win; Deandre Ayton returns

Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul score a combined 72 points in Suns 99-96 victory at Minnesota in winning a season-high ninth straight game.
www.azcentral.com
 

I can't make up my mind about Ant. Is he JR Rider or a future star? 2 of 11 last night......my gawd.

He did have double digit rebounds.

As far as Towns last night with the refs.......I supported every single moment of it. The crowd was screaming all night about some of the horse shit calls. Booker is breathed on and it's a foul. Ant is molested when going to the hole and it's just great position defense.

Wolves can't get any calls because they are the wolves.

DLO.......I've never hated a wolves player more in life. Okogie is getting close though.
 

kg21 said:
I can't make up my mind about Ant. Is he JR Rider or a future star? 2 of 11 last night......my gawd.

He did have double digit rebounds.

As far as Towns last night with the refs.......I supported every single moment of it. The crowd was screaming all night about some of the horse shit calls. Booker is breathed on and it's a foul. Ant is molested when going to the hole and it's just great position defense.

Wolves can't get any calls because they are the wolves.

DLO.......I've never hated a wolves player more in life. Okogie is getting close though.
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I still hated Wiggins more. Especially since he is now serviceable in G.S.
 



kg21 said:
I can't make up my mind about Ant. Is he JR Rider or a future star? 2 of 11 last night......my gawd.

He did have double digit rebounds.

As far as Towns last night with the refs.......I supported every single moment of it. The crowd was screaming all night about some of the horse shit calls. Booker is breathed on and it's a foul. Ant is molested when going to the hole and it's just great position defense.

Wolves can't get any calls because they are the wolves.

DLO.......I've never hated a wolves player more in life. Okogie is getting close though.
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Rider was a complete mess on and off the court. Ant isn't Rider.
 

jamiche said:
Rider was a complete mess on and off the court. Ant isn't Rider.
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I get that. On the court though, Rider was an out of this world talent who could tease you and put up monster numbers one night, and you'd be WTF the next night.
 

kg21 said:
I get that. On the court though, Rider was an out of this world talent who could tease you and put up monster numbers one night, and you'd be WTF the next night.
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Edwards has had two WTF games out of about 85 and they both happened recently. He's not Rider.
 

kg21 said:
I can't make up my mind about Ant. Is he JR Rider or a future star? 2 of 11 last night......my gawd.

He did have double digit rebounds.

As far as Towns last night with the refs.......I supported every single moment of it. The crowd was screaming all night about some of the horse shit calls. Booker is breathed on and it's a foul. Ant is molested when going to the hole and it's just great position defense.

Wolves can't get any calls because they are the wolves.

DLO.......I've never hated a wolves player more in life. Okogie is getting close though.
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Okogie works super hard and maxes out his ability. Tough to hate that. On a good team he wouldn't be in the rotation. DLo doesn't work very hard and there's a reason that opposing teams set up their defenses so that he has relatively unguarded shots at the end of games.
 

I love it when wolves hoop heads gonyear by year
kg21 said:
I get that. On the court though, Rider was an out of this world talent who could tease you and put up monster numbers one night, and you'd be WTF the next night.
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let us recall the team mates that Rider was saddled with……
 


Wolves get stops when needed to beat Sacramento 107-97​


Neither team played as if they were all that interested in a first half that turned into a rock-throwing contest, but in the second half, the quality of play and intensity cranked up a notch.

The Wolves woke up a little earlier than the Kings and were able to gut out a 107-97 victory at Target Center.

After squandering some chances earlier in the season, the Wolves took advantage to beat a team it should on its home floor if it has designs on making the play-in, even if it wasn't pretty for most of the night.

Anthony Edwards, who was 5-for-15 entering the fourth quarter, caught fire for the Wolves at the right time. He hit five of his first six shots and scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth. His three-pointer put Minnesota up 94-89 with 5 minutes, 20 seconds remaining; another three put them ahead 99-91 with 2:35 to play.

The challenge for the Wolves in the final minutes, as it usually is, was to get enough stops to win. They held Sacramento to only two points from 5:03 left on the clock to 1:56. D'Angelo Russell joined Edwards in hitting a few baskets down the stretch after Karl-Anthony Towns had led the team's surge in the third quarter.

Towns had 22 points and Russell finished with 17. De'Aaron Fox scored 28 for the Kings and the Wolves shut down Buddy Hield (16 points) late after Hield caught fire from three-point range in the second half..

www.startribune.com

Wolves rally in second half to beat Kings after getting yelled at by coach Chris Finch

Following a sluggish first half, the Wolves woke up and were able to gut out a victory over the Kings.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 

I went to Target Center for a Wolves game for the first time since 2010 last night. Fun game, Edwards and Towns were exciting to watch, though KAT had a few TO issues with reckless no look passes.

The remodel to TC helps, makes it functional. Would have been fun had they been able to host the 2021 NCAA Midwest Regional as originally planned.
 

It's always great to get a win. This should have been a "Let's show up and collect the trophy" game. It's never a good thing when Ant has to catch fire in the fourth for the wolves to squeeze past a sub 500 team at home that decided to ignore the best 3 pt shooter in the league down the stretch.
They have another sub 500 team tonight. Let's see if Pop catches the wolves celebrating the "Sacramento Kings Championship," as Fleck would call it.
 

Ope3 said:
I went to Target Center for a Wolves game for the first time since 2010 last night. Fun game, Edwards and Towns were exciting to watch, though KAT had a few TO issues with reckless no look passes.

The remodel to TC helps, makes it functional. Would have been fun had they been able to host the 2021 NCAA Midwest Regional as originally planned.
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The wolves made two or three 80mph passes to Vanderbilt that went right through his hands. Never a good idea.
 

jamiche said:
It's always great to get a win. This should have been a "Let's show up and collect the trophy" game. It's never a good thing when Ant has to catch fire in the fourth for the wolves to squeeze past a sub 500 team at home that decided to ignore the best 3 pt shooter in the league down the stretch.
They have another sub 500 team tonight. Let's see if Pop catches the wolves celebrating the "Sacramento Kings Championship," as Fleck would call it.
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Kings are sub .500, but the Wolves are looking up at them in the standings (by just a half game). Feels like there will be a huge pillow fight for the 9 & 10 seeds in the West, with the Grizz, Thunder, Kings, Wolves & Spurs.

Maybe the Pelicans if Zion comes back before it's too late.
 



BleedGopher said:

Howl Wolves!!
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Bleed, much different atmosphere from the last Wolves/Kings game I went to and happened to sit by you. Game 7, 2004.

I did have much better seats though, 15th row corner behind the Wolves offensive hoop in the 2nd half. I am guessing the beer price tripled since then, no joke.
 

Ope3 said:
Bleed, much different atmosphere from the last Wolves/Kings game I went to and happened to sit by you. Game 7, 2004.

I did have much better seats though, 15th row corner behind the Wolves offensive hoop in the 2nd half. I am guessing the beer price tripled since then, no joke.
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Ha! We had the worst seats in the arena for the best game in franchise history. What a game that was!

Howl Wolves!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Ha! We had the worst seats in the arena for the best game in franchise history. What a game that was!

Howl Wolves!!
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Yeah, top row. At least we could stand up without worrying about blocking anyone's view. In my mind it felt like the whole place just went silent as everyone held their breath on C-Webs' last ditch 3 pt attempt, then went it clanked...bedlam.

Good times.
 

How do they get this offense going to start games. We aren't going to rebound well, because we are little and small.

But man, we just can't start the game scoring. It seems like we are many times around 10 points with only 5 minutes left in quarter. It's sort of baffling.

And Ant........damn, he can just do nothing, and then go ballistic.

It's so hard to understand.
 

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