All Things 2021-2022 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread

Donate To GopherHole
Iceland12 said:
Dallas vs Minnesota tonight. Gonna be a rather unusual game.

i
Minnesota Timberwolves

NAMEPOSDATESTATUSCOMMENT
Josh OkogieSFDec 19OutOkogie entered the NBA's health and safety protocols Sunday, Dane Moore of BringMeTheNews.com reports.
Anthony EdwardsSFDec 18OutEdwards (COVID-19 protocols) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Mavericks.
Taurean PrincePFDec 17OutPrince entered health and safety protocols Friday.


i
Dallas Mavericks

NAMEPOSDATESTATUSCOMMENT
Frank NtilikinaPGDec 19Out
Josh GreenSGDec 19OutGreen was placed in the NBA Covid protocol Sunday morning, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports.
Eugene OmoruyiSFDec 18Out
Reggie BullockSFDec 18Out
Willie Cauley-SteinCDec 18OutCauley-Stein (personal) is out Sunday against the Timberwolves.
Luka DoncicPGDec 15OutDoncic (ankle) will remain out Wednesday against the Lakers and Sunday against the Timberwolves, NBA writer Marc Stein reports.
Click to expand...
The only two players who are really impactful are Luka and Ant. However, the nat'l media keeps talking about how shorthanded the Mavs are and barely mention who the wolves are missing.
 

jamiche said:
The only two players who are really impactful are Luka and Ant. However, the nat'l media keeps talking about how shorthanded the Mavs are and barely mention who the wolves are missing.
Click to expand...

Irritated me a little too, but what are going do? Hope for them to look at 6 players missing and come out and say "It's Luca and 5 losers out tonight"? Or "Edwards is out tonight and a couple of other stiffs too?" To be fair the Wolves bench outscored the Mavericks bench 36-17 so maybe missing some of those guys hurt Dallas.

As slights go for longtime Wolves fans, that shouldn't even make the list.

Both Donic and Edwards should be back tomorrow night. If the Wolves win again by 17+ then you've got a point and the Wolves may be for real.
 
Last edited:

GopherWeatherGuy said:
This team goes as DLo goes. When he plays well, they win. When he doesn't play, or he plays poorly, they lose.

They are 15-10 with him in the lineup, 0-5 without. He played poorly in nearly all 10 of those losses.
Click to expand...

Pretty amazing isn't it? We talked about that back on the 13th. It's buried behind all the LeBron talk. 😊
 
Last edited:

Iceland12 said:
Irritated me a little too, but what are going do? Hope for them to look at 6 players missing and come out and say "It's Luca and 5 losers out tonight"? Or "Edwards is out tonight and a couple of other stiffs too?"

As slights go for longtime Wolves fans, that shouldn't even make the list.

Both Donic and Edwards should be back tomorrow night. If the Wolves win again by 17+ then you've got a point and the Wolves may be for real.
Click to expand...
jamiche said:
The only two players who are really impactful are Luka and Ant. However, the nat'l media keeps talking about how shorthanded the Mavs are and barely mention who the wolves are missing.
Click to expand...

Just saw this game story from NBA.com. It should make you happier. :drink:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, D'Angelo Russell added 22 and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-105 on Sunday in another matchup between short-handed teams dealing with recent COVID-19 issues.

Dallas, already without star guard Luka Doncic, placed two players in the health and safety protocols the past two days. Minnesota added Josh Okogie to the protocols and Anthony Edwards and Taurean Prince each missed their second game while in the protocols.

''It's definitely a difficult situation, not only for our team, the Lakers or the Mavericks, but for the whole, entire league,'' Towns said. ''We got a great win tonight, but we feel we can beat anybody, as long as we're available. It's about availability now. We always talk about how health can be the biggest reason why teams don't win, injuries. But COVID is right up there with the injuries.''

Dallas lost forward Kristaps Porzingis in the third quarter with right foot soreness. Porzingis finished with 13 points and three rebounds. Coach Jason Kidd said X-rays were negative for Porzingis..

Dallas Mavericks vs Minnesota Timberwolves Dec 19, 2021 Game Summary | NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks vs Minnesota Timberwolves Dec 19, 2021 game result including recap, highlights and game information
www.nba.com www.nba.com
 

Beverly and Vanderbilt out? Maybe others coming back?

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/MIN/minnesota-timberwolves/
Minnesota​


PLAYERPOSITIONUPDATEDINJURYINJURY STATUS
Jarred VanderbiltPFMon, Dec 20Covid-19Expected to be out until at least Dec 31
Patrick BeverleyPGMon, Dec 20Covid-19Expected to be out until at least Dec 31
Josh OkogieSFSun, Dec 19Covid-19Expected to be out until at least Dec 31
Anthony EdwardsSGSun, Dec 19Covid-19Expected to be out until at least Dec 27
Taurean PrincePFFri, Dec 17Covid-19Expected to be out until at least Dec 27
 
Last edited:


And Dallas?

Dallas​

PLAYERPOSITIONUPDATEDINJURYINJURY STATUS
Willie Cauley-SteinCMon, Dec 20PersonalGame Time Decision
Frank NtilikinaPGMon, Dec 20IllnessGame Time Decision
Eugene OmoruyiSFMon, Dec 20FootGame Time Decision
Luka DoncicPGMon, Dec 20AnkleGame Time Decision
Kristaps PorzingisPFMon, Dec 20FootGame Time Decision
Josh GreenSGSun, Dec 19Covid-19Expected to be out until at least Dec 29
Reggie BullockSFSat, Dec 18Covid-19Expected to be out until at least Dec 25

www.cbssports.com

NBA Injury Report - Basketball Player Injuries

Keep up to date on NBA injuries with CBSSports.com's injury report.
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
 

Iceland12 said:
Irritated me a little too, but what are going do? Hope for them to look at 6 players missing and come out and say "It's Luca and 5 losers out tonight"? Or "Edwards is out tonight and a couple of other stiffs too?" To be fair the Wolves bench outscored the Mavericks bench 36-17 so maybe missing some of those guys hurt Dallas.

As slights go for longtime Wolves fans, that shouldn't even make the list.

Both Donic and Edwards should be back tomorrow night. If the Wolves win again by 17+ then you've got a point and the Wolves may be for real.
Click to expand...
Fair point.
 





17. Minnesota Timberwolves (Previously 22nd), 15-15, +0.3 net rating​

Weekly slate: Win at Nuggets, Win over Lakers, Win over Mavs

Random thought: Last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves banked a lot of their future hope on the success of the team when Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards all played together. The Wolves went 13-11 in those 24 games and outscored opponents by 4.9 points per 100 possessions. Through 22 games together this season, the Wolves are 13-9 and they’re outscoring opponents by 13.6 points per 100 possessions. A big part of that, though, is the presence of Jarred Vanderbilt. He’s making a serious push for All-Defense if he keeps up this level of impact on the floor. Add Vanderbilt to that trio, and the Wolves move to +31.4 points per 100 possessions in 238 minutes. Vanderbilt does all of the dirty work to fill in a lot of gaps. A perfect example of that impact? Russell has been one of the leaders in net rating this season. Paired with Vanderbilt on the court, the Wolves are +18.3 per 100 possessions. Remove Vanderbilt from the equation, and the Wolves are +1.5 with Russell on the floor.

theathletic.com

NBA Power Rankings: Can Utah’s offense sustain? Is Nikola Jokic the MVP again? One random thought for all 30 teams

The current state of the NBA is a bit difficult to react to right now, but Zach Harper has some thoughts on all 30 franchises.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
 

Iceland12 said:

17. Minnesota Timberwolves (Previously 22nd), 15-15, +0.3 net rating​

Weekly slate: Win at Nuggets, Win over Lakers, Win over Mavs

Random thought: Last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves banked a lot of their future hope on the success of the team when Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards all played together. The Wolves went 13-11 in those 24 games and outscored opponents by 4.9 points per 100 possessions. Through 22 games together this season, the Wolves are 13-9 and they’re outscoring opponents by 13.6 points per 100 possessions. A big part of that, though, is the presence of Jarred Vanderbilt. He’s making a serious push for All-Defense if he keeps up this level of impact on the floor. Add Vanderbilt to that trio, and the Wolves move to +31.4 points per 100 possessions in 238 minutes. Vanderbilt does all of the dirty work to fill in a lot of gaps. A perfect example of that impact? Russell has been one of the leaders in net rating this season. Paired with Vanderbilt on the court, the Wolves are +18.3 per 100 possessions. Remove Vanderbilt from the equation, and the Wolves are +1.5 with Russell on the floor.

theathletic.com

NBA Power Rankings: Can Utah’s offense sustain? Is Nikola Jokic the MVP again? One random thought for all 30 teams

The current state of the NBA is a bit difficult to react to right now, but Zach Harper has some thoughts on all 30 franchises.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
Click to expand...

Even though the Wolves didn't draft him originally, Vanderbilt is just the latest example of always roll the dice on a player from Kentucky if available.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Even though the Wolves didn't draft him originally, Vanderbilt is just the latest example of always roll the dice on a player from Kentucky if available.
Click to expand...

The guy certainly has paid his dues. Hope he's found a home at Target Center.

June 21, 2018: Drafted by the Orlando Magic in the 2nd round (41st pick) of the 2018 NBA Draft.
June 21, 2018: Traded by the Orlando Magic to the Denver Nuggets for Justin Jackson and a 2019 2nd round draft pick (Cody Martin was later selected). (DEN 2019 2nd-rd pick would be sent to MIL if it falls between 56-60, in which case ORL would receive WAS 2nd-rd pick.)
July 11, 2018: Signed a multi-year contract with the Denver Nuggets
January 26, 2019: Assigned to the Delaware 87ers of the G-League.
February 6, 2019: Recalled from the Delaware 87ers of the G-League.
November 20, 2019: Assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the G-League.
January 17, 2020: Recalled from the Windy City Bulls of the G-League.
February 5, 2020: As part of a 4-team trade, traded by the Denver Nuggets with Malik Beasley and Juan Hernangomez to the Minnesota Timberwolves; the Atlanta Hawks traded a 2026 2nd round draft pick to the Houston Rockets; the Atlanta Hawks traded Evan Turner and a 2020 1st round draft pick (Aleksej Pokusevski was later selected) to the Minnesota Timberwolves; the Houston Rockets traded Clint Capela and Nene to the Atlanta Hawks; the Houston Rockets traded Gerald Green and a 2020 1st round draft pick (Zeke Nnaji was later selected) to the Denver Nuggets; the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Keita Bates-Diop, Shabazz Napier and Noah Vonleh to the Denver Nuggets; and the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Jordan Bell and Robert Covington to the Houston Rockets. (Pick is GSW's 2026 second-round pick)
February 19, 2020: Assigned to the Iowa Wolves of the G-League.
February 24, 2020: Recalled from the Iowa Wolves of the G-League.
February 29, 2020: Assigned to the Iowa Wolves of the G-League.
September 15, 2021: Signed a multi-year contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves
 





that's a brutal loss tonight. Mavs with 4 starters out and 3 top guys from the bench out.

And DLO, most nights are WTF?

1 of 11 on threes, 4 of 18 overall. Just kept shooting. And his defense was literally non-existent. What an embarrassing performance from a max player.

Bolmaro sure has been one big disappointment.

Again, brutal loss.
 
Last edited:

If you thought the Wolves would win going away than it was a brutal.

Much like the Wolves bench.
 
Last edited:

kg21 said:
that's a brutal loss tonight. Mavs with 4 starters out and 3 top guys from the bench out.

And DLO, most nights are WTF?

1 of 11 on threes, 4 of 18 overall. Just kept shooting. And his defense was literally non-existent. What an embarrassing performance from a max player.

Bolmaro sure has been one big disappointment.

Again, brutal loss.
Click to expand...

The team goes as DLo goes
 

Iceland12 said:
- The Wolves starting unit had played a grand total of 5 mins together all year before last night. Gotta hope that Balmaro becomes a good NBA player. Right now he should be getting big minutes down at Iowa. Get his confidence and shooting back. Right now he shouldn't be on an NBA floor.

- 4th Quarter shooting was brutal for the Wolves last night. Thing is they were even or ahead o shooting with Dallas going into that Quarter. Ended-up 48% to 45%. Rebounding was pretty equal going into the 4th too. Dallas out rebounded them by 5 for the game. 3 point shooting? Wolves shot 32.5% to 32.4 %. Basically dead even.

- Unless one plays the "but if we shot or rebounded way better and they didn't do better at all!" game, it was turnovers that killed the Wolves last night. T.O. were 11 to 4 near the end of the 1st half and ended-up 17-10 in the favor of Dallas. That led to Dallas getting 86 shots to Minnesota's 79. Add in the way Dallas outplayed the Wolves in the last 6 minutes of the game and that's why the Wolves lost.

If the Wolves had taken care off the ball the last 6 minutes wouldn't have mattered.

- Missing Doncic and Porzingis should have been must worse than losing Edwards, McDaniels and Beverly. Thing is it wasn't. Why? Out of the 30 games already played by Dallas, Doncic missed 9 of them (30%) and Porzingis missed 8 (27%). The Mavericks are use to playing without them. Edwards and McDaniels? They've each missed 2. One of them was last night.

- Don't expect a win until Edwards ad probably McDaniels are back on the court.

So was last night an embarrassing and brutal loss?

No it wasn't. It was just another example of how much the Wolves depend on their Big Three and their starting 5. Oh and how godawful their General Managers have been at trading, 1st Round Draft picks and signing Free Agents.

Dallas has a decent bench. The Wolves bench is abysmal. So have most of the Wolves General Managers.

When healthy the Wolves starting five can play with just about any team in the league. Their bench? Now that is truly brutal.
Click to expand...
the wolves had 2 of their big 3. Dallas had had 1 starter. The Dallas bench was decimated, too.

I'd call the loss brutal.
 

kg21 said:
the wolves had 2 of their big 3.Dallas had had 1 starter. The Dallas bench was decimated, too.

I'd call the loss brutal.
Click to expand...

You always do.

Seems like you always think they are gonna win and then are outraged when they don't.

Saves you a lot of time on research though.

www.espn.com

Mavericks 114-102 Timberwolves (Dec 21, 2021) Game Recap - ESPN

Expert recap and game analysis of the Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves NBA game from December 21, 2021 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
Last edited:

I think this is who the Wolves are. Win 3 or 4, lose 3 or 4. In the end, they will finish right about .500 which should be good enough for a #8 seed in the West. If they can manage to get a couple of games over .500, maybe a #7 seed, considering the West is a little underwhelming this year.

First time in a while that the East probably is stronger overall compared to the West.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
I think this is who the Wolves are. Win 3 or 4, lose 3 or 4. In the end, they will finish right about .500 which should be good enough for a #8 seed in the West. If they can manage to get a couple of games over .500, maybe a #7 seed, considering the West is a little underwhelming this year.

First time in a while that the East probably is stronger overall compared to the West.
Click to expand...
So if they finish around .500

Now what? Same thing next year?

That's why I'm in on a significant trade. Whatever that would be?
 

kg21 said:
So if they finish around .500

Now what? Same thing next year?

That's why I'm in on a significant trade. Whatever that would be?
Click to expand...
It looks like they are finally building something. It doesn't make sense to make major moves at this point. Let's give this roster a chance to play together for a year and the substantial sample size will provide answers. More often than not, the best trades are the ones that aren't made.
 

kg21 said:
So if they finish around .500

Now what? Same thing next year?

That's why I'm in on a significant trade. Whatever that would be?
Click to expand...
I think that would be such a drastic improvement, you would more or less run it back and hope for improvement from McDaniels, Ant, and Vanderbilt.

They'll have about 12 million in cap space. They have cheap pieces that might have some value (Vando, McDaniels) and an OK player with a large expiring.

Could we essentially trade McDaniels, Beasley, 1st and cap space for something to improve the team? Yes, but we shouldn't be desperate.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I think that would be such a drastic improvement, you would more or less run it back and hope for improvement from McDaniels, Ant, and Vanderbilt.

They'll have about 12 million in cap space. They have cheap pieces that might have some value (Vando, McDaniels) and an OK player with a large expiring.

Could we essentially trade McDaniels, Beasley, 1st and cap space for something to improve the team? Yes, but we shouldn't be desperate.
Click to expand...
I am thinking KAT and DLO are at their peek. KAT is having a monster year, and DLO is always going to be DLO.

I'd love to see them keep Vando and be able to play him at the three. The problem is that Vando literally can't score. You the four other guys to be able to score. It's a hard puzzle to put together.
 

kg21 said:
I am thinking KAT and DLO are at their peek. KAT is having a monster year, and DLO is always going to be DLO.

I'd love to see them keep Vando and be able to play him at the three. The problem is that Vando literally can't score. You the four other guys to be able to score. It's a hard puzzle to put together.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think KAT is maxed out but I can't imagine a scenario where we would move from him (other than him wanting to move). You don't get better trading a guy like him.

DLo. . . I agree. I don't think we'd get enough for him.

If McDaniels improves a bit on offense and Ant takes another step or two up, that would likely make us from a .500 team to a 45-37 team?
 



Karl-Anthony Towns is now in health protocols. Anybody betting on the Wolves tonight?

"Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns entered the NBA's health and safety protocols ahead of Minnesota's game in Utah on Thursday.

He joins six Timberwolves players in the protocols, including starters Patrick Beverley, Anthony Edwards and Jarred Vanderbilt..

Towns' mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died at 59 last year from complications with COVID-19. Towns said before last season that six other family members had also died from complications with the virus.

The All-Star center himself tested positive for COVID-19 in January of last season and went on to miss 13 games.

"I am a high-risk case," Towns said of his experience with the virus after returning. "COVID did not treat me well whatsoever. A lot of scary nights.""

www.espn.com

KAT joins 6 Timberwolves in COVID-19 protocols

Karl Anthony-Towns entered the NBA's health and safety protocols ahead of Thursday's game against the Jazz.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

How bad was it for the Wolves last night? Jake Layman started.

"Timberwolves coach Chris Finch made one thing clear in his pregame press conference ahead of Minnesota’s game Thursday in Utah: “We’re here to win. We’re here to compete.”

That sentiment came in the face of everything that suggested that wasn’t going to be possible. The Wolves had seven players in health and safety protocols, including four starters — Anthony Edwards, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Karl-Anthony Towns, the latter of whom went into the protocols just prior to Thursday’s game..

Minnesota played hard, played with pace and hit shots on a night when it simply didn’t have the horses to hang with one of the best in the West as COVID-19 continues to ravage its roster.

Finch didn’t make any excuses for his team pregame, and the Wolves (15-17) didn’t play like a team expecting to lose Thursday, even if they did enter the contest as 15-point underdogs to the 22-9 Jazz..

They weren’t great defensively, though Finch said Minnesota executed its defensive schemes to the best of its ability. Frankly, without Towns, Beverley, Vanderbilt and Josh Okogie, the Wolves are just short on defenders at the moment.

They countered that by hitting shots at a high rate. The Wolves shot 38 percent from deep on Thursday. All five starters scored in double-figures, with Jaylen Nowell adding 10 off the bench.

Jaden McDaniels tallied 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, as the young wing showed what he can do when leaned on more offensively. Malik Beasley continued his recent shooting resurgence, burying seven triples en route to a 33-point performance. D’Angelo Russell recorded 19 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds, hitting shots at a higher clip in the second half after a rough start to the night.

It’s possible Minnesota could get Anthony Edwards and Taurean Prince back for Monday’s home game against New York, at minimum. Potential changes in the NBA’s protocols could help others return to action then, too."

www.twincities.com

Short-handed Timberwolves go down swinging in loss to Utah

Yes, Minnesota fell 128-116 to Utah. But the Wolves went down swinging.
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom