All Things 2021-2022 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread

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Apparently, the Wolves have a little in common with the Gopher Football team. Occasionally when they play a team they should beat, they come out a little flat.

Neither team can afford that.

NEW ORLEANS – Tuesday's 128-125 Timberwolves loss wasn't supposed to end this way for the Wolves, not with Brandon Ingram draining a winning 26-foot three-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining.

The Wolves didn't lose because of that shot, coach Chris Finch said. They lost the game in the first half, when they came out flat against an opponent below them in the standings, an opponent they handled easily in their own building in November.

"We thought it was going to be easy," Finch said.

It was anything but. The Pelicans still needed to put in quite the effort to beat the Wolves, with Ingram hitting three threes in the final minutes to out duel Anthony Edwards, who scored 20 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter..

The last four were trick games," said guard Patrick Beverley, who had 10 points in his return from a two-game absence because of right groin soreness. "Clippers [were] underhanded. [Oklahoma City] one of the worst teams in the NBA. Houston one of the worst teams in the NBA. So you get in the zone, obviously scoring a lot of points and that's what you think is the recipe for winning. It's not.

"Our recipe has always been defense."

We acted like we was just going to walk in, get a win and it was going to be sweet," Towns said. "We going to come in, get a five-game winning streak, it's cool. This is the NBA. You've got to work for that. It ain't just given. We came in here acting like it was going to just be given to us, this game."..

Edwards said the Wolves started to have a high opinion of themselves recently and Tuesday was a reminder that they shouldn't. They could have finished the midway point of the season above .500; instead they are 20-21 when it didn't have to be this way.

"We needed this game though," Edwards said. "Every time after we win three, four in a row, we kind of get cocky and lose our humbleness and think we the team, but we not the team."

www.startribune.com

Long-range shootout in New Orleans sends Timberwolves to defeat on buzzer-beater

Brandon Ingram's winning basket with 0.3 seconds left ended his wild long-range shooting duel with the Anthony Edwards in the final minutes.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 

- They are now either 9-3 or 10-3 with their regular starting five.
- Patrick Beverly, their best defensive player, had the worst +/- in the game last night. He was -18.
- Another oddity. Russell and Beasley had the best +/- for the Wolves last night. Russell was +11 and Beasley +12
 

Iceland12 said:
Apparently, the Wolves have a little in common with the Gopher Football team. Occasionally when they play a team they should beat, they come out a little flat.

Neither team can afford that.

NEW ORLEANS – Tuesday's 128-125 Timberwolves loss wasn't supposed to end this way for the Wolves, not with Brandon Ingram draining a winning 26-foot three-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining.

The Wolves didn't lose because of that shot, coach Chris Finch said. They lost the game in the first half, when they came out flat against an opponent below them in the standings, an opponent they handled easily in their own building in November.

"We thought it was going to be easy," Finch said.

It was anything but. The Pelicans still needed to put in quite the effort to beat the Wolves, with Ingram hitting three threes in the final minutes to out duel Anthony Edwards, who scored 20 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter..

The last four were trick games," said guard Patrick Beverley, who had 10 points in his return from a two-game absence because of right groin soreness. "Clippers [were] underhanded. [Oklahoma City] one of the worst teams in the NBA. Houston one of the worst teams in the NBA. So you get in the zone, obviously scoring a lot of points and that's what you think is the recipe for winning. It's not.

"Our recipe has always been defense."

We acted like we was just going to walk in, get a win and it was going to be sweet," Towns said. "We going to come in, get a five-game winning streak, it's cool. This is the NBA. You've got to work for that. It ain't just given. We came in here acting like it was going to just be given to us, this game."..

Edwards said the Wolves started to have a high opinion of themselves recently and Tuesday was a reminder that they shouldn't. They could have finished the midway point of the season above .500; instead they are 20-21 when it didn't have to be this way.

"We needed this game though," Edwards said. "Every time after we win three, four in a row, we kind of get cocky and lose our humbleness and think we the team, but we not the team."

www.startribune.com

Long-range shootout in New Orleans sends Timberwolves to defeat on buzzer-beater

Brandon Ingram's winning basket with 0.3 seconds left ended his wild long-range shooting duel with the Anthony Edwards in the final minutes.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
Click to expand...
bad things happen when you keep bad teams close
 

The combo platter is a distinction without a difference at this juncture.
 

It's like watching a rerun every night.

The bench sucks balls and can't stop anyone.

The middle of the lane is wide, wide open all game long. Put back lay-ins or dunks, alley oops, and on and on. Towns and Vando will never be a winning combo. Towns plays poor interior defense and Vando simply isn't big enough.
 
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At NBA season's halfway mark, Timberwolves exec Sachin Gupta sees team as 'buyers'​

Before the Timberwolves played the Grizzlies on Thursday, executive vice president Sachin Gupta was on the phone walking from section to section in the arena. With the Feb. 10 trade deadline less than a month away, the feeling-out process for how this market will unfold has begun.

Gupta made his reputation in the league in part on crafting trades, but for the first time in his career, he will make the call on making a trade after taking over the head of basketball operations since the September firing of Gersson Rosas. Gupta has not been named the permanent head of basketball ops, but he will be the person in charge ahead of Feb. 10, a crucial time for the Wolves.

"For me, I'm not just looking to make a trade for the sake of it or to make a splash to put my name on it," Gupta said. "I feel really good about this team, and at this point I think we're on track to achieve the goals that we set out."

After the midway point of the season, Gupta said he was happy with the Wolves (20-21) being in contention for a playoff spot or spot in the play-in tournament.

"We're two games out of the No. 5 [seed]. We're closer to five than we are to 10. That feels really good," Gupta said. "The coaching staff has done a great job. We've been a top-10 defense over the year so far, which this roster isn't one that we felt was the strongest on the defensive end."

www.startribune.com

Aiming for the playoffs, Wolves boss Sachin Gupta sees team as 'buyers' with trade deadline looming

The Wolves haven't been in this position often in recent history: Sachin Gupta not only wants to upgrade the roster, but his bigger goal is a second half of the season good enough to avoid the NBA's postseason play-in tournament.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Howl Wolves!!
 

kg21 said:
It's like watching a rerun every night.

The bench sucks balls and can't stop anyone.

The middle of the lane is wide, wide open all game long. Put back lay-ins or dunks, alley oops, and on and on. Towns and Vando will never be a winning combo. Towns plays poor interior defense and Vando simply isn't big enough..
Click to expand...

- Memphis came in on a 10 game winning streak. 2 days after beating Golden State by the identical 116-108 score.
- They are now 30-14. Tied with Golden State with the 2nd most wins in the league.
- The game was tied at the 1:47 mark of the 4th Quarter. After that they played pretty badly.
- The "wide open" middle of the lane lead to Memphis shooting 46% overall to Minnesota's 43%
- Memphis shot 56% on 2's to Minnesota's 54%
- It was Finch and the analytic boys demand to shoot 3s that killed them last night. They put up 48 of them and hit only 15. That's 31%. They hit 54% of their other shots. For a team full of bad shooters that's kinda insane. They gotta run to win, but if the 3's aren't falling..?
- Edwards, Towns and Russell all did have good nights, but didn't get much help.

Yep, the bench is terrible. Hope Gupta is telling the truth about them being "buyers" at the trade deadline. Not sure if all the flotsam they have outside of the Big 3.

You should probably stop watching or at least expecting them to win every game. Winning last night was more possible than anybody gave them credit for before the game, but the result shouldn't have surprised or bothered you so much. They play 82 games. They have 40 left.This year they'll probably play a few more. They aren't going win all of them. No reason to expect them to either.

​

 
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Timberwolves' 'Big Three' not enough. Reserves let down team as Memphis wins 11th straight​

A game there for the taking slipped through the Wolves' hands for the second time in three days Thursday night, this time because they didn't get any production from their bench, nor could the "Big Three" of Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell carry the Wolves through the final minutes.
The Wolves had a 106-105 lead on a layup from Russell with 2 minutes, 45 seconds to play. They wouldn't score again until a meaningless Edwards layup gave him 30 for the night just before the buzzer.

Memphis scored the next 11 points after that Russell layup to win its 11th consecutive game.
To Finch, the Wolves played too slow in those final moments when Towns committed two offensive fouls on two consecutive possessions.

"We made the mistake last time when we were here," Finch said, referring to a 125-118 overtime loss on Nov. 8. "Played too slow, over-manipulated things. We just gotta play. We waited too long, got stuck on the clock and took some tough shots. When we did get some open looks, they didn't go in."

Grizzlies guard Ja Morant had 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds while Desmond Bane scored 21. The Grizzlies also got 15 off the bench from Jon Konchar, who also had 17 rebounds, and 14 points from Brandon Clarke. Both of those totals were more than the entire output from the Wolves bench (13 points on 19% shooting).

Edwards had 25 of his 30 in the first half. Towns had a big second half leading to 25 points while Russell had 29. No other Wolves player finished in double figures while starting guard Patrick Beverley went 1-for-9..

www.startribune.com

Timberwolves' 'Big Three' not enough. Reserves let down team as Memphis wins 11th straight

Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell combined for 84 of the team's points in the 116-108 loss. Coach Chris Finch saw several things to be unhappy about.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 



Iceland12 said:
- Memphis came in on a 10 game winning streak. 2 days after beating Golden State by the identical 116-108 score.
- They are now 30-14. Tied with Golden State with the 2nd most wins in the league.
- The game was tied at the 1:47 mark of the 4th Quarter. After that they played pretty badly.
- The "wide open" middle of the lane lead to Memphis shooting 46% to Minnesota's 43%
- It was Finch and the analytic boys demand to shoot 3s that killed them last night. They put up 48 of them and hit only 15. That's 31%. They hit 54% of their other shots. For a team full of bad shooters that's kinda insane. They gotta run to win, but if the 3's aren't falling..?
- Edwards, Towns and Russell all did have good nights, but didn't get much help.

Yep, the bench is terrible. Hope Gupta is telling the truth about them being "buyers" at the trade deadline. Not sure if all the flotsam they have outside of the Big 3.

You should probably stop watching or at least expecting them to win every game. Winning last night was more possible than anybody gave them credit for before the game, but the result shouldn't have surprised or bothered you so much. They play 82 games. They have 40 left.This year they'll probably play a few more. They aren't going win all of them. No reason to expect them to either.

​

Click to expand...
Memphis was 8 of 32 from three point land. That's 25%! Memphis was off all night long.

So 32 shots were taken and a low percent were made....to then end up at 46 % means you shot extremely well from the rest of the court. Wide open lanes to the basket, dunks, alley oops, and put back baskets will tend to do that for you. Did you watch the game? Memphis shot like crap from 3, Morant was held in check, but yes, they did win 10 in a row. I don't know what game you saw, but that game was so winnable, you should be pissed we didn't.

We literally can't beat Golden State in our next one. I mean, what do you expect. They have a great record. That sucks, right?

Based on how I saw Memphis play last night, us losing did surprise me. Let's up the ante a little.

I'm going to watch the Golden State game expecting them to win. I hope Finch and the wolves feel the same. You should join us.

By the way, some 6'5" shooting guard had 17 boards last night when he averages 4.
 
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Malik Beasley’s shooting struggles are hurting Wolves in many ways

There is a saying in the NBA that it’s not who starts, it’s who finishes, a go-to line for coaches trying to convince proud players of the value of coming off the bench. For some players, a spot in the starting lineup doesn’t matter. As long as they get quality minutes and a consistent role, they are happy. Others like to see their name in lights and hear the public address announcer call it while introducing the starters.

Just over halfway through this season, it could be that Beasley is one of those players who puts a premium on that spot in the starting group. Maybe the summer spent in jail serving his sentence stemming from gun charges messed with his workout routine to a considerable degree. Maybe he’s just having a poor season. Whatever the reason, Beasley’s struggles are stinging the Timberwolves in two ways — the clanked 3-pointers are short-circuiting their offense and damaging his trade value as the deadline looms in February.

Beasley’s struggles have been at the forefront of the Wolves’ problems with the second unit, a group that collectively misfired so badly on Thursday night in Memphis that the Timberwolves lost to the streaking Grizzlies despite getting 84 points from Anthony Edwards (30), D’Angelo Russell (29) and Karl-Anthony Towns (25).

Beasley and Naz Reid each went 1 of 8 from the field, Jaden McDaniels went 2 of 7 and Patrick Beverley, who supplanted Beasley in the starting lineup, went 1 of 9. Towns, Edwards and Russell were the only Wolves in double figures while the Grizzlies got 48 points off the bench in the 116-108 loss.

Beasley is shooting a career-worst 37 percent from the field this season and 34.2 percent from 3-point land. He hit 40 percent of his 3s last season and 42.6 percent in the first 14-game sample he got with the Wolves after being traded in 2021. And he’s not alone in the clanking. Reid is shooting 33 percent from deep after making 35 percent last season, and McDaniels is shooting 28 percent after making an encouraging 36.2 percent of his 3s as a rookie.

“They’ve got to start making some shots,” coach Chris Finch said. “At the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to. If you’re a three-point shooter and you get open looks you got to make them. If you get layups at the rim and you’re missing them, you got to make them. It’s very, very hard to generate good looks. We do a pretty good job of it I think. We just didn’t capitalize and we haven’t been.”

In nine starts this season Beasley is averaging 18.8 points in 34 minutes per game. He is not shooting great, just 41 percent from the field and a halfway decent 35.7 percent from deep. But when he comes off the bench, Beasley is averaging 10.5 points and shooting 33.6 percent from 3-point land and 35.2 percent overall. For a player making almost $14.5 million this season, the Wolves (20-22) need more..

theathletic.com

Malik Beasley’s shooting struggles are hurting Wolves in many ways

Beasley is shooting a career-worst 37 percent from the field this season and 34.2 percent from 3-point land.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
 

Fredrick's memory is a little faulty. Wolves fans were happy that Wiggins was traded. Certainly doubt that a large segment was happy that Russell cam back for him. Don't think anybody was happy about incuding those draft choices.


Another Golden State vs. Minnesota game on Sunday provides another chance to dissect the latest of the Timberwolves’ franchise-altering trades, as D’Angelo Russell and Andrew Wiggins will again share the floor.

We’re now two years removed from the day in which the Timberwolves’ now-former basketball boss Gersson Rosas put an exclamation point on his first trade deadline by sending Andrew Wiggins and a first-round draft pick to the Bay area in exchange for Russell and some salary cap filler.
In the moment, the move generated some needed excitement in Minnesota for a downtrodden NBA franchise that appeared to be heading nowhere fast. Russell was fresh off an all-star appearance. Wiggins was in the midst of yet another underwhelming season. In the days that followed, Rosas painted the picture that he finally had acquired the point guard he desired.

A large segment of Timberwolves fans couldn’t believe the heist their team had just pulled off. But two years later, as the paths the franchises have charted since come into clearer vision, it’s become obvious the Warriors did not lose that trade..

www.twincities.com

Timberwolves: Andrew Wiggins trade for D’Angelo Russell benefitting both teams for now. What about long term?

Another Golden State vs. Minnesota game on Sunday provides another chance to dissect the latest of the Timberwolves’ franchise-altering trades, as D’Angelo Russell and Andrew Wiggins wi…
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com
 

Stephen Curry says he's gonna play. Guess we'll see tonight.

Golden State Warriors

NAMEPOSDATESTATUSCOMMENT
Draymond GreenPFJan 16OutThe Warriors list Green (calf) as out for Sunday's game against the Timberwolves.
Stephen CurryPGJan 16OutWarriors head coach Steve Kerr said that he's hopeful Curry (hand), who has been ruled out ahead of Sunday's game against the Timberwolves, will be available for Tuesday's game against the Pistons, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reports.
Gary Payton IISGJan 16OutPayton (back) has been ruled out for Sunday's contest against the Timberwolves, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reports.
James WisemanCJan 13OutWiseman underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in December that pushed back his recovery timeline, and he's expected to begin three-on-three work in the near future, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reports.
 



La Velle E.Neal:

Tough stretch for Wolves​

The Timberwolves, starting Sunday against Golden State, will face nine consecutive teams with winning records in what will be their most challenging stretch of the season. They will go 4-5, with victories over the Warriors, Knicks, Jazz and Nuggets.
 

Bench sighting! they covered for the starters.

Beasley on fire. Keep that going Beasley!
 

kg21 said:
Bench sighting! they covered for the starters.

Beasley on fire. Keep that going Beasley!
Click to expand...

Indeed! Beasley got 16, Nowell came back and gave them 17 and the bench overall got them 56 in a 119 - 99 win over the Golden State Warriors. Albeit a Warriors team without Steph Curry or Draymond Green.

Now on to New York and Thibodeau and Company.

The Timberwolves have followed up winning streaks with losing streaks and vice versa all season, establishing no semblance of consistency and going back and forth around the .500 mark all season.

They were on the verge of doing so again Sunday. Losers of two straight entering the contest, Minnesota was struggling with a Warriors’ team that didn’t have Draymond Green nor Steph Curry, and had Klay Thompson on a tight minutes restriction.

But then they flipped the switch in the third to build an advantage and eventually cruise to a 119-99 victory at Target Center.

Minnesota was able to play its second unit, the culprit in the Timberwolves’ loss Thursday in Memphis, which was excellent over the final 24 minutes. Everything looks a little better for Minnesota when Malik Beasley is hitting shots, and he knocked them down in bunches in the second half.

Beasley registered five triples over the final two quarters to finish with 16 points. In his return to action after missing one game with an ankle injury, Jaylen Nowell continued to flex his scoring prowess, finishing with 17 points on 6 for 9 shooting.

Naz Reid scored nine points on 4 for 5 shooting.

Karl-Anthony Towns did a lot of the heavy lifting for Minnesota (21-22) through the first three frames. The center finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes..

www.twincities.com

Bench erupts in second half as Timberwolves down short-handed Warriors

The Timberwolves have followed up winning streaks with losing streaks and vice versa all season, establishing no semblance of consistency and going back and forth around the .500 mark all season. T…
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com
 

If I have this right, after Sunday's game, the Wolves are in 7th place in the West. Tied with the Lakers at 21-22, but they have a tie-breaker over the Lakers. Denver is 6th at 22-20. Dallas is 5th at 24-19.

So, IF the Wolves can play a little over .500 the rest of the way, they have a shot at 6th place, which means they stay out of the Play-In Tournament.

I watched most of the game Sunday. (fell asleep in the 2nd qtr.......) That is still the 1st time in years that I have come close to watching an entire game start to finish.
 

ESPN Power Rankings have the Wolves at 18. The Athletic has them at 19

18. Minnesota Timberwolves
2021-22 record: 21-22
Previous ranking: 16

D'Angelo Russell has recorded double-digit assists in six of his past eight games after doing so just twice in his first 25 games of the season. Per ESPN Stats & Information data, those eight games with double-digit assists are the second most during a season in Russell's career; he had 14 such performances during the 2018-19 campaign with the Nets. -- Collier

19. Minnesota Timberwolves (Previously 16th), 21-22, +1.1 net rating​

Weekly slate: Loss at Pelicans, Loss at Grizzlies, Win over Warriors

First-quarter Grade: B- | Ranked 18th

Halfway-point Grade: B

The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the mix, and that’s better than most seasons they go into with playoff aspirations. The trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards has carried a pretty thin team, while Jarred Vanderbilt has been a revelation as a defender and a role player. So much of their team success centers around just how disruptive he can be to the opponent, in an effort to allow the Wolves’ main three to do what they do. Chris Finch has tried really hard to keep this team consistent, but they’re good enough right now to make the Play-In Tournament. They’re even good enough to snag the No. 8 seed, but it will have to be timed with the good part of their roller-coaster campaign.
 

Why did Chris Finch continue to throw Malik Beasley out there even as he missed shot after shot? Why did his Timberwolves teammates keep encouraging him to let it fly even as his shooting percentage cratered to a career low? For nights like this. Well, for halves like this.

Beasley’s shooting struggles have been one of the most confounding parts of this Timberwolves season. A player who emerged as one of the league’s best long-distance shooters entered the game shooting 34.2 percent from 3-point range for the season and just 37 percent from the field. Worst of all, many of his misses were coming on clean looks created by all of the attention paid to Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards. The ball would invariably find him, and Beasley would, more often than not, fail to knock the shot down.

It was more of the same in the first half against Golden State on Sunday night, when he missed both of his shots in 10 minutes of play. The natural question was when would Jaylen Nowell, who has emerged as the kind of bucket-getter Beasley is being paid to be, would supplant him in the rotation. But Beasley finally broke out in the third quarter, hitting three 3s to put some distance between the Timberwolves and the short-handed Warriors, who were playing without Steph Curry and Draymond Green, in a 119-99 victory..

theathletic.com

Malik Beasley's breakout shows why the Wolves are sticking with him through thick and thin

Despite his struggles, Beasley's teammates maintain they have 'full confidence' in him.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
 

Iceland12 said:
Why did Chris Finch continue to throw Malik Beasley out there even as he missed shot after shot? Why did his Timberwolves teammates keep encouraging him to let it fly even as his shooting percentage cratered to a career low? For nights like this. Well, for halves like this.

Beasley’s shooting struggles have been one of the most confounding parts of this Timberwolves season. A player who emerged as one of the league’s best long-distance shooters entered the game shooting 34.2 percent from 3-point range for the season and just 37 percent from the field. Worst of all, many of his misses were coming on clean looks created by all of the attention paid to Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards. The ball would invariably find him, and Beasley would, more often than not, fail to knock the shot down.

It was more of the same in the first half against Golden State on Sunday night, when he missed both of his shots in 10 minutes of play. The natural question was when would Jaylen Nowell, who has emerged as the kind of bucket-getter Beasley is being paid to be, would supplant him in the rotation. But Beasley finally broke out in the third quarter, hitting three 3s to put some distance between the Timberwolves and the short-handed Warriors, who were playing without Steph Curry and Draymond Green, in a 119-99 victory..

theathletic.com

Malik Beasley's breakout shows why the Wolves are sticking with him through thick and thin

Despite his struggles, Beasley's teammates maintain they have 'full confidence' in him.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
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shooters gotta shoot
 


Jon Krawczynski
This has just been a horribly officiated game.


8:57 PM · Jan 18, 2022·TweetDeck

Jon Krawczynski @JonKrawczynski
·36m

There it is. Towns at the nail for the and-1. That's what the Wolves have to do.

Jon Krawczynski@JonKrawczynsk
29m

Wolves hold on. Big-time win. Dodged a few bullets down the stretch, but Towns comes up big and they hang on.

Jon Krawczynski@JonKrawczynski
·29m

Massive late-game and-1 from Towns, enormous 4th quarter in general from Jaylen Nowell.


Timberwolves 112 Thibodeau's Knicks 110
 

I know it's a cliche, but last night's game was a grind it out win. The kind of game the wolves typically lose, especially after the Knicks late 4Q run. This team has to develop toughness to go with the talent if it's going to get in the top six in the western division.

The dollars don't quite line up, but I'd love to switch Beasley for Fournier as the team's designated shooter. Fournier doesn't miss against us.
 

Mid-season grades:

Minnesota Timberwolves: B+​

Minnesota's defensive improvement is genuinely one of the most surprising developments in recent NBA history. The Timberwolves hadn't finished better than 20th on that end of the floor since the 2013-14 season. They entered the season with the NBA's third-youngest roster. Both Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell had, at points, been among the very worst defenders at their positions in all of basketball. Now? They're both positives. Chris Finch has tweaked the defense to their strengths, pulling Towns onto the perimeter more often and allowing Russell to play quarterback as a help-defender while Patrick Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt do the heavy lifting. The Timberwolves rank ninth on defense this season, and while that figure may be buoyed by some very fortunate opponent's shooting luck, it's more than enough to get Minnesota into contention once Anthony Edwards fully matures into a superstar. The Timberwolves still have a ways to go, but if the season ended today, their ninth-place finish would be their best in a Jimmy Butler-less year since 2005. -- Sam Quinn

www.cbssports.com

2021-22 NBA midseason grades: Suns, Cavs, Grizzlies get highest marks; Lakers, Knicks disappoint in first half

Here is how CBS Sports' NBA experts think every team stacks up at the midway point
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

Howl Wolves!!
 


The officials in this Timberwolves/Hawks game is so bad so bad. This is a horrible officialling game.
 

gophersfan said:
The officials in this Timberwolves/Hawks game is so bad so bad. This is a horrible officialling game.
Click to expand...
If Towns would just shut the fu=k up, that might help. I literally get sick of the guy, because of the constant crying. The refs hate us because of this.

Towns didn't run back one time tonight or defend the rim. "FOUL, FOUL, THAT'S A FOUL" Good grief, can't anyone on this staff get a grip on this guy.
 
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Buddy of mine was at a Wolves game, sitting four rows up from the court. he said Towns screams "foul" every time there is any contact. I can only assume that the refs get tired of the complaining and that does not help Towns get the benefit of any close calls.
 

They lost Edwards on technicals halfway thru the 3rd Quarter. Then Towns fouled out, after a technical in the 4th. Personally think the Wolves should shut-up and play. Even though they are seemingly getting jobbed on a semi-regular basis.

Jonny K., who usually shares the Minnesota Sportswriter's Mantra, in an over reaction to Sid Hartman's homerism, "it's NEVER a referee's fault" seems to think that yeah, there is something to it.

"When Anthony Edwards was ejected midway through the third quarter of his homecoming game in Atlanta, he entered into the annals of a long and rich history of confrontation between the Timberwolves and the referees. It predates Chris Finch, D’Angelo Russell and even Karl-Anthony Towns, the player drawing the most scrutiny for his interactions with officials on the current Timberwolves squad.

The grudge dates back nearly a decade, to the spring of 2013 when the NBA ruled that Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant got away with what should have been a foul on a potential game-tying 3-point shot from Ricky Rubio, allowing the Lakers to hold on for a 120-117 victory. The no-call gave fans in Minnesota more fuel for their conspiracy theories that the league has a big-market bias..

The angst carried over to the next season, when Timberwolves radio play-by-play announcer Alan Horton’s famous “Ohhh! Ed Malloy!” call of a missed foul on Dallas forward Shawn Marion against Kevin Love. Tom Thibodeau spent two and a half seasons in Minnesota screaming at the top of his lungs at officials for perceived wrongs and Towns has assumed the mantle as the most volatile Timberwolf in his interactions with referees.

There are times that Towns and the Timberwolves are off base, unfairly hollering at officials to mask their own shortcomings and mistakes. There are other times when they have a case, when the whistle is not going their way and physicality goes too far. But what has never been more clear than it was after a 134-122 loss in Atlanta on Wednesday night is that the Wolves are fighting a losing battle on that front and that all of their complaints and airing of grievances are doing little to improve their situation in that regard.

Edwards had a hot start derailed when he was thrown out midway through the third quarter and Towns’ run-in with them just before the fourth provided a five-point swing in the Hawks’ favor that proved critical down the stretch. Finch sounded exasperated at times trying to interpret the way officials were calling the game, especially when it came to Towns.

We just have to keep plugging away and just kind of have to shoulder this burden and we just have to fight through it,” Finch said. “We didn’t play well enough to win tonight, that’s the bottom line. We have to be better in that department, and the calls will come when we play well enough to win. But it certainly is frustrating to watch an All-Star caliber, All-NBA caliber center play hard and go to the hoop and walk away with two free throws. I don’t know what to tell him right now, to be honest.”.

theathletic.com

Towns, Timberwolves are battling the officials on a nightly basis, and losing

The Wolves are fighting a losing battle vs. refs that their complaints and airing of grievances are doing little to improve.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
 
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Chris Finch is a good coach, but I do not understand how he can't get Towns to stop whining. And I've always loved Towns game, his offensive ability is unparalleled for a guy his size.

It looked like Towns was making progress on not complaining early in the season, but now he's back to his typical ways. Is the coaching staff addressing this with him after games? At this point I'd just pull him out of the game every time he won't shut up. Someone needs to send a different message to him. He looks like a fool, and it isn't helping him or the team.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Chris Finch is a good coach, but I do not understand how he can't get Towns to stop whining. And I've always loved Towns game, his offensive ability is unparalleled for a guy his size.

It looked like Towns was making progress on not complaining early in the season, but now he's back to his typical ways. Is the coaching staff addressing this with him after games? At this point I'd just pull him out of the game every time he won't shut up. Someone needs to send a different message to him. He looks like a fool, and it isn't helping him or the team.
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Agreed seems to be the only route possible.

Though there's also a huge contradiction in there for a lot of Wolves fans. Many skeptical sportswriters and fans (even Jamiche:))), agree that the Wolves, and in particular Towns, aren't getting a fair shake from the Refs. Many of those same fans and some sportswriters, have also complained about how Towns isn't "tough enough", particularly on Defense.

So now they're telling Towns to shut-up and take it? When that could lead to more fouls and more time on the bench? The foul he got at the end of the 3rd Quarter was kicking his leg out. The technical was for staring down an opponent!

Again, that seems to be the only available approach. Though if Love, Thibodeau, Towns and now Krawczynski are right, and the grudge is legitimate, seems like just shutting-up and being soft on Offense and Defense is the only real solution.

Just not sure if that wins many games.
 

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