All Things 2021-2022 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread

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Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Don't the players already make a mockery of the regular season with "load management" and things like that?
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It's all on the players? Why what a surprising take. 😊

It ain't all on the players. Very little of it. Management has decided that they'd rather have players fresh for the playoffs, then have them chasing stats in the regular season. Only player can think of who's completely responsible for it would be Kawhi Leonard. Who went on to a personal withholding of services after he found out that team doctors had him playing when they shouldn't have.

Nearly everybody, me included, thought Ben Simmons was refusing to play because he was angry at Embid and the Sixers. Turns out he really was hurt.

Commissioner Silver has been quite vocal about how teams should be playing their best players more often. The play-in games weren't designed to get the Lakers into the playoffs . They're the defending champs! No, it was an attempt to get bubble teams to keep on playing until the end. It kinda worked too. Though don't know who's happy about it.

Hell, Silver is still pushing his mid-season losers tourney 'cuz he wants teams to keep trying to win!

That's not directed at the players. ;)
 
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gophersfan said:
Better hope the officials are ok tonight. Ed Malloy is working tonight game. Oh boy.

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I saw a tweet that this crew has been very favorable to the Clippers and brutal to the Wolves when it comes to free throws.
 




Iceland12 said:
It's all on the players? Why what a surprising take. 😊

It ain't all on the players. Very little of it. Management has decided that they'd rather have players fresh for the playoffs, then have them chasing stats in the regular season. Only player can think of who's completely responsible for it would be Kawhi Leonard. Who went on to a personal withholding of services after he found out that team doctors had him playing when they shouldn't have.

Nearly everybody, me included, thought Ben Simmons was refusing to play because he was angry at Embid and the Sixers. Turns out he really was hurt.

Commissioner Silver has been quite vocal about how teams should be playing their best players more often. The play-in games weren't designed to get the Lakers into the playoffs . They're the defending champs! No, it was an attempt to get bubble teams to keep on playing until the end. It kinda worked too. Though don't know who's happy about it.

Hell, Silver is still pushing his mid-season losers tourney 'cuz he wants teams to keep trying to win!

That's not directed at the players. ;)
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You're absolutely right, it's most definitely not all on the players. Adam Silver is the worst major sports Commissioner in place right now and it's not even close. He's been a disaster as the NBA Commissioner. He's managed to reduce himself to nothing more than a figurehead at this point, the leadership is completely gone and it's probably not recoverable if they put someone new in his place.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
You're absolutely right, it's most definitely not all on the players. Adam Silver is the worst major sports Commissioner in place right now and it's not even close. He's been a disaster as the NBA Commissioner. He's managed to reduce himself to nothing more than a figurehead at this point, the leadership is completely gone and it's probably not recoverable if they put someone new in his place.
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Stern was probably the last Commissioner who thought of himself as the Commissioner of the sport, not the owner's boy.

Now MLB, NFL and the NHL all have Commissioners who's main job is taking care of the owners. Silver seems to want to be Stern, but looking at what he's been doing, looks like he's mainly interested in expanding the TV money.

Whole lot of people want him to crack down on the players too. Online at least, not directed at you, most of those critics also say they doen't watch the sport.
 

On Tuesday in Minnesota, the Clippers will have the first of two cracks at securing their invitation to the NBA playoffs for the 10th time in 11 seasons.

If they get past the Minnesota Timberwolves, they’ll slot in as the seventh seed and face No. 2 seed Memphis in a best-of-seven first-round series that would begin on the road Saturday.

Should they lose in Minneapolis, they’ll have a second play-in on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena against the winner of the 9-vs.-10 matchup between New Orleans and San Antonio. The winner of that game gets the privilege of facing the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round; the loser’s season is through..

If possible, the Clippers would like to avoid this if necessary.

That will take a hearty effort against a young, dynamic T’Wolves team that finished the regular season 46-35 and led the NBA in scoring (115.9 points per game) and shooting (45.7% from the field).

It will take finding a way to slow Karl-Anthony Towns, the T’Wolves’ talented 6-foot-11 center, who is shooting 52.8% from the field and 41% from 3-point range, best of any big man in the league..

It will take counteracting the athleticism of Anthony Edwards, the second-year shooting guard who averaged 21.2 points and shot 36% this season.

It will take going through Patrick Beverley, the former Clippers guard beloved by fans and former teammates alike, who, in his first year with Minnesota following an offseason trade, has infused the T’Wolves with a familiar cutthroat competitiveness.

“It’s for sure gonna be weird,” said Clippers center Ivica Zubac, who has remained in regular contact this season with his friend and former teammate, who was the Clippers’ emotional leader for their past three postseason runs – including last year’s, which lasted until Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, the first in their franchise’s history.

“Every playoff game I played was with Pat Bev, so playing against him in the play-in is gonna be a little weird because I know what he brings to the table, and I know him being on Minnesota is an advantage for them, for sure.”..

www.ocregister.com

Clippers aim to ‘enjoy the moment’ in play-in vs. Minnesota

Mostly healthy Clippers face a talented Minnesota team driven by Pat Beverley’s personality.
www.ocregister.com www.ocregister.com
 

Britt and Dane are very down on the wolves' chances tonight. Are the wolves, particularly KAT and PatBev, going to maintain their composure against the very physical Clips and Malloy and Foster.

It's going to be a wild night...
 



jamiche said:
Britt and Dane are very down on the wolves' chances tonight. Are the wolves, particularly KAT and PatBev, going to maintain their composure against the very physical Clips and Malloy and Foster.

It's going to be a wild night...
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It does feel like a setup.
 

i
Minnesota Timberwolves

NAMEPOSDATESTATUSCOMMENT
Taurean PrincePFApr 12Day-To-DayPrince has been added to the injury report ahead of Tuesday's play-in game against the Clippers with inflammation in his right knee.

Clippers

NAMEPOSDATESTATUSCOMMENT
Luke KennardSGApr 12OutKennard (hamstring) has been ruled out for Tuesday's play-in matchup against the Timberwolves, Law Murray of The Athletic reports.
Kawhi LeonardSFApr 8OutLeonard (knee) won't play in the final two games of the regular season, but his status for a potential postseason run remains to be determined, Law Murray of The Athletic reports.
Jason PrestonPGApr 1OutPreston (foot) said last weekend that he expects to be cleared for full-contact work in practice in "the next couple of weeks," Andrew Grief of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Jay ScrubbSGFeb 9OutScrubb (toe) will undergo season-ending surgery, Law Murray of The Athletic reports.
 

Iceland12 said:
Stern was probably the last Commissioner who thought of himself as the Commissioner of the sport, not the owner's boy.

Now MLB, NFL and the NHL all have Commissioners who's main job is taking care of the owners. Silver seems to want to be Stern, but looking at what he's been doing, looks like he's mainly interested in expanding the TV money.

Whole lot of people want him to crack down on the players too. Online at least, not directed at you, most of those critics also say they doen't watch the sport.
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Manfred has been a dumpster fire too, not coincidentally MLB isn't doing great either.

I'm not sure what to make of your comment, "not the owner's boy". The commissioner for all intents and purposes works for the owners, and obviously doing what's best for the sport as well.

Look at Goodell. I don't like him, the media and most fans hate him, and the NFL is crushing everybody else. Goodell is clearly one of the best commissioners any sport/league has had in a long time, like him or not. Here's a good rule of thumb I heard on a podcast in the last few weeks; if the fans like your commissioner, he's probably a shitty commissioner. Fans seem to like Adam Silver, and he's an ungodly shitty commissioner. Not sure how he's still in place.

As to your last sentence about people complaining who don't watch the sport; you don't think that at least in some part that's a problem? Just because those fans don't watch now, doesn't mean they never did (like me). Sure, some of those people never did watch and never WILL watch, but there are a shitload of fans out there like me that used to watch and don't now.

At the end of the day, in most leagues, players play, coaches coach, and owners own (to steal a phrase from a player a few years ago). That's not exactly how it works in the NBA.

Look at LeBron, he's a complete tool to a lot of people. Imagine being a Laker fan and listening to him just the other day repeatedly say this season wasn't a failure. For reals, Bro? 33-49 and 11th place in the West. And LeBron says it wasn't a failure. WTF....
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Manfred has been a dumpster fire too, not coincidentally MLB isn't doing great either.

I'm not sure what to make of your comment, "not the owner's boy". The commissioner for all intents and purposes works for the owners, and obviously doing what's best for the sport as well.

Look at Goodell. I don't like him, the media and most fans hate him, and the NFL is crushing everybody else. Goodell is clearly one of the best commissioners any sport/league has had in a long time, like him or not. Here's a good rule of thumb I heard on a podcast in the last few weeks; if the fans like your commissioner, he's probably a shitty commissioner. Fans seem to like Adam Silver, and he's an ungodly shitty commissioner. Not sure how he's still in place.

As to your last sentence about people complaining who don't watch the sport; you don't think that at least in some part that's a problem? Just because those fans don't watch now, doesn't mean they never did (like me). Sure, some of those people never did watch and never WILL watch, but there are a shitload of fans out there like me that used to watch and don't now.

At the end of the day, in most leagues, players play, coaches coach, and owners own (to steal a phrase from a player a few years ago). That's not exactly how it works in the NBA.

Look at LeBron, he's a complete tool to a lot of people. Imagine being a Laker fan and listening to him just the other day repeatedly say this season wasn't a failure. For reals, Bro? 33-49 and 11th place in the West. And LeBron says it wasn't a failure. WTF....
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I don't understand why people let their politics destroy their enjoyment of a sport. Got to take things way less seriously. The hate for Lebron specifically makes me laugh. He's a "tool" to people who think he should shut up and dribble almost entirely for political reasons. A funny stance coming from someone who started a thread titled "God Bless Aaron Rodgers!! Go Pack Go!!" a few months back because he came out as an anti-vaxxer.

 



stocker08 said:
I don't understand why people let their politics destroy their enjoyment of a sport. Got to take things way less seriously. The hate for Lebron specifically makes me laugh. He's a "tool" to people who think he should shut up and dribble almost entirely for political reasons. A funny stance coming from someone who started a thread titled "God Bless Aaron Rodgers!! Go Pack Go!!" a few months back because he came out as an anti-vaxxer.

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The Rodgers thread was a joke dude. Lighten up Francis.

Political reasons don't ruin the NBA for me, it took massive hits a long time ago before the players (and some coaches like Pop and Kerr) started to broadcast their vehement political beliefs.

Honestly a huge reason for me is just too much competition for my time and interest, I can easily and honestly say that. But at the end of the day, less and less people are watching. And at the end of the day, it's a business and an entertainment product and if you're interested in the success of your business, I would think you would try harder to address some of the issues of why fewer and fewer people care. At a very basic level, this has to make some sense, yes?

My primary point is that Silver has been terrible, from the start. It's really inarguable. He's been a terrible commissioner and if I had a financial stake or vested interest in things, I would be furious. He's not doing his job, plain and simple.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
The Rodgers thread was a joke dude. Lighten up Francis.

Political reasons don't ruin the NBA for me, it took massive hits a long time ago before the players (and some coaches like Pop and Kerr) started to broadcast their vehement political beliefs.

Honestly a huge reason for me is just too much competition for my time and interest, I can easily and honestly say that. But at the end of the day, less and less people are watching. And at the end of the day, it's a business and an entertainment product and if you're interested in the success of your business, I would think you would try harder to address some of the issues of why fewer and fewer people care. At a very basic level, this has to make some sense, yes?

My primary point is that Silver has been terrible, from the start. It's really inarguable. He's been a terrible commissioner and if I had a financial stake or vested interest in things, I would be furious. He's not doing his job, plain and simple.
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You don't think anyone actually buys that you posted the Rodgers thread as a joke....do you? Funny that all the people calling athletes like Lebron and Kaepernick "tools" were quick to jump in and cheer for Rodgers and commend him for being "brave".

I have no problem with people not caring about or even disliking the NBA because the product is subpar. But to have such a visceral reaction because of the political stances of a few is just silly.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Manfred has been a dumpster fire too, not coincidentally MLB isn't doing great either.

I'm not sure what to make of your comment, "not the owner's boy". The commissioner for all intents and purposes works for the owners, and obviously doing what's best for the sport as well....
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- Comment was pretty simple really, The original plan for a Commissioner is that he works to protect the sport. Not be strictly being there to make money for the owners. Sure they work mainly for the owners but Bowie Kuhn, Rozelle, Stern, Vincent, Giamatti, Selig? They all made decisons one time or another that made their owners unhappy, but it was the right thing for the sport. Can you see Bettman, Manfred or Goodell doing that. Even once? :LOL:

- Goodell? Best Commissione? Hardly. The NFL has been making money hand-over-fist for years. Way before he got there. All he's done is not f-it up. He's had plenty of embarrassing problems. But the public doesn't care. As long as the NFL keeps playing, they'll make money.

- LeBron is a tool, but don't give a damn about his politics. Or Silver's. Seems like you care too much about them.

Gonna go back to watching the games. Try not to care about politics and enjoy them. Hell there's a board for politics isn't there?
 
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FullBanana said:
This is a weirdly officiated game. Lots of ticky-tack calls, but guys get clobbered in the lane and nothing.
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Yep, the officiating is SO inconsistent.

And now KAT has 4 fouls, wow.

Howl Wolves!!
 

It feels like we should be down 15, yet we are up 2 at half.

KAT was brutal. We gotta figure out a way to get him out of the double teams because he can't figure it out on his own.

Need Edwards to stay out of foul trouble. DLo and the Glue Girl helped turn things around.

Howl Wolves!!
 

BleedGopher said:
It feels like we should be down 15, yet we are up 2 at half.

KAT was brutal. We gotta figure out a way to get him out of the double teams because he can't figure it out on his own.

Need Edwards to stay out of foul trouble. DLo and the Glue Girl helped turn things around.

Howl Wolves!!
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Post him up in the lane. If they double him there we'll kill them. I don't watch much Wolves but Finch has not coached an impressive game here. How do you leave Townes in to get his 4th? Really fun game though, crowd is in it and the play is intense.
 





3 of Towns fouls, including that 6th one, were well, but stupidly, earned.
 

Kat seems like a smart enough guy off the court and he seemed to have really taken a good step forward in the second half of the season. But tonight was just absolutely clueless out there.
 

Looks like Edwards and Russell are taking the team on their backs.
 



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