All Things 2021-2022 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread

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MplsGopher said:
Yeah but, you're not entirely wrong @jamiche .

NY Islanders (upcoming next year), LA/Anaheim, Miami, Phoenix, San Jose are all examples of where the NHL team has its own arena when the market has NBA teams.

Particularly in the latter three examples, it seems like the NHL arena is "farther away" while the NBA arena is "closer" the (main) city center. SJ if you consider it as its own separate metro, of course, then the arena is right downtown.


But in any case, I don't think the Wolves would play in an arena that was given to them for free even, if it was out in Lakeville, Monticello, or up by Running Aces, for example. I think they want to be in either downtown and probably Mpls.


Xcel is not brand new, true. 20ish years old now. But I think major arenas need to be more like 40+ years old before they reasonably can be considered "time to just knock it down and start over".


And then TC just had that reno. If they really wanted to knock it down and start over, they never should've done that.

Assuming they tried that (new arena) first, city/state said "no way", so they compromised on the reno.
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I never heard that the wolves tried for a new building. (Doesn't mean it didn't happen.). I think the wolves renovation was an add on to the vikings deal and was a part of the negotiations between Minneapolis and the state over who was paying for what.

IIRC, most of the funds went to "invisible," boring and necessary upgrades to the facility (loading, docks, freight elevators, indoor parking, etc.). Not much went to the stuff we see. Another renovation isn't going to do much good because you can't fix the seating imbalance and suite shortage without basically starting over.
 

tikited said:
I saw all I need to see (from Monday night's game) to know this team will not go anywhere without a big power forward. Simple as that. They kept trying the three-guard line-up (two pg's) and it was disastrous. They need to go traditional having a soft center like Kat.
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I saw enough of Nathan Knight in the preseason to give him some non garbage time at the 4. The refs won't respect him, but they already don't respect the team and I don't think he'll be any more dominated inside than Okogie a V8 (or whatever they call him). The guy has a kind of "don't fuck with me" style (as opposed to KAT's pretend "don't fuck with me" style) that this team could use. Definitely worth a shot.

Unlike most wolves teams, this team has legit talent. If they get out rebounded by 10 boards a game, they won't make the playoffs. It's pretty much that simple. Gupta and Finch have to find those 10 boards without giving up too much. Why not start with Knight?
 

jamiche said:
I saw enough of Nathan Knight in the preseason to give him some non garbage time at the 4. The refs won't respect him, but they already don't respect the team and I don't think he'll be any more dominated inside than Okogie a V8 (or whatever they call him). The guy has a kind of "don't fuck with me" style (as opposed to KAT's pretend "don't fuck with me" style) that this team could use. Definitely worth a shot.

Unlike most wolves teams, this team has legit talent. If they get out rebounded by 10 boards a game, they won't make the playoffs. It's pretty much that simple. Gupta and Finch have to find those 10 boards without giving up too much. Why not start with Knight?
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I agree with all of that.
 

Honestly, I have not watched an entire Wolves game since Garnett left. If they're on TV, I will watch about 5-10 minutes tops.

Part of that is just not being a fan of the 'modern' NBA where everything is a 3-pointer or a dunk. And part of that is how bad the Wolves have been most years.

I am tempted to try and watch a little more this year to see what Edwards is doing.

But with my shrinking attention span, it's hard for me to sit through an entire game of anything - Twins, Wild, Vikes - I start channel-surfing during commercials and if I find something interesting, I may or may not go back to the game.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Honestly, I have not watched an entire Wolves game since Garnett left. If they're on TV, I will watch about 5-10 minutes tops.

Part of that is just not being a fan of the 'modern' NBA where everything is a 3-pointer or a dunk. And part of that is how bad the Wolves have been most years.

I am tempted to try and watch a little more this year to see what Edwards is doing.

But with my shrinking attention span, it's hard for me to sit through an entire game of anything - Twins, Wild, Vikes - I start channel-surfing during commercials and if I find something interesting, I may or may not go back to the game.
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That's why I've lived the last two years with YouTube tv. Twins wild and wolves just arent compelling enough to continuously be invested in

I blame 30 years of no championships
 


JimmyJamesMD said:
That's why I've lived the last two years with YouTube tv. Twins wild and wolves just arent compelling enough to continuously be invested in

I blame 30 years of no championships
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If you go by championships, you literally wouldn't watch any Minnesota Sports.

Hell, the gophers haven't won the big 10 in football or basketball since the invention of the oven.
 

This is a really fun Timberwolves team. 44 points in the first quarter!
 

stocker08 said:
This is a really fun Timberwolves team. 44 points in the first quarter!
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I had this penciled as a loss. They are up 15 heading into the 4th quarter. They should win this.

Damn, they are making shots tonight.
 





Apparently the reigning champs declined to go away easily. Edwards, who got 25, but went 9-24 and 2-10 from 3, brought the win home after the Bucks went on a big 4th Quarter run.

MILWAUKEE — One loss was all it took for Anthony Edwards to assert himself into a larger leadership role on the Timberwolves and for the group to have their first "testy" practice of the season, according to coach Chris Finch.

The matchup on Wednesday, a road game against the defending champion Bucks, didn't provide a soft landing for a team that was coming off a subpar showing at home against the Pelicans, a team that was without its best player in Zion Williamson.

Milwaukee was without two of its key players in Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez, but it still had two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and two-time All-Star Khris Middleton. The Wolves showed Edwards' words and that talk of a competitive practice were not simply for show, as they came away with a stunning wire-to-wire victory over Milwaukee 113-108 at Fiserv Forum.

The maligned, out-of-rhythm offense got back in tune. D'Angelo Russell played his best game of the season. Jarred Vanderbilt and Jaden McDaniels rebounded with reckless abandon while having to guard Antetokounmpo and Middleton for significant stretches, and the Wolves played like a team that had come closer together over the last 48 hours instead of one that splintered farther apart.
Every time the Bucks tried to make a run, the Wolves had an answer, and they played a complete game that helped them overcome 40 points from Antetokounmpo. Russell shook off two straight dreadful games to finish with 29. Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 while Edwards finished with 25, including four big points in the final minutes...

www.startribune.com

Meeting their challenge, Timberwolves hold off Bucks rally to beat defending NBA champs

www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 

Teams are going to deliver clunkers. They’re going to get stagnant offensively. They’re going to lose games they should win. Even the best squads do that at times throughout an 82-game season.

But then they respond.


That’s why Wednesday’s contest in Milwaukee was so intriguing. Minnesota delivered two disappointing performances in its two-game home set against New Orleans, including a loss Monday.

That wasn’t a rarity for this franchise. Minnesota has looked success in the face, turned the other way and instead embraced failure many times. And rarely had it responded..

That’s what made the aftermath of Monday’s loss feel different. From Anthony Edwards calling out himself and others to a Tuesday practice described as “testy” by Timberwolves coach Chris Finch as players got on one another, they were all the responses of a team that didn’t want to settle for a lack of success.

Minnesota expected it all to translate to the floor Wednesday.

And it did.

The Wolves went on the road and knocked off the defending champs 113-108.

It was Minnesota’s first win in Milwaukee since 2013, and it snapped the Wolves’ seven-game losing streak to the Bucks..

www.twincities.com

Timberwolves deliver resounding response with win in Milwaukee

Teams are going to deliver clunkers. They’re going to get stagnant offensively. They’re going to lose games they should win. Even the best squads do that at times throughout an 82-game …
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com
 

Anthony Edwards is just a different caliber of player that the Timberwolves haven't had for a long time. That's not meant as a dig toward KAT.....but KAT isn't the kind of player that is going to take over on a game by game basis. He's an all around solid player....but he just doesn't have the superstar traits of a guy like Ant.
 



The wolves are obviously the best team in the history of the NBA. :)

Seriously, Ant is easily the best thing to happen to this franchise, on and off the court, since KG. He's must see NBA and it's fun to watch him take over the team.
 

Ope3 said:
Probably more like 30 years. Both the Palace at Auburn Hills (Pistons) and the Bradley/BMO Center (Bucks) made it to 30 years before those teams moved to new arenas opened in the past few years.

Maybe that's tied to the leases those teams signed. Feels like the Xcel should make it to at least 40 years, but make no mistake the Wild will be stomping for huge upgrades/renovations when their lease is due in 2035.
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Even 35 years I guess I could probably live with.

And yeah I know, Target Center is now almost exactly 31 years old.


The confounding factors though being that our relatively small market has two major arenas, and that TC just had a reno.


For Xcel, I mean if the city of St Paul wants to pay for it, knock yourself out.
 

jamiche said:
I never heard that the wolves tried for a new building. (Doesn't mean it didn't happen.). I think the wolves renovation was an add on to the vikings deal and was a part of the negotiations between Minneapolis and the state over who was paying for what.

IIRC, most of the funds went to "invisible," boring and necessary upgrades to the facility (loading, docks, freight elevators, indoor parking, etc.). Not much went to the stuff we see. Another renovation isn't going to do much good because you can't fix the seating imbalance and suite shortage without basically starting over.
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Well we know there were substantial upgrades to the exterior of the building. You can just look and see that.

Also a new lobby, I'm pretty sure. And I thought there was a new club (level?) added.


It was more than just guts.


To me, that's like the dad being willing to pay for a new paint job, new body kit, maybe some new custom seats and some engine upgrades ... but a clear No to a new whole car.


Could easily be wrong though.
 

MplsGopher said:
Well we know there were substantial upgrades to the exterior of the building. You can just look and see that.

Also a new lobby, I'm pretty sure. And I thought there was a new club (level?) added.


It was more than just guts.


To me, that's like the dad being willing to pay for a new paint job, new body kit, maybe some new custom seats and some engine upgrades ... but a clear No to a new whole car.


Could easily be wrong though.
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Agree on the exterior and the lobby, much better, but that's all that I can comment on.

I am going to my first Timberwolves game in a few weeks since 2010. Anxious to see the changes.
 

MplsGopher said:
Even 35 years I guess I could probably live with.

And yeah I know, Target Center is now almost exactly 31 years old.


The confounding factors though being that our relatively small market has two major arenas, and that TC just had a reno.


For Xcel, I mean if the city of St Paul wants to pay for it, knock yourself out.
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It’s not about what’s right or wrong. It’s also not about the physical deterioration of the structure. A thirty year old building that is properly maintained is a perfectly suitable home for a team.
It’s about leverage and income streams. Lore will have the leverage to move the team to a building that will generate the most income for him. Hopefully, that building will be here.
The lease that’s in place doesn’t mean much because the buyout isn’t much of a hindrance.
 

jamiche said:
It’s about leverage and income streams. Lore will have the leverage to move the team to a building that will generate the most income for him. Hopefully, that building will be here.
The lease that’s in place doesn’t mean much because the buyout isn’t much of a hindrance.
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I've never questioned why an NBA owner (group) would benefit financially (possibly significantly so) from a new building.


I question that the state of Minnesota won't say something like "this is not a major market, and we have a perfectly good, 20 year old major arena 10 minutes away".


If the city of Mpls wants to finance a new arena itself, then I guess that is that. I just see zero chance for the state to help.
 

MplsGopher said:
Well we know there were substantial upgrades to the exterior of the building. You can just look and see that.

Also a new lobby, I'm pretty sure. And I thought there was a new club (level?) added.


It was more than just guts.


To me, that's like the dad being willing to pay for a new paint job, new body kit, maybe some new custom seats and some engine upgrades ... but a clear No to a new whole car.


Could easily be wrong though.
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There are some nice cosmetic upgrades to the building. Other than upgrading the Lexus Club, I’m not sure they did anything that significantly impacted revenue generation. Could be wrong, though.
 

MplsGopher said:
I've never questioned why an NBA owner (group) would benefit financially (possibly significantly so) from a new building.


I question that the state of Minnesota won't say something like "this is not a major market, and we have a perfectly good, 20 year old major arena 10 minutes away".


If the city of Mpls wants to finance a new arena itself, then I guess that is that. I just see zero chance for the state to help.
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You may be right. That’s why I was so disturbed when I heard about Lore/ARod. They have no ties here and they aren’t reaching into their own pockets.
 

MplsGopher said:
Even 35 years I guess I could probably live with.

And yeah I know, Target Center is now almost exactly 31 years old.


The confounding factors though being that our relatively small market has two major arenas, and that TC just had a reno.


For Xcel, I mean if the city of St Paul wants to pay for it, knock yourself out.
Click to expand...

At 31 years old, the only arena older than Target Center is Madison Square Garden which has a $1 Billion renovation in 2013. With new ownership looming, it's existence is obviously purely on borrowed time. A plan will be needed in 5 years, tops or they relocate.
 

Then, assuming Mpls can't or won't do it alone, it will be purely a political move for the state.

Build them a new arena, or let them walk if they won't play in TC as is or in Xcel (assuming they're offered a fair/even split of the revenue).
 

Looking up NBA building history, I found this article. It will be interesting to see how it plays out with about half the league having their facilities hit the 30 year mark by the end of this decade.

Were they built to last into a 4th decade and beyond? Will in person demand be as great with so much relied on TV revenue, post-pandemic trends, etc?

arenadigest.com

NBA Arenas Oldest to Newest: 2020 Update - Arena Digest

For an overview of the league’s current venues, we present NBA arenas oldest to newest.
arenadigest.com arenadigest.com
 

You've got Sacramento, SF, Milwaukee, and Detroit with newish arenas.

The latter doing double-duty.


"Keeping up with the Joneses"
 

Wonder if a state-funded compromise could somehow be found with a new arena that would host both?

But where would the compromise location be? Neither downtown wants to give up what they've got.
 

jamiche said:
There are some nice cosmetic upgrades to the building. Other than upgrading the Lexus Club, I’m not sure they did anything that significantly impacted revenue generation. Could be wrong, though.
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It smells a lot better...that much I know.
 



Our backcourt was friggin brutal tonight. It seems like they are all or nothing.

But we have to get a power forward in here. We are just getting abused on the boards. McDaniels literally can't score either. Myles Turner or someone should be available.
 

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