All Things 2024-25 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread










Defense is terrible. Finch better figure it out or he is getting shit canned.
 



Defense is terrible. Finch better figure it out or he is getting shit canned.
He has enough good will/grace saved up that he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

This team is a mess though. Beating Phoenix with Beal and Durant out is nothing to get excited about. Buzzer beaters are fun, but it should have never gotten to that point.

The need for Dillingham to play more is obvious at this point. Watching Ant, NAW, Randle, and Donte struggle to bring the ball up the court is getting old. Teams know they can press these guys and they will turn it over.

The front line defense is really bad. Rudy can't do it alone. Not sure how that gets fixed.
 

Weird week. Off until Thursday, game in Toronto, then another Sunday afternoon tilt in Boston.
 

Some Needed Sunshine -

Randle’s volume isn’t what it used to be in New York, but he is shooting 50.7 percent from the field, 38.2 percent from 3 and 82.7 percent from the free-throw line, all of which would be four-year highs.
 

He has enough good will/grace saved up that he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

This team is a mess though. Beating Phoenix with Beal and Durant out is nothing to get excited about. Buzzer beaters are fun, but it should have never gotten to that point.

The need for Dillingham to play more is obvious at this point. Watching Ant, NAW, Randle, and Donte struggle to bring the ball up the court is getting old. Teams know they can press these guys and they will turn it over.

The front line defense is really bad. Rudy can't do it alone. Not sure how that gets fixed.
We are getting ripped by buys who penetrate.

NAW, Ant, and McDaniels are supposed to be good to great defenders.

What is going on out front?
 





Every team we play is just so much more athletic out front. They go by us like we aren't even there.

McDaniels gets 22 and we still lose to a schit team.

Where are the cheerleaders like Howie to pick us up?
 



This team is massively disappointing

And giving Gobert that extension was psyche ward shit
 


Could there be dissension in the locker room?
That was 100% on Randle. Rudy was perfectly positioned down low and Randle was selfish. The trade has been a total bust so far. Randle is a poor man's Towns and Donte sucks big time. Ant has zero maturity. This team might not make the playoffs.
 

That was 100% on Randle. Rudy was perfectly positioned down low and Randle was selfish. The trade has been a total bust so far. Randle is a poor man's Towns and Donte sucks big time. Ant has zero maturity. This team might not make the playoffs.
this is why I wish they'd play gillingham about 25 - 30 minutes a night. Of course, they won't, but it would be a big draw to watch this slop.
 

That was 100% on Randle. Rudy was perfectly positioned down low and Randle was selfish. The trade has been a total bust so far. Randle is a poor man's Towns and Donte sucks big time. Ant has zero maturity. This team might not make the playoffs.
It's possible that Randle was reluctant to try and get him the ball because 50% of the passes that go into him end up deflected out of bounds off his stone hands.
Gobert got his teeth kicked in twice last week in Portland by a rookie and a talented, but always injured Robert Williams. This team has lots of flaws, but problem #1 this year has been Gobert and his lack of defensive presence and general uselessness on the offensive end.
 

It's possible that Randle was reluctant to try and get him the ball because 50% of the passes that go into him end up deflected out of bounds off his stone hands.
Gobert got his teeth kicked in twice last week in Portland by a rookie and a talented, but always injured Robert Williams. This team has lots of flaws, but problem #1 this year has been Gobert and his lack of defensive presence and general uselessness on the offensive end.
I have to disagree with Gobert's defense. It has been solid. He is the only player that has played any down low this year. There have been games where he and McDaniels are the only two who have put any effort into defense. Naz has been non-existent and Randle has never played defense. Since the brass didn't bother with bench players they trust enough to play, there isn't anyone else.
 


Interesting take on our D woes, per John K, in the Athletic. I’m most surprised by Ant’s lack of commitment to do it, as it’s his team/he’s the leader. Maybe he’s learning about different expectations when you’re one of the favorites vs. trying to climb the mountain top? Love you in the commercials, but they’re only relevant based on you performance on the court -

Minnesota Timberwolves

Defense: The Timberwolves had the best defense in the NBA by a country mile last season, riding it all the way to the Western Conference finals. Rudy Gobert was Defensive Player of the Year and flanked by a trio of the best perimeter defenders in the league in Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Anthony Edwards. Of those four players, only Alexander-Walker has resembled what he was last season. Gobert has said he isn’t playing up to his standards at the rim, McDaniels hasn’t been anywhere close to the disrupter on the perimeter and Edwards has often looked inattentive and unfocused on that end. If the Wolves are going to overcome a sluggish start, those three guys have to get their defensive teeth back. — Jon Krawczynski
 


There's no leadership on this team. They're not fun this year. The season is going to be terribly disappointing.
 



Dillingham looked great, giving the team a spark it badly needed, leading them back from 18 down.
And the Finch sits him for the first 4 minutes of OT as the Wolves drop another one.
 




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