All Things Minnesota Timberwolves 2022-2023 In-Season Thread

Donate To GopherHole
HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving said:
Do you some bleach? I am thirsty for some bleach.
Click to expand...
???

Did anything in my post make you think I like DLo as a player?

We gain absolutely nothing by not resigning him. Nothing. We won't have additional cap flexibility.

What do we gain by signing him? His salary as piece to make salaries match on trades. There isn't a smart team in the NBA that would let him walk for basketball reasons. We might let him walk to save the owners $$, but it will have absolutely nothing to do with basketball.
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
I care more about ownership having luxury tax savings than I do DLO getting resigned
Click to expand...
Why?

I don't like DLo as a player either but I don't have any interest in ownership having luxury tax savings.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
???

Did anything in my post make you think I like DLo as a player?

We gain absolutely nothing by not resigning him. Nothing. We won't have additional cap flexibility.

What do we gain by signing him? His salary as piece to make salaries match on trades. There isn't a smart team in the NBA that would let him walk for basketball reasons. We might let him walk to save the owners $$, but it will have absolutely nothing to do with basketball.
Click to expand...
If they resign him it will be in the $20M-$25M/year range. If they pay him that much they'll have to play him, for both the politics of the NBA and to showcase him for trades. If they play him, he'll hurt the team. Letting him walk would be addition by subtraction.

They might be able to get super lucky and get two smaller contracts that another team wants off of and a late first round or an early second round pick at the trading deadline. Super lucky.

Last night the Spurs were flying by him and Rudy was too slow to clean things up.
 

jamiche said:
I think it's a pretty accurate assessment. Ironically, KAT is the guy who has done the best job of getting Rudy the ball at the rim (and it really has to be at the rim) through the first four games.

Whoever wrote that Ant was smiling the whole game last night was watching a video from last year. Ant hit his first two shots late in the second and he perked up a little bit, otherwise he was a plate face for the three quarters that we were there.

I noticed last night that Rudy was taking to the other wolves players quite a bit during breaks in the action. It appeared that he was trying to provide information/advice. It also appeared that the convos were mostly one way.

So far this feels like Thib's Jimmy Butler year. A bunch of unhappy guys stuck together.
Click to expand...
I think the athletic article was written after the 3rd quarter. Had I read that then I could agree.

Then the 4th quarter happened.

The Wolves seemed to be playing confused. Trying too hard to make the extra pass, then giving up reverting to ISO, etc. In the 4th, we just seemed to forget all that and let it flow. Both sides of the ball.

For about 13:00 mins of the 4th, we played like we should. The last 2 mins was full of desperation.

I think your reasoning is correct. KAT and DLo don’t appear to listen very well.

Note, the article does make mention of this as garbage time improvement. It was our starters against there’s. Up until the Spurs possession around the 2:00 minute mark, it looked like we might Make it very close. They eneded up with (3 oreb) and chewed up 45 seconds. We still defended well, but then responded by chucking up some crap shots.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
???

Did anything in my post make you think I like DLo as a player?

We gain absolutely nothing by not resigning him. Nothing. We won't have additional cap flexibility.

What do we gain by signing him? His salary as piece to make salaries match on trades. There isn't a smart team in the NBA that would let him walk for basketball reasons. We might let him walk to save the owners $$, but it will have absolutely nothing to do with basketball.
Click to expand...
My point was things are bad. Beat me with a lead pipe or get out a claw hammer.
 





well, the honeymoon sure ended in a hurry.

If the Wolves don't start playing better real fast, it could get messy. a lot of people online and in the media are really ripping KAT. last year, DLo was the guy getting a lot of heat, but this year, KAT seems to be the favorite target.

and Finch isn't going to skate on this. he was apparently all on board with the Gobert trade, because he supposedly had experience working with two big men in the same lineup. so it's on him to find a way to make this work.
 



I really don't understand all the crazy negativity. Because we lost 2 games out of 4? Look at the teams who are at 2-2 or worse (all preseason playoff contenders).

Raptors
Nets
76ers
Heat
Bulls
Nuggets
Warriors
Clippers
Mavs
Lakers

We're 1 free throw away from 3-1. I got news for everyone...THE TIMBERWOLVES WEREN'T GOING TO GO UNDEFEATED IN AN 82 GAME SEASON!!!! Chill the F out.
 

tmvander said:
I really don't understand all the crazy negativity. Because we lost 2 games out of 4? Look at the teams who are at 2-2 or worse (all preseason playoff contenders).

Raptors
Nets
76ers
Heat
Bulls
Nuggets
Warriors
Clippers
Mavs
Lakers

We're 1 free throw away from 3-1. I got news for everyone...THE TIMBERWOLVES WEREN'T GOING TO GO UNDEFEATED IN AN 82 GAME SEASON!!!! Chill the F out.
Click to expand...
The difference is all those teams have recent success with some of them playing for the title in recent year. The exception be the bulls as they have not been great.

I have not faith in the lakers as they are like a noon ball team with a bunch of senior citizens playing against a high school players.
 

tmvander said:
I really don't understand all the crazy negativity. Because we lost 2 games out of 4? Look at the teams who are at 2-2 or worse (all preseason playoff contenders).

Raptors
Nets
76ers
Heat
Bulls
Nuggets
Warriors
Clippers
Mavs
Lakers

We're 1 free throw away from 3-1. I got news for everyone...THE TIMBERWOLVES WEREN'T GOING TO GO UNDEFEATED IN AN 82 GAME SEASON!!!! Chill the F out.
Click to expand...
It's not that they are 2-2. The NBA season is really long. It's how they are losing, who they are losing to and where they are doing the losing. They are playing non playoff teams at home with all five starters available and getting run off the floor.
 

jamiche said:
It's not that they are 2-2. The NBA season is really long. It's how they are losing, who they are losing to and where they are doing the losing. They are playing non playoff teams at home with all five starters available and getting run off the floor.
Click to expand...
We should expect a huge effort of energy tonight. the hustle we give tonight should be unreal.
 



tmvander said:
I really don't understand all the crazy negativity. Because we lost 2 games out of 4? Look at the teams who are at 2-2 or worse (all preseason playoff contenders).

Raptors
Nets
76ers
Heat
Bulls
Nuggets
Warriors
Clippers
Mavs
Lakers

We're 1 free throw away from 3-1. I got news for everyone...THE TIMBERWOLVES WEREN'T GOING TO GO UNDEFEATED IN AN 82 GAME SEASON!!!! Chill the F out.
Click to expand...

Minnesota 115 - Thunder 108
Jazz 132 - Minnesota 126 OT
Minnesota 116 - Thunder 106
Spurs 115 - Minnesota 106
 

I don’t even know where to start with this-first question I have is does Edwards care one iota what KAT’s thoughts are? Is this KAT’s way of trying to flex his leadership skills? If so, why does he think this is the method to deliver the message?

I was listening to a podcast last week, general sports not NBA specific where the conversation turned to the Gobert trade and the speculation among the hosts was the trade was made to set up a move of KAT to another team. This just adds to the disjointed start to the season:
www.cbssports.com

Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns not happy with Anthony Edwards' diet: 'We're high-level athletes'

Towns was asked how he could help his teammate grow his game
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
 


Minnesota 134 - San Antonio - 122

Let the style points discussion begin.
 

"Spurs: Vassell (left knee soreness) and Primo (left glute spasms) each missed their first game with their respective injuries. Josh Richardson started in place of Vassell and scored 11 points with 10 assists. ... San Antonio had 16 turnovers, leading to 22 points for Minnesota. ... The Spurs biggest lead was one point early in the first.

Timberwolves: Forward Kyle Anderson missed his third straight game with back spasms. Guard Austin Rivers missed his second game with right hip soreness. … The 10 3-pointers in the first tied the most in a quarter by any team over the last two seasons. … Minnesota had a season-high 37 assists. ... Rudy Gobert had 10 points and nine rebounds."

www.espn.com

Timberwolves 134-122 Spurs (Oct 26, 2022) Game Recap - ESPN

Expert recap and game analysis of the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs NBA game from October 26, 2022 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

People continue to be way too worked up losing to a 4-1 Jazz team and a 3-2 Spurs team. It takes many teams a month or even two to get going, it's a long season.

Last year teams like Memphis, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Dallas, and Denver were all near or even several games below .500 at the end of November, 1/4 though the season. They not only made the playoffs, several were top 4 seeds, and none of them were play in teams.
 

Iceland12 said:
"Spurs: Vassell (left knee soreness) and Primo (left glute spasms) each missed their first game with their respective injuries. Josh Richardson started in place of Vassell and scored 11 points with 10 assists. ... San Antonio had 16 turnovers, leading to 22 points for Minnesota. ... The Spurs biggest lead was one point early in the first.

Timberwolves: Forward Kyle Anderson missed his third straight game with back spasms. Guard Austin Rivers missed his second game with right hip soreness. … The 10 3-pointers in the first tied the most in a quarter by any team over the last two seasons. … Minnesota had a season-high 37 assists. ... Rudy Gobert had 10 points and nine rebounds."

www.espn.com

Timberwolves 134-122 Spurs (Oct 26, 2022) Game Recap - ESPN

Expert recap and game analysis of the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs NBA game from October 26, 2022 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
Click to expand...
Glad I got to go to the right Spurs game.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
People continue to be way too worked up losing to a 4-1 Jazz team and a 3-2 Spurs team. It takes many teams a month or even two to get going, it's a long season.

Last year teams like Memphis, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Dallas, and Denver were all near or even several games below .500 at the end of November, 1/4 though the season. They not only made the playoffs, several were top 4 seeds, and none of them were play in teams.
Click to expand...
Correct, and the ugliest game was played on a back-to-back.
 

Crazy, the Wolves didn't have a single offensive rebound last night.
 


JimmyJamesMD said:
That's a tell tale sign of no hustle
Click to expand...
Stan said:
Crazy, the Wolves didn't have a single offensive rebound last night.
Click to expand...

More of a sign of shooting 65%. Oh and hustling back as soon as they could to get back on defense.

With that shooting % didn't notice the lack of offensive rebounds during the game. Did notice the hustling to get back on defense.
 


Iceland12 said:
More of a sign of shooting 65%. Oh and hustling back as soon as they could to get back on defense.

With that shooting % didn't notice the lack of offensive rebounds during the game. Did notice the hustling to get back on defense.
Click to expand...
good point, but they also gave up 14 offensive rebounds
 


It was a good win and we shot lights out. We had to have that one.

The thing is though, had we shot 50%, which is a good night, we'd have been run out of target center again.

Peterson was talking about the spurs blowing by us on the perimeter again last night. Hopefully, getting Slo Mo back can at least help.
 


Jon Krawcynski at The Athletic weighs in. It's a long article but here's how it begins:

MINNEAPOLIS — Chris Finch walked into Target Center on Wednesday night not looking for an epiphany from his Timberwolves. He didn’t need to see dominance in their second game in three days against San Antonio, though that certainly would have been nice.

Instead, Finch was just looking for a couple of steps in the right direction after an embarrassing performance against the Spurs on Monday night. An active and engaged Anthony Edwards was a good place to start.

After openly admitting the book is out on him that he doesn’t show up for the second game of a back-to-back, Edwards made good on his vow to bring more energy from the start against the Spurs on Wednesday night. He scored 16 points in the first quarter, hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers, but it was about more than just making some shots. Edwards also had four assists and a couple of rebounds to spark the Wolves, who were booed off the floor in a lethargic performance on Monday night.

The Wolves hung 39 points on the Spurs in the first quarter, making 68 percent of their shots and a staggering 77 percent from 3 (10-for-13). For a team that entered the night 29th in the NBA in 3-point accuracy, seeing some shots finally start to fall seemed to embolden them on their way to a 134-122 win.

“I think we got to take a couple punches in the face to realize that we need to come out like that all the time,” said Edwards, who finished with 34 points and nine assists. “That punch that we took vs. San Antonio the first game kind of woke us up.”

As eyebrow-raising as Edwards’ admission about his struggles on the second nights of back-t0-backs was on Monday night, when the Spurs led by as many as 35 points and Edwards scored nine points on 3-for-15 shooting, another trend has developed early in his career. When Edwards makes a promise to address something after a poor showing, he usually follows through.

On a team that is lacking the fiery leadership that Patrick Beverley provided and the non-stop effort that Jarred Vanderbilt brought to the table, someone has to set the pace. The most obvious candidate is Edwards, whose dynamic athleticism and ability to get the crowd going make him well-suited for the task. His lob to Jaden McDaniels in the first quarter got the Wolves rolling as much as his 3s, another step up in his playmaking..

“San Antonio goes under all my ball screens, all my flare screens, and I told myself any time they go under, I’m shooting it every time,” he said. “It worked out tonight.”..

Maybe the biggest spark of the night came from sixth man Jaylen Nowell, who erupted for 23 points in 22 minutes. He made 9-of-13 shots, broke out of a perimeter shooting slump by going 3-for-5 from deep, and threw down a hellacious dunk in the fourth quarter to help the Wolves end any threat of a Spurs comeback..

Another source of energy at the Wolves’ disposal is Jaden McDaniels. His ability to guard, get stops and then get out and run all lend itself to sparking the team, and all of that was missed during the wipeout on Monday. McDaniels picked up three fouls early in the first quarter of that game and spent the rest of it chasing the Spurs and not dictating the action.

He was much better on Wednesday night, when he made 8-of-9 shots, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range, for 20 points with three blocks and two steals. McDaniels’ ability to move without the ball is one of the keys to unlocking a Wolves offense that has been sluggish at times this season..

theathletic.com

Anthony Edwards makes good on his promise and the Wolves take a small step forward

For a team that was so underwhelming through the first four games of the season, it was a small sign of progress.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom