Western Conference Finals Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Donate To GopherHole
upnorthkid said:
You can’t just look at height. OKC has incredible length ( it’s part of the wolves with Jalen And Rudy as well). They’ve got long lanky guards who can switch. Effectively what Chet is as well
Click to expand...

And so do we. In addition to Jaden/Rudy, Randle and Naz have over 7' wingspan's. Ant's and NAW's are 6'9".

OKC only had 14 losses, but who did they struggle with? Big teams. They only had multiple losses to 5 teams, the Wolves, Denver, Dallas, Houston, and Golden State. Only Golden State had a smaller rotation than OKC.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
And so do we. In addition to Jaden/Rudy, Randle and Naz have over 7' wingspan's. Ant's and NAW's are 6'9".

OKC only had 14 losses, but who did they struggle with? Big teams. They only had multiple losses to 5 teams, the Wolves, Denver, Dallas, Houston, and Golden State. Only Golden State had a smaller rotation than OKC.
Click to expand...
Right there with you the best two teams for playoff basketball are left in the West. Not picking us to win, but if any team is going to have the best chance to beat okc, my pick would be mn
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The numbers don't lie, but you're letting one - two players really skew your perception of OKC.

I pulled the average height of each teams playoff rotation. OKC is bigger than the Lakers by .1", and I didn't include Jaxon Hayes.

Average rotation height by team.
Wolves: 6'6.6"
OKC: 6'6.2"
LAL: 6'6.1"
GS: 6'5.5"

I'm sure you could weight this by minutes played and get a better idea of how the height really matches up, but that would make the Wolves even bigger as NAW/Conely play the fewest minutes in the rotation. Hartenstein plays comparable minutes to Naz/Conley.

The Lakers were bigger/longer at the wings than OKC, they just didn't have a center.
Click to expand...

OKC GS. LAL
7'1". 6'9". 6'9"
7'0". 6'7". 6'8"
6'6". 6'6". 6'7"
6'5". 6'4". 6'6"
6'4". 6'4". 6'5"

There is a reason OKC leads the league in blocked shots and also defensive shot percentage at the rim.

A media talking point as well is how Wolves are going to be challenged more with opponent size than last two series. Everybody, except you apparently, is aware of this.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The numbers don't lie, but you're letting one - two players really skew your perception of OKC.

I pulled the average height of each teams playoff rotation. OKC is bigger than the Lakers by .1", and I didn't include Jaxon Hayes.

Average rotation height by team.
Wolves: 6'6.6"
OKC: 6'6.2"
LAL: 6'6.1"
GS: 6'5.5"

I'm sure you could weight this by minutes played and get a better idea of how the height really matches up, but that would make the Wolves even bigger as NAW/Conely play the fewest minutes in the rotation. Hartenstein plays comparable minutes to Naz/Conley.

The Lakers were bigger/longer at the wings than OKC, they just didn't have a center.
Click to expand...
Average height of a rotation is a pretty meaningless way to look at things. You need to look at matchups. The only position we have a clear size advantage at is the wing with McDaniels, and depth off the bench with Nas.

SGA is going to be a major issue for our smaller guards and Chet can guard multiple positions. They have two 7’ rim protectors that can make up for size mismatches on the perimeter and they give up the fewest points in the paint in the league. They have the 2nd highest block percentage in the league and are in the middle of the league for blocks against.

Offensively they’re top ten in the league for points in the paint scored. There are really no analytics that would point to the Timberwolves having any sort of size advantage to exploit.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
And so do we. In addition to Jaden/Rudy, Randle and Naz have over 7' wingspan's. Ant's and NAW's are 6'9".

OKC only had 14 losses, but who did they struggle with? Big teams. They only had multiple losses to 5 teams, the Wolves, Denver, Dallas, Houston, and Golden State. Only Golden State had a smaller rotation than OKC.
Click to expand...
How’d the Memphis series go?
 


golf said:
OKC GS. LAL
7'1". 6'9". 6'9"
7'0". 6'7". 6'8"
6'6". 6'6". 6'7"
6'5". 6'4". 6'6"
6'4". 6'4". 6'5"

There is a reason OKC leads the league in blocked shots and also defensive shot percentage at the rim.

A media talking point as well is how Wolves are going to be challenged more with opponent size than last two series. Everybody, except you apparently, is aware of this.
Click to expand...

You're just regurgitating data I already posted, but I included the bench, which is all guards for OKC. That makes a difference. You've also again shown how the Lakers were bigger than OKC at the guard/wings.

The only team that's going to have issues with size this series is OKC with the Wolves size. As they have the last 3 seasons.

The media is clueless about everything so I could really care less what they say.
 

Gold Vision said:
Average height of a rotation is a pretty meaningless way to look at things. You need to look at matchups. The only position we have a clear size advantage at is the wing with McDaniels, and depth off the bench with Nas.

SGA is going to be a major issue for our smaller guards and Chet can guard multiple positions. They have two 7’ rim protectors that can make up for size mismatches on the perimeter and they give up the fewest points in the paint in the league. They have the 2nd highest block percentage in the league and are in the middle of the league for blocks against.

Offensively they’re top ten in the league for points in the paint scored. There are really no analytics that would point to the Timberwolves having any sort of size advantage to exploit.
Click to expand...

Rudy doesn't have an advantage over Hartenstein? Randle doesn't have a significant weight advantage over Chet? You can't put McDaniels on SGA or Williams? He's bigger than both. Our bench is bigger.

OKC has been a terrible 3 point shooting team in the postseason. They have to be good in the paint. OKC thrived in the open spaced, poor defense, regular season. Yet they still struggled against the big teams in the west. They just did again in the playoffs against a thin, injured, and tired Denver team.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
You're just regurgitating data I already posted, but I included the bench, which is all guards for OKC. That makes a difference. You've also again shown how the Lakers were bigger than OKC at the guard/wings.

The only team that's going to have issues with size this series is OKC with the Wolves size. As they have the last 3 seasons.

The media is clueless about everything so I could really care less what they say.
Click to expand...


Got it. You believe that GS and LAL have the same inside presence as OKC.

This even though OKC leads the NBA in blocked shots and defensive % at the rim. Also OKC with much bigger starters.
Enough said I think.
 

golf said:
Got it. You believe that GS and LAL have the same inside presence as OKC.

This even though OKC leads the NBA in blocked shots and defensive % at the rim. Also OKC with much bigger starters.
Enough said I think.
Click to expand...

I said their wings were bigger, and they were. I said the only difference between OKC and GS and LAL is that OKC has one center. The other two don't.

You're relying on Chet on being another big guy for OKC. Look at Chets numbers against the Wolves. They're not very good because he struggles with our size.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
I said their wings were bigger, and they were. I said the only difference between OKC and GS and LAL is that OKC has one center. The other two don't.

You're relying on Chet on being another big guy for OKC. Look at Chets numbers against the Wolves. They're not very good because he struggles with our size.
Click to expand...

Right. We get it. LAL and GS have as much inside presence as OKC. Here all along the media and also stats have been misleading us. Thanks!!

(Regarding Chet not playing well against the Wolves, he only played in two of the four games. And both of those two he played in were right after he had just returned from prolonged injury.)
 
Last edited:

golf said:
Right. We get it. LAL and GS have as much inside presence as OKC. Here all along the media and also stats have been misleading us. Thanks!!

(Regarding Chet not playing well against the Wolves, he only played in two of the four games. And both of those two he played in were right after he had just returned from prolonged injury.)
Click to expand...

Thanks for putting words in my mouth that I never said, again.

Chet's woes against the Wolves go beyond this season. But hey keep thinking OKC being big, I laughed while I typed that, will have any affect on the Wolves this series. There are plenty of things to be concerned about with OKC, them being big isn't one of them.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Thanks for putting words in my mouth that I never said, again.

Chet's woes against the Wolves go beyond this season. But hey keep thinking OKC being big, I laughed while I typed that, will have any affect on the Wolves this series. There are plenty of things to be concerned about with OKC, them being big isn't one of them.
Click to expand...

I am agreeing with you. As u said OKC's inside presence won't give us any more trouble than those of LAL or GS.
Helpful for you to point out how misleading are the experts and also statistics.
Don't know what I was thinking.
 
Last edited:

GopherWeatherGuy said:
I said their wings were bigger, and they were. I said the only difference between OKC and GS and LAL is that OKC has one center. The other two don't.

You're relying on Chet on being another big guy for OKC. Look at Chets numbers against the Wolves. They're not very good because he struggles with our size.
Click to expand...
30/16 (5 offensive)/5 blocks off 11/18 shooting with 4 total fouls. Chet played 32 games this year (missed Nov to Feb).

Regardless, this series, to me, depends on if Jalen and NAW can slow down sga and force him into some low efficiency games. If he’s getting to the rim and getting to shoot 10-12 FTs a game, we’re fucked
 



golf said:
I am agreeing with you. As u said OKC's inside presence won't give us any more trouble than those of LAL or GS.
Helpful for you to point out how misleading are the experts and also statistics.
Don't know what I was thinking.
Click to expand...

The 'experts' are always so knowledgeable, especially when it comes to basketball. They all had Minnesota, OKC, NYK, and Indiana as the final 4 teams since the playoffs started. You should totally keep believing every word they say.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
The 'experts' are always so knowledgeable, especially when it comes to basketball. They all had Minnesota, OKC, NYK, and Indiana as the final 4 teams since the playoffs started. You should totally keep believing every word they say.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Chet and Hartenstein will have no more inside presence against than us did Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler.
LeBron and Finney-Smith as well provided every bit as much inside presence as will Chet and Hartenstein.
Besides, GS brought Looney 6'9" off the bench for a few minutes and LAL brought in Vanderbilt 6'8". These are taller bench players with amazing inside presence that OKC doesn't have.
And the most important thing to remember is that Chet did have that one bad game against us last season.

Hard to see why the experts can't understand this. Personally I agree with you that the experts put way too much stock in stats such as blocks and defensive rim percentage. Dummies
 
Last edited:


golf said:
Exactly. Chet and Hartenstein will have no more inside presence against than us did Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler.
LeBron and Finney-Smith as well provided every bit as much inside presence as will Chet and Hartenstein.
Besides, GS brought Looney 6'9" off the bench for a few minutes and LAL brought in Vanderbilt 6'8". These are taller bench players with amazing inside presence that OKC doesn't have.
And the most important thing to remember is that Chet did have that one bad game against us last season.

Hard to see why the experts can't understand this. Personally I agree with you that the experts put way too much stock in stats such as blocks and defensive rim percentage. Dummies
Click to expand...

You're again writing things I never said. OKC has one center - Hartenstein, which is a step up over the last two series, as I said. It's not a significant step up, because LAL has bigger wings, as you've pointed out. Overall, they are similar sized teams.

Even comparing starting lineups, the Wolves are the bigger, more physical team. When Conley goes out of the game, the Wolves get even bigger. When Hartenstein goes to the bench, OKC gets significantly smaller.

Hartenstein only averages 1 more min per game than Conley. This means that once again the Wolves will have a significant size advantage in this series, just like the last two.

Go Wolves!
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
You're again writing things I never said. OKC has one center - Hartenstein, which is a step up over the last two series, as I said. It's not a significant step up, because LAL has bigger wings, as you've pointed out. Overall, they are similar sized teams.

Even comparing starting lineups, the Wolves are the bigger, more physical team. When Conley goes out of the game, the Wolves get even bigger. When Hartenstein goes to the bench, OKC gets significantly smaller.

Hartenstein only averages 1 more min per game than Conley. This means that once again the Wolves will have a significant size advantage in this series, just like the last two.

Go Wolves!
Click to expand...

I am on your side here.

The experts say LAL and GS had less inside presence against us than will OKC.
You and I disagree.

The experts would say the 55 min of Hartenstein and Chet are more significant than 55 min of players off the GS and LAL bench. You and I disagree.
(Per your post 9.)

The experts say stats such as blocks and defensive rim protection percentage are important.
You and I disagree.

The experts would say all 4 of Chet's games from last season should be evaluated when considering his effectiveness against the Wolves, not just the 1 game in which he played poorly.
You and I disagree.

We are simpatico!
 
Last edited:





The amount of slap fouls sga gets awarded vs ant and Randle is absolute insanity
 




Terrible coaching.. ISO Randle from the top of the key.. dumb.. Randle is not going to be able to take Caruso off the dribble…
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom