Western Conference Finals Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder

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SGA is gonna get calls so you gotta inflict pain and get a pound of flesh when fouling him. Hopefully that wares on him during the season.

None of that will matter if you don’t protect the ball and limit OKC in the paint.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
SGA is gonna get calls so you gotta inflict pain and get a pound of flesh when fouling him. Hopefully that wares on him during the season.

None of that will matter if you don’t protect the ball and limit OKC in the paint.
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I'm all in favor of some extra-hard fouls on SGA. Clark can handle that.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
SGA is gonna get calls so you gotta inflict pain and get a pound of flesh when fouling him. Hopefully that wares on him during the season.

None of that will matter if you don’t protect the ball and limit OKC in the paint.
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I would say that but they call everything a flagrant now
 






GopherWeatherGuy said:
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.
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Nailed it.
 




Our 3 bench guys 5-28 from three and 2-8 from two. We get swept if this continues.
OKC too big, too quick, too deep for Naz, NAW, and DDV to shoot like tonight. We are not playing the Lakers or Warriors anymore.

BTW, let's just get high school refs to work these games. Would be an improvement.
 
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Grades:
Ant: C
Julius: A-
Jaden: D
Conley: D
Rudy: D-
Naz: D-
NAW: D
DDV: D

Yuk. Now a loss Thursday and the pressure is truly and sincerely on.
Players other than Julius and Ant have to be able to make open shots, otherwise Thunder will just load up on those two. Game over.
 
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golf said:
Grades:
Ant: C
Julius: A-
Jaden: D
Conley: D
Rudy: D-
Naz: D-
NAW: D
DDV: D

Yuk. Now a loss Thursday and the pressure is truly and sincerely on.
Players other than Julius and Ant have to be able to make open shots, otherwise Thunder will just load up on those two. Game over.
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You have to be able to put the ball on the floor against this team to get some shots. We were 30 feet from the basket all night. I suspect this is where we will be most of the series.

I keep saying this, but we can't put the ball on the floor. The lakers had potted plants on the perimeter and no one inside to stop penetration. We had a lot of spurts against the Warriors where we didn't score, they were just helpless without Curry.

This team is a completely different animal. We are in massive trouble. In these playoffs, all Naz, DDV, NAW, Jaden, and Conley can do is basically launch 3's. We have a lot of redundant players.

And my Gawd, has Naz been just schit in these playoffs. It's almost stunning to see. Gobert just makes my eyes hurt offensively.

I suspect a boatload of changes this offseason.

If we can't keep Randle, I don't know what to say.
 

This classic is brought to mind...

 
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If refs let SGA push off on drives and jump into people for free throws, then there is no defense you can employ against him. He plays b!tch basketball. He'd never get away with it in a pickup game.

If this is how things are, then Ant should do the same thing. He'd lead the league in scoring if he did it and got away with it, too.
 

OKC beat Denver by 43(!) in the 2nd game, and that series went to 7.

We lost the first game to Warriors by 11 (yeah, admittedly that's not the same as 26) and people were gulping, then we came back hard in the 2nd game.


I'm hopeful, but obviously the response in game 2 is massive. Let's see
 

Either they came out flat after too much time off like they did game one against the warriors or they are toast. They stopped trying to run an offense and just bombed threes (that clanked). Rudy should only touch the ball if he's handing off on the perimeter or it's a lob dunk. That's it.

We'll find out Thursday.

I think Jokic and SGA should be co MVP's. Both are amazing.
 

Gold Vision said:
Nailed it.
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Thanks, I did. They were using it to their advantage in the first half, which is why they had the lead, and really should have been up 10-15 at half.

They didn't use it in the second half and kept settling for 3s. They turned the ball over too much and the bench was horrible. Every time OKC needed a big basket when the game was close, SGA would get a phantom +1.

Last nights outcome had nothing to do with the Wolves size advantage, which was obvious.
 

jamiche said:
Either they came out flat after too much time off like they did game one against the warriors or they are toast. They stopped trying to run an offense and just bombed threes (that clanked). Rudy should only touch the ball if he's handing off on the perimeter or it's a lob dunk. That's it.

We'll find out Thursday.

I think Jokic and SGA should be co MVP's. Both are amazing.
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SGA is a joke. He is unwatchable and doesn't belong in the conversation of the best players in the NBA, especially with Jokic.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Thanks, I did. They were using it to their advantage in the first half, which is why they had the lead, and really should have been up 10-15 at half.

They didn't use it in the second half and kept settling for 3s. They turned the ball over too much and the bench was horrible. Every time OKC needed a big basket when the game was close, SGA would get a phantom +1.

Last nights outcome had nothing to do with the Wolves size advantage, which was obvious.
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What? They had 5 twos in the first half. Hartenstein had 5 buckets himself comparatively. Julius was raining 3s in the first half and ant was shooting ok. We had 2 buckets at the rim.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
SGA is a joke. He is unwatchable and doesn't belong in the conversation of the best players in the NBA, especially with Jokic.
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So SGA isn't in your top 100. You whine like Ant.

The wolves got beat by a better, smarter team last night that knew how to play the game and play the refs. Let's see if they learn something Thursday.
 

DDV was raining 3s last postseason, has to be frustrating for him.
No doubt NAZ and NAW expect much more of themselves as well

On Thursday, can we:
1). Make open threes
2). Not turn the ball over

I always feel seeing open shots go in has a multiplying effect on a team's game. Suddenly everything seems easier.
 

jamiche said:
So SGA isn't in your top 100. You whine like Ant.

The wolves got beat by a better, smarter team last night that knew how to play the game and play the refs. Let's see if they learn something Thursday.
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And a grittier team I might add. Wolves were ahead at halftime. Thunder weren't going to be denied the second half. Credit to them
 

jamiche said:
So SGA isn't in your top 100. You whine like Ant.

The wolves got beat by a better, smarter team last night that knew how to play the game and play the refs. Let's see if they learn something Thursday.
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Agreed. Okc figured out their offense and they decided to say if your role players hit their open shots, you’ll win. They didn’t, badly, and we lost the game. You were not going to win with that stat line from naz, ddv, and naw. There’s too much offensive talent for okc for that to work out over a full 48. Wolves should’ve forced the issue more when the refs got whistle happy early. Things evened up slowly in terms of overall fouls, but sga getting all those calls kept things afloat for okc early until they got their bearings or that could’ve been a 15 point first quarter lead and then it’s a very different feeling game
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Thanks, I did. They were using it to their advantage in the first half, which is why they had the lead, and really should have been up 10-15 at half.

They didn't use it in the second half and kept settling for 3s. They turned the ball over too much and the bench was horrible. Every time OKC needed a big basket when the game was close, SGA would get a phantom +1.

Last nights outcome had nothing to do with the Wolves size advantage, which was obvious.
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SGA has been getting those "phantom" calls for the last 2-3 years. He goes to the hoop all the time when he's not shooting the mid range, he's smooth as hell, changes speed and direction beautifully, knows how to use his off arm, leans into the defender then away as he goes up. Most importantly, he doesn't whine and he doesn't show the refs up. He's a smart player. Ant would get a lot more calls if he would shut up and stop flailing his arms.
 

jamiche said:
SGA has been getting those "phantom" calls for the last 2-3 years. He goes to the hoop all the time when he's not shooting the mid range, he's smooth as hell, changes speed and direction beautifully, knows how to use his off arm, leans into the defender then away as he goes up. Most importantly, he doesn't whine and he doesn't show the refs up. He's a smart player. Ant would get a lot more calls if he would shut up and stop flailing his arms.
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The amount of “touch” calls he gets versus the rest of the league is insane. I get he’s a high usage but he’s become a massive statistical anomaly the last 3 years. Taking 1-2 more shots but getting 2-3 more FTs and scoring is up 6-8 points as a result.

He’s going to keep doing it because it works, and there’s no punishment for it. At some point, the nba is going to need to do what they did with 3 point shooters in allowing to call them for an offensive foul if they kick out to try draw contact or bait the refs. The flopping goes way further than sga, but he’s one of the most proficient at it (right up there with doncic)
 

I stopped watching at the end of the 2nd. The refs altered the flow of the game so much that it became unwatchable. I don't think I will watch in the future. The NBA has so much possibility and yet the officiating is pandering to showmanship and not basketball. Frankly, if someone undercut SGA on a layup, I don't think I would feel any shame or regret. Then again, I won't be watching to see if it happens.
 

upnorthkid said:
Agreed. Okc figured out their offense and they decided to say if your role players hit their open shots, you’ll win. They didn’t, badly, and we lost the game. You were not going to win with that stat line from naz, ddv, and naw. There’s too much offensive talent for okc for that to work out over a full 48. Wolves should’ve forced the issue more when the refs got whistle happy early. Things evened up slowly in terms of overall fouls, but sga getting all those calls kept things afloat for okc early until they got their bearings or that could’ve been a 15 point first quarter lead and then it’s a very different feeling game
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Exactly. I also feel like I prefer the Rudy from last year's playoffs. What has happened to him.
 

ShushPush said:
I stopped watching at the end of the 2nd. The refs altered the flow of the game so much that it became unwatchable. I don't think I will watch in the future. The NBA has so much possibility and yet the officiating is pandering to showmanship and not basketball. Frankly, if someone undercut SGA on a layup, I don't think I would feel any shame or regret. Then again, I won't be watching to see if it happens.
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I begin games by telling myself awful reffing is just part of the game, that way doesn't bother me quite as much.
Worst part to me is how they just stand like potted plants. Maybe try sliding around the court to improve line of sight.
 

golf said:
I begin games by telling myself awful reffing is just part of the game, that way doesn't bother me quite as much.
Worst part to me is how they just stand like potted plants. Maybe try sliding around the court to improve line of sight.
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I would sure like if we’d bring back 90s ball where it’s actually ok to foul someone. Not everything is a flagrant just because the foul was hard.

The reffing has gotten this way because they cant decide what they want to do with contact. They sometimes call super chippy shit and other times you can body or hand check a guy numerous times. It all stemmed from the nba deciding that fans wanted to see points and scoring. They’ve put their refs in a tough spot
 

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