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Post by boognish on Nov 17, 2018 8:45:29 GMT -6
Interesting distribution of minutes last night. Covington went from 41 the previous game, to 23 last night. Taj and Saric essentially switched minutes from the last game, with Saric at 27 and Taj at 20. Wigs and Teague led the team at 37 minutes each, but could/should have rested at the end.
Overall, it's nice to see Thibs spreading out the minutes a bit more, and getting the 2nd unit more involved. The team shot 50% from the floor and 43% from 3-pt land last night. Pretty sweet. Even Tyus figured out a way to sink a couple of buckets. And we had 28 assists to the T-Blazers' 16; these guys are really sharing the ball.
We still need some work on boxing out and securing rebounds, as we got beat on the boards again, but hopefully we'll improve there as well.
I love this team again!
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Post by cory on Nov 17, 2018 9:10:53 GMT -6
I think the Wolves have to figure out a way to move 2 of the guys on the roster and get one player back (or three for two) so we can get Okogie into the core 9. Thibs isn't straying from 9. It is what it is. For those who gripe about the 9 man rotation, both BOS and TOR did it last night in a game that went to OT. I could get behind a Tyus and Gorgui for Ryan Anderson and Okobo deal if Phoenix would. Anderson is a better 10th/11th man for this team who could just step in and shoot 3's if we have foul trouble or injuries but makes more sense being buried on the bench. Getting out of G's deal a year early would be worth it. I don't know if they would give us Okobo back who would be a nice long term PG option but there would be no issue having those guys at 10th and 11th men. I'd settle for a 2nd rounder if needed. It would be tough to lose Tyus but I'm beginning to think he doesn't have the right skill set to be our long term PG or even a high end backup with our roster. He's still a nice backup but I don't know what that means for this team specifically. If Wiggins is here for the duration of his contract, he's always going to be a bit of a trick or treater and not someone I would want as my #2 option on offense nightly. Right now Rose and Teague are assuming that spot with usage and creating for others. They are not the long term guys either but a young player in that mold is likely going to be necessary to take the scoring load off of Wiggins on the perimeter and to be a creator for others, especially KAT. If Markelle had any head whatsoever left, he'd be a guy to gamble on but I don't think I could touch him at this point. Who he projected to be coming out of college is the type of guy we need as a lead guard. Unfortunate that he seems to have lost it.
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Post by XRaySpecs on Nov 17, 2018 9:18:29 GMT -6
I think the Wolves have to figure out a way to move 2 of the guys on the roster and get one player back (or three for two) so we can get Okogie into the core 9. Thibs isn't straying from 9. It is what it is. For those who gripe about the 9 man rotation, both BOS and TOR did it last night in a game that went to OT. I don't mind a 9 man rotation, but it's basically 8.5 as Tyus only plays 11-13 mpg.
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Post by boognish on Nov 17, 2018 9:31:12 GMT -6
Wolves beat Blazers for 3rd straight win since Butler trade By ANDRES YBARRA | Associated Press
Nov. 17, 2018 12:02 AM ET
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Kevin Garnett showed up courtside, and that wasn't the only surprise in Minnesota on Friday night.
In their first week without erstwhile defensive stalwart Jimmy Butler, the new-look Timberwolves locked down one of the Western Conference's top teams.
Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points, Derrick Rose had 17 and the Wolves won their third straight game since trading Butler by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 112-96 on Friday night.
Wearing a new purple-and-black alternate jersey on a Prince-themed night, Garnett got the crowd going when the video board showed him sitting below the basket. Then the home team kept them cheering with a defensive effort that would've made the Wolves icon - a ferocious defender in his prime - proud.
''It was great to see him,'' Karl-Anthony Towns said. ''It was a long conversation with me and him to get him to come. So I'm happy he came and we played really well as a team.
''All he wants to do is see Minnesota succeed, so I'm just happy we gave him something to cheer about.''
The Wolves entered the game allowed opposing teams to score an average of 116.2 points per game. They held the Blazers - who were averaging 115.9 per game - to their season low.
Towns and Robert Covington each had 14 points for the Wolves, who are 7-1 at home and 3-0 since trading the disgruntled Butler to Philadelphia on Monday.
Rose cautioned against reading too much into the success.
''We're still trying to figure things out,'' he said. ''It's always great to go 3-0, and we're just trying to keep it going, taking it one game at a time.''
The Timberwolves' lineup had a balanced night, with all five starters scoring in double figures.
It was a stark difference from the last time the teams met nearly two weeks ago, when the Blazers held Minnesota to 81 points - the lowest point total in the NBA this season. The Wolves were without Butler, Jeff Teague and Rose for that game.
''I just think they have a new feel, a new lease on life in a sense,'' Evan Turner said. ''Anytime you get a trade and things like that, they feel good. They played well.''
LOSING ON THE TRAIL
The Blazers have their first losing streak of the season - not the start they wanted for their six-game trip.
CJ McCollum had 18 points and Damian Lillard added 16 for Portland, which never led. The Blazers got within six in the third quarter before Minnesota closed the period on a 21-11 run by attacking the basket. The Blazers committed 18 turnovers, leading to 22 Wolves points.
''The ball is in my hands a lot and the team counts on me to take care of the ball and make sure that we get quality possessions. I didn't do a great job of that,'' said Lillard, who had five turnovers.
THE COLOR PURPLE
The Wolves debuted their ''city edition'' uniforms that pay homage to hometown music legend Prince, who filmed his iconic nightclub scenes of the 1984 movie Purple Rain across the street from where Target Center was later built. Prince music played all night.
''I know our players are really excited about the uniforms and the night. It's a great way to honor Prince,'' coach Tom Thibodeau said.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Lillard had five assists to pass Damon Stoudamire (3,018) for third on the team's career list. He has 3,020 for his career. ... G Seth Curry sat out with a bruised right knee from the first quarter of Wednesday night's loss to the Lakers. Curry said Thursday his goal was to return during the team's current six-game road trip.
Timberwolves: Taj Gibson had a season-high five assists, and Teague had a game-high eight. . F Anthony Tolliver didn't play for the second straight game. He told local media Friday that Thibodeau didn't talk to him about not playing in Wednesday night's win against New Orleans. Thibodeau, known for playing with a short bench, defended the decision to not play the usually reliable veteran. ''If you try to play too many then everyone plays poorly. So you try to make a decision, you gather information and it usually works out. You're going to need everyone over the course of the year.''
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Visit Washington on Sunday.
Timberwolves: Host Memphis on Sunday.
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Post by levine on Nov 17, 2018 10:38:24 GMT -6
Interesting distribution of minutes last night. Covington went from 41 the previous game, to 23 last night. Taj and Saric essentially switched minutes from the last game, with Saric at 27 and Taj at 20. Wigs and Teague led the team at 37 minutes each, but could/should have rested at the end. Overall, it's nice to see Thibs spreading out the minutes a bit more, and getting the 2nd unit more involved. The team shot 50% from the floor and 43% from 3-pt land last night. Pretty sweet. Even Tyus figured out a way to sink a couple of buckets. And we had 28 assists to the T-Blazers' 16; these guys are really sharing the ball. We still need some work on boxing out and securing rebounds, as we got beat on the boards again, but hopefully we'll improve there as well. I love this team again! I think that was more due to foul trouble than plan.
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Post by levine on Nov 17, 2018 10:53:53 GMT -6
jace frederick@JaceFrederick
Since Saturday, the Timberwolves rank:
4th in defensive rating (99.7)
4th in assist ratio (19.1%)
5th in pace (104)
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Post by boognish on Nov 17, 2018 11:11:14 GMT -6
Interesting distribution of minutes last night. Covington went from 41 the previous game, to 23 last night. Taj and Saric essentially switched minutes from the last game, with Saric at 27 and Taj at 20. Wigs and Teague led the team at 37 minutes each, but could/should have rested at the end. Overall, it's nice to see Thibs spreading out the minutes a bit more, and getting the 2nd unit more involved. The team shot 50% from the floor and 43% from 3-pt land last night. Pretty sweet. Even Tyus figured out a way to sink a couple of buckets. And we had 28 assists to the T-Blazers' 16; these guys are really sharing the ball. We still need some work on boxing out and securing rebounds, as we got beat on the boards again, but hopefully we'll improve there as well. I love this team again! I think that was more due to foul trouble than plan. That's true. I was more impressed with Thibs making the Saric/Taj switch. Let's hope that's a long-term trend.
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Post by pagliatti on Nov 17, 2018 12:17:40 GMT -6
Hindsight says the word here should be need not fit. Simply put, the Wolves only had one credible SF-Butler- and two NBA bigs- guys who you could be comfortable playing 30 MPG in any given game, both Tolly and Gorgui might function better as 4th bigs.
It wasn't rare to get the feel of a really undersized team but the reflection should take into account the best/worse case scenario:
Rose best case scenario/ Teague super solid player/Tyus nice depth to have
Wiggins solid minutes guy/ Okogie pretty nice case scenario/ Williams,Nunnally-nice depth
Butler you lose his value at SG as you have depth there, also the saga/Deng, toast at the moment/KBD not ready, skillset conflicts with need
Taj goldie but oldie, more of a 2,5 best big than a clear cut second big, would work better like Pau with several alternatives getting attention and relieving him of overuse/Tolliver a solid 4th big, also rather old/Patton worst case scenario
KAT annoyed with situation, also need defenders around/ Gorgui rather unreliable
All in all, the team had one playable SF which also lost versatility as he wouldn't shift to SG, and he is not more than an extremely situational PF. The team also was thin at the bigs department and they could still use another young, bouncy guy. Also, four/five guys needing usage is a disaster in the making.
It is not fair to just refer to FO blunders, it seems that everything went wrong in some departments and right in others, the case most of the time but here it poured. The modest investments- Rose vet minimum, Okogie modest pick- worked way better where need wasn't dire-KBD,Deng,Patton. The Wolves literally couldn't send any big to the doghouse, four able bodies, a couple well into the bad side of 30 y/o.
Being thin will let them analyze-aka play them at discretion- both Covington and Saric to determine future needs, there are still signals that point to unbalance like Nunnally not being able to get any PT and Bayless being an afterthought.
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Post by levine on Nov 17, 2018 12:38:54 GMT -6
Darren Wolfson✔@dwolfsonkstp Not surprising: zero dialogue occurred between KG and Taylor last night. KG caught up with Gary Trent Sr., then bailed quickly thereafter. #Twolves
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Post by The Country Club on Nov 17, 2018 16:09:15 GMT -6
I think the Wolves have to figure out a way to move 2 of the guys on the roster and get one player back (or three for two) so we can get Okogie into the core 9. Thibs isn't straying from 9. It is what it is. For those who gripe about the 9 man rotation, both BOS and TOR did it last night in a game that went to OT. I could get behind a Tyus and Gorgui for Ryan Anderson and Okobo deal if Phoenix would. Anderson is a better 10th/11th man for this team who could just step in and shoot 3's if we have foul trouble or injuries but makes more sense being buried on the bench. Getting out of G's deal a year early would be worth it. I don't know if they would give us Okobo back who would be a nice long term PG option but there would be no issue having those guys at 10th and 11th men. I'd settle for a 2nd rounder if needed. It would be tough to lose Tyus but I'm beginning to think he doesn't have the right skill set to be our long term PG or even a high end backup with our roster. He's still a nice backup but I don't know what that means for this team specifically. If Wiggins is here for the duration of his contract, he's always going to be a bit of a trick or treater and not someone I would want as my #2 option on offense nightly. Right now Rose and Teague are assuming that spot with usage and creating for others. They are not the long term guys either but a young player in that mold is likely going to be necessary to take the scoring load off of Wiggins on the perimeter and to be a creator for others, especially KAT. If Markelle had any head whatsoever left, he'd be a guy to gamble on but I don't think I could touch him at this point. Who he projected to be coming out of college is the type of guy we need as a lead guard. Unfortunate that he seems to have lost it. I wouldn't be opposed to tossing a 2nd rounder at PHX for Okobo (maybe the lesser of our 2022 2nd round picks?) if we can move Dieng/Tyus for Anderson
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Post by Bonecrusher on Nov 17, 2018 18:18:33 GMT -6
The thing you have to love about Covington and Saric is how deliberate they are in everything they do. Open look? They shoot without hesitation. They attack the defensive glass. They know how to navigate screens. Quick hands. Not ball stoppers. They don't waste motions or space. — John Meyer By pure luck Thibs may have saved his career. He really didn't have much to do with the Philly trade and Okogie and Bates-Diop were both PBA so it's pure luck what's happened for Thibs.
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