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Post by Nick K on Nov 29, 2018 11:25:13 GMT -6
He night not have sexy boxscores, but Dieng has played pretty great since the trade as well. I heard something about Covington giving Gorgui encouragememt right after he arrived here that cracked the pressure building in him. Gorgui has been a different man since then.
Cov's locker room presence might be close in importance to his defense and 3 pt shooting.
We've come eons from featuring Jimmy and Teague isolations to actual team basketball where all the guys feel like they are contributing.
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Post by XRaySpecs on Nov 29, 2018 11:37:17 GMT -6
It really should not be hard to find minutes for Okogie. Rose's body can't handle the current minute load. He's already missed a couple games from being dinged up and if you look at him on the bench, he is ("constantly applying rollers, massagers, stretching and hydrating" --Dane Moore). Teague is also not 100% and has openly campaigned for less minutes. Wiggins doesn't deserve the full load of minutes he gets, and Covington should probably be playing less (he's only played more than 70 games in a season one time), And Okogie can hold down the defensive fort for the few extra minutes RoCo sits. Agree completely. Thibs has defended his 9 man rotation vigorously, but I just don't see the logic behind it when you've got 2 rotation level guys just sitting. You're not forcing them into the lineup just to play a rookie or something. Okogie has earned time. He's really a perfect sub too in that he's all about energy and that's so helpful off the bench. I am just shocked with how well Rose has shot this year. It's hard to not play him, but at the same time, it's an 82 game season and his body isn't exactly sturdy. There's no reason Okogie couldn't play 12 minutes taking some from Rose, RoCo, Teague, Wiggins. Taj is another guy I'd argue would be even better with fewer minutes. Not sure why you wouldn't want to keep your older vets fresh for the end of the season.
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Post by XRaySpecs on Nov 29, 2018 11:41:51 GMT -6
He night not have sexy boxscores, but Dieng has played pretty great since the trade as well. I heard something about Covington giving Gorgui encouragememt right after he arrived here that cracked the pressure building in him. Gorgui has been a different man since then.
Cov's locker room presence might be close in importance to his defense and 3 pt shooting.
We've come eons from featuring Jimmy and Teague isolations to actual team basketball where all the guys feel like they are contributing.
The story is that RoCo told G "You did this" after a Wolves run keyed by G's defense and hustle (G wasn't shooting well). That's the kind of genuine positive reinforcement that resonates with people IMO. Butler said/says a lot of the right words, but in retrospect, it never really seemed genuine. Seems like that facade is who he really is if we combine his "leadership" in Chicago and here. We all probably know people like that. I definitely do.
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Post by Nick K on Nov 29, 2018 11:53:43 GMT -6
When Thibs finally sat down on the bench, he was probably envisioning playing Okogie, Covington and Towns together some day, and how Wiggins is expendible. I know I was. More specifically, I was dreaming about Tyus, Okogie, RoCo, Saric, Towns.
Me too. Even Tyus, Rose, Cov, Saric, and Dieng in that 2nd unit have been dynamite.
We have gone from a bench getting us 11 to 18 points a night to superb group. That's exactly why we need to go 10-11 deep. Get Okogie and even Tolliver some time. They have nothing to prove.
Luol Deng has looked very good in the few minutes he's had. If you had to you could play Tyus, Rose, Tolliver, Deng and Gorgui and have a real veteran 2nd unit that could play with anybody.
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Post by Nick K on Nov 29, 2018 11:59:17 GMT -6
It really should not be hard to find minutes for Okogie. Rose's body can't handle the current minute load. He's already missed a couple games from being dinged up and if you look at him on the bench, he is ("constantly applying rollers, massagers, stretching and hydrating" --Dane Moore). Teague is also not 100% and has openly campaigned for less minutes. Wiggins doesn't deserve the full load of minutes he gets, and Covington should probably be playing less (he's only played more than 70 games in a season one time), And Okogie can hold down the defensive fort for the few extra minutes RoCo sits. I couldn't agree more.
We have one hell of a lot of talent on this team.
I love Taj but I want to see Saric start. He has a better overall game than Taj. Teague would be the only weak point then because of his poor playmaking.
Derek Rose is 100 times the playmaker Teague is when he doesn't have to do so much of the scoring like he did at Chicago. I never knew he had it in him. I can't believe I'm saying it but I'm turning into a big Rose fan on this team. He is a difference maker, something Wiggins is not. Right now we have 3 difference makers...Towns, Covington, and Rose.
At this point, I could actually see Rose starting. It won't happen cause Teague is making 18 mil.
Tyus and Teague on the 2nd unit?? Maybe Teague won't re-sign if he doesn't start?
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Post by levine on Nov 29, 2018 11:59:36 GMT -6
Interesting exchange from Canis:
Did anyone else notice that Thibs didn't insert any non-rotation guys besides Okogie until one of the assistants walked up to him and told him to. I’m pretty sure that is what happened because Thibs called timeout right afterwards and a bunch of non-rotation guys were finally inserted into the game. --Posted by Wayne Tracker on Nov 29, 2018 | 9:23 AM
My working theory: He has some sort of attention disorder and gets wrapped up in the moment and this is why he is so inflexible. --Posted by Nate in St. Paul on Nov 29, 2018 | 9:26 AM
I am 100% bought in on this. I think he has other things he prefers to focus on during games and allocating minutes/rotating players is secondary or tertiary in his mind. It’s why I am a huge advocate for him hiring a new assistant coach and giving them some substitution authority. --Posted by Selby&Dale on Nov 29, 2018 | 9:28 AM
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Post by levine on Nov 29, 2018 12:01:50 GMT -6
It really should not be hard to find minutes for Okogie. Rose's body can't handle the current minute load. He's already missed a couple games from being dinged up and if you look at him on the bench, he is ("constantly applying rollers, massagers, stretching and hydrating" --Dane Moore). Teague is also not 100% and has openly campaigned for less minutes. Wiggins doesn't deserve the full load of minutes he gets, and Covington should probably be playing less (he's only played more than 70 games in a season one time), And Okogie can hold down the defensive fort for the few extra minutes RoCo sits. Agree completely. Thibs has defended his 9 man rotation vigorously, but I just don't see the logic behind it when you've got 2 rotation level guys just sitting. You're not forcing them into the lineup just to play a rookie or something. Okogie has earned time. He's really a perfect sub too in that he's all about energy and that's so helpful off the bench. I am just shocked with how well Rose has shot this year. It's hard to not play him, but at the same time, it's an 82 game season and his body isn't exactly sturdy. There's no reason Okogie couldn't play 12 minutes taking some from Rose, RoCo, Teague, Wiggins. Taj is another guy I'd argue would be even better with fewer minutes. Not sure why you wouldn't want to keep your older vets fresh for the end of the season. Its crazy considering how bad of a shooter he's always been. But I had been noticing how much more arc he's been getting consistently on his shot compared to the past, and a quick Google search unearthed this story from 9 days ago: www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/basketball/4532247-heres-how-timberwolves-derrick-rose-developed-his-3-point-shot
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Post by Wolf With Sheepskin on Nov 29, 2018 12:37:43 GMT -6
I heard something about Covington giving Gorgui encouragememt right after he arrived here that cracked the pressure building in him. Gorgui has been a different man since then.
Cov's locker room presence might be close in importance to his defense and 3 pt shooting.
We've come eons from featuring Jimmy and Teague isolations to actual team basketball where all the guys feel like they are contributing.
The story is that RoCo told G "You did this" after a Wolves run keyed by G's defense and hustle (G wasn't shooting well). That's the kind of genuine positive reinforcement that resonates with people IMO.
Butler said/says a lot of the right words, but in retrospect, it never really seemed genuine. Seems like that facade is who he really is if we combine his "leadership" in Chicago and here. We all probably know people like that. I definitely do. My take on it is that Butler's form of vocal leadership was genuine, but tended to be negative. For example, he wasn't afraid to mention Wigg's free throw trouble to the press. I expect it was even more negative in the locker room. That's sometimes effective as a form of motivation, but really only if its coming from someone who has given you multiple compliments and then one criticism. A steady stream of criticism ceases to motivate people pretty quickly. Given that background, you can see how one genuine expression of appreciation from RoCo could move the needle so much for someone like G.
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Post by levine on Nov 29, 2018 15:17:02 GMT -6
Jon Krawczynski✔@jonkrawczynski Jones-Rose-Covington-Saric-Dieng over last 7: ORtg: 116.1 DRtg: 80.5 Net: +35.6 Jon expands on this point at the Athletic: During this surge back to relevance, the Wolves’ best lineup has been the group that starts the second quarter: Tyus Jones, Derrick Rose, Covington, Saric and Gorgui Dieng, and they blew the doors off of the Spurs on Wednesday night. They turned a three-point lead after one to 18 with a 19-4 burst in a period that Minnesota outscored San Antonio 29-9. In the seven games since the trade, that lineup has an offensive rating of 116.1 points per 100 possessions, a defensive rating of 80.5 for a net rating of a staggering 35.6 in 55 minutes. The Spurs went 3 for 13 from the floor against that unit, which is holding opponents to 39 percent shooting overall and has yielded just seven offensive rebounds while grabbing 37 defensive boards, an astronomical rebounding percentage of 84.1. To put that in context, the Bucks lead the NBA in defensive rebound percentage at 76.6. That group has also forced 24 turnovers in those 55 minutes, 18 coming via steal.
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Post by Bonecrusher on Nov 29, 2018 16:25:59 GMT -6
Interesting exchange from Canis: Did anyone else notice that Thibs didn't insert any non-rotation guys besides Okogie until one of the assistants walked up to him and told him to. I’m pretty sure that is what happened because Thibs called timeout right afterwards and a bunch of non-rotation guys were finally inserted into the game. --Posted by Wayne Tracker on Nov 29, 2018 | 9:23 AM My working theory: He has some sort of attention disorder and gets wrapped up in the moment and this is why he is so inflexible. --Posted by Nate in St. Paul on Nov 29, 2018 | 9:26 AM I am 100% bought in on this. I think he has other things he prefers to focus on during games and allocating minutes/rotating players is secondary or tertiary in his mind. It’s why I am a huge advocate for him hiring a new assistant coach and giving them some substitution authority. --Posted by Selby&Dale on Nov 29, 2018 | 9:28 AM That assistance that walked up to him should do that more often than if that is the case.
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