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Post by tmirvin on May 23, 2024 9:05:41 GMT -6
That said....no one would have challenged that play had they not called it. I see plays like this all the time. I don't think you can challenge a non call like that, but I get what you're saying. It was a close call. A "subtle" call if you will. At that point in the game, no one had any challenges left and according to the announcers, they only way for the refs to review it was to call it basket interference. If they didn't call that, then they can't go back and review (again, according to the announcers). Dallas players were immediately signaling for a challenge for what that's worth.
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Post by tmirvin on May 23, 2024 9:11:33 GMT -6
Also, the wolves were, once again, terrible at closing out the first half. Instead of taking the last shot of the half, Edwards threw a terrible pass out of bounds with 5 seconds left allowing Kyrie to get an and 1 for 3 extra points before the break. I think Dallas scored on the previous possession too.
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Post by XRaySpecs on May 23, 2024 9:32:47 GMT -6
Also, the wolves were, once again, terrible at closing out the first half. Instead of taking the last shot of the half, Edwards threw a terrible pass out of bounds with 5 seconds left allowing Kyrie to get an and 1 for 3 extra points before the break. I think Dallas scored on the previous possession too. Yep. I've been disappointed with how poorly we've closed out quarters on so many occasions. Our coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for getting the Wolves to this point, but that's one area that they need to hone in on/improve. That at an out of bounds actions maybe? Seems like a lot of our inbounds plays are just KAT or Rudy calling for the ball in a post up position. Other teams seem to get us with actual plays where guys are getting good actions to score.
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Post by wunderwolf on May 23, 2024 9:38:48 GMT -6
Ant looked gassed. Don't know why? Was it because he had to expend so much energy guarding Kyrie or was he super nervous? (which can cause players to be short of breath)? I just hope his tailbone is not still hurting as well since he has not played like himself the last two games (post landing on his tailbone game).
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Post by tmill720 on May 23, 2024 10:37:29 GMT -6
Ant looked gassed. Don't know why? Was it because he had to expend so much energy guarding Kyrie or was he super nervous? (which can cause players to be short of breath)? I just hope his tailbone is not still hurting as well since he has not played like himself the last two games (post landing on his tailbone game). I think that's more of a product of them loading up to stop his drives. Denver put a guy on each side of him to stop drives before they started, and Dallas is doing that with a rim protector parked in the lane. He doesn't have the control that Luka has to slowly meander into the paint or the stop/start craftiness that Kyrie has - he's getting by with speed/power but that is more easily taken away with extra bodies. It's a main reason that Jaden/Naz/NAW/Conley get so many good looks from 3, as teams would rather load up on him and make role players make shots. It's also why I don't think Ant is quite on the tier or Luka or Shai because they can score no matter what the defense does because they are so patient and so in control.
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Post by levine on May 23, 2024 10:58:21 GMT -6
Mnem is one of the most knowledgable posters at Canis. This is her take from being at the game:
Mnem OK, I am going to put some optimism down for folks because, holy hell, the Wolves only lost by 3 and y'all are acting like the sky is falling. I'll rewatch the game on TV later tonight after a nap, so this is based on my impressions in arena - and watching a game on TV is wholly different from seeing it live. So expect some more thoughts later on.
Emotional hangover from Denver Game 7 is 100% a thing. I don't think most of the guys were gassed, and it didn't appear to me that Ant was laboring up and down the floor, but guys appeared a step slow in rotations and to loose balls (which is one of the reasons the rebounding battle was trash).
This is the first time we've seen this Dallas team. On a tight turnaround with little useful game film for the coaching staff, they had to throw together a game plan and get the guys up to speed on the strategy. It didn't wholly work. But that's ok because now there's game film and they can go to work making adjustments.
The Wolves found some things that worked really well in this game: KAT in the post opened up the same weak side corner threes that got Jaden going early. KAT also was able to find Rudy cutting to the rim and he drew fouls early. The 4-5 PNR was also there off the Horns set. You know I love this thing to death.
Conley may be a step slow with the Achilles because he's not getting into the paint with burst and making easy decisions. He's overly focused on the lob to Rudy and not taking the shot, kicking out the shooters, or peeling out and resetting.
The Wolves played slow and started their sets with too little time on the clock. That meant that if the initial read didn't work, they ran out of time for their second and third reads and had to rush. Get the ball up court and into a set at 18 seconds rather than 13. Those 5 seconds will make a huge difference.
Ant was extremely passive for large chunks last night. He was great on the boards and distributing the basketball, but defensively he was a step off most of the night (he locked down a couple possessions in spurts and it spurred the team as it usually does) and he never attacked downhill. This team feeds off his aggression so it's important for him to put that pressure on the rim and climb the air looking for those dunks and fouls because that toughness and aggression fuels everyone else. He's not going to shoot as poorly again.
KAT will not shoot 6-20 again. He was rushing on his threes, especially late in the second half. He's not a catch and shoot tippy toes guy like MPJ. He's a step into it, settle his feet, and shoot over guys with his balance. At one point in the fourth, he took a three and his body was still jackknifed like a pocket knife not fully open. Balance is what makes great shooters.
Someone else said it before, but 49 threes IS too many. The team hit them early and so they kept going to them. It's very easy to fall in love with the three. The team was also too scattered with their offensive approach. The Ant-Rudy PNR wasn't working consistently well enough (Ant went early on a ton of picks) to generate the downhill pressure Ant needed to expert. Conley-Rudy wasn't really working. More KAT in the post, more KAT in the Rudy PNR.
NAZ, for the love of (I have a potty mouth), play some defense. When you do, it explodes off the page with the big blocks, but you also need to do the simple shit, the basics. He's still missing so many rotations (or over rotating) when he's low man help.
Rudy, for the love of (I have a potty mouth), please rebound the (I have a potty mouth)ing ball.
NAW, my man, come back to the party. I miss you.
Defensively, limiting second chances, picking up higher on the court, and more aggressively playing at the level of the screen on Doncic and Kyrie should slow things down so they can't operate in the paint as well.
Offensively, get downhill into the paint. Run through KAT in the post more often. Get the ball snapping around the perimeter again both off the bounce and off the pass. The ball was moving too slow.
TLDR: Defense a step slow, didn't rebound, KAT and Ant shot poorly, and the Wolves still go away from what works on offense too often. Ant downhill, Jaden weakside attacks, KAT post ups and PNRs. More Horns please.
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Post by levine on May 23, 2024 11:08:39 GMT -6
They should show this during the game.
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Post by Bonecrusher on May 23, 2024 12:02:08 GMT -6
They should show this during the game. Was it off the rim? Technically yes. Is it called like that? No. Ones like this are usually given to the player for both sides and only the really egregious ones are called. Hopefully going forward the NBA calls it this way going forward.
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Post by WolvesLife on May 24, 2024 5:24:36 GMT -6
They should show this during the game. I don't know that I've ever seen an offensive basket interference get dissected under a microscope like this. The lengths they went through to make sure we didn't get the two points.. I don't understand it. There's been so many times where something similar went without a call. There was no chance of that ball going in, talk all you want about how it was "partially" there, it had no chance of going in. Just stupid micromanaging at the end of the day that nobody who watches basketball wants to see.
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Post by tmill720 on May 24, 2024 8:17:38 GMT -6
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Post by Nick K on May 24, 2024 11:50:09 GMT -6
They should show this during the game. Was it off the rim? Technically yes. Is it called like that? No. Ones like this are usually given to the player for both sides and only the really egregious ones are called. Hopefully going forward the NBA calls it this way going forward. It's rarely at best called that way. That ball wouldn't have dropped through on it's own. No way. That was a huge call late in the game same as McD who left his feet and threw it away. As great of a night he had, that play really hurt.
The Wolves for playing bad should have easily won that game but turnovers late were the biggest things that caused their demise.
And then there were the P&R's to Rudy. When will they finally realize that running P&R plays for Rudy is a lesson in futility? It works 15% of the time. It's like a turn over waiting to happen. Please STOP it. just throw the ball to him at chin high or higher and tell him to dunk. Basta!
My guess is Dallas will feel comfortable going in tonight and our Wolves will be ready and spank them.
Luka is slow and plodding but I don't care how many hands are in his face, he throws it up, and it goes in. The guy is fabulous.
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Post by Nick K on May 24, 2024 11:52:20 GMT -6
Kyle Anderson is a liability for us out there. He finally had a decent offensive game though but as a unit we don't play well with him defensively.
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Post by XRaySpecs on May 24, 2024 12:00:13 GMT -6
Kyle Anderson is a liability for us out there. He finally had a decent offensive game though but as a unit we don't play well with him defensively. I don't think the Rudy PITP numbers speak much to Kyle's defense. The Dallas points in the paint numbers are much more an indictment of KAT and Naz's D. Those 2 need to step up defensively if we want to win. That said, Kyle hasn't been great in the playoffs defensively. He's 2nd worst on the team defensively by EPM ahead of only NAW.
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Post by stretcharmstrong on May 24, 2024 12:12:53 GMT -6
I was very disappointed with the game. The defense that was non-existent in the paint was the first sign I had that this may not go well. The lack of fire from Anthony in the game was another sign. It is great that he kept deferring to other players, but sometimes he gave up wide open shots. He did not attack on offense.
We only stayed in the game at all because of McDaniel's 3 point shooting.
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