Game 30: Minnesota vs. Dallas

[Calinks]

I'm happy we got the W and I can turn that off. Team needs to seriously assess, we play the Lakers with that energy and we are getting blown out by 20 points Saturday.

[Dalvin]

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Still no consecutive losses!

[Murphs56]

Played one of our worst games of the season. No Luka, Dallas on a back to back. Need to figure some things out.

[Nick K]

Well, it wasn't pretty but we took care of business and played tough down the stretch like good teams do.

AAAARRRRROOOOOO!!!!!!

[younggunsmn]

This was a dirty dirty win. Not good at all.
Got up by 18 very early and then lost by 10 the rest of the way, at home against a team missing its two best players on a back to back.
So much bad stuff to clean up.

We aren't playing defense like we were earlier in the year, Rudy needs to start playing our version of defense again and not his where he's afraid to leave the paint. We have great wing defenders but they need more help from the bigs.
Rudy's been getting cooked getting caught in between for quite a few games now.
Commit the help and trust your teammates man.

Offense is dysfunctional. KAT was awful, Ant had a huge scoring game, but plenty of turnovers and terrible shots too.
We are too feast or famine right now to win a playoff series, throw away way too many possessions.

[TimberKat]

This was a dirty dirty win. Not good at all.
Got up by 18 very early and then lost by 10 the rest of the way, at home against a team missing its two best players on a back to back.
So much bad stuff to clean up.

We aren't playing defense like we were earlier in the year, Rudy needs to start playing our version of defense again and not his where he's afraid to leave the paint. We have great wing defenders but they need more help from the bigs.
Rudy's been getting cooked getting caught in between for quite a few games now.
Commit the help and trust your teammates man.

Offense is dysfunctional. KAT was awful, Ant had a huge scoring game, but plenty of turnovers and terrible shots too.
We are too feast or famine right now to win a playoff series, throw away way too many possessions.

I haven't watched the game due to traveling but Rudy's stats looked good. Seems to me Ant may had taken a few ill advise shoots again near the end. To expect Gobert perform like he did a few weeks ago on a daily basis is just unrealistic. That is like Ant's going to score 40 every night.

[winforlose]

Glad we won, but that is just about all I am glad about. This felt like last years Wolves playing down to our opponents. This Mavs team without those players is a bottom 5 team. Way too sloppy with the ball, way too lackadaisical on defense. Just playing with their food and doing just enough to sneak out a win. This isn’t Wolves basketball and I hope Finch lets these guys know that.

[younggunsmn]

This was a dirty dirty win. Not good at all.
Got up by 18 very early and then lost by 10 the rest of the way, at home against a team missing its two best players on a back to back.
So much bad stuff to clean up.

We aren't playing defense like we were earlier in the year, Rudy needs to start playing our version of defense again and not his where he's afraid to leave the paint. We have great wing defenders but they need more help from the bigs.
Rudy's been getting cooked getting caught in between for quite a few games now.
Commit the help and trust your teammates man.

Offense is dysfunctional. KAT was awful, Ant had a huge scoring game, but plenty of turnovers and terrible shots too.
We are too feast or famine right now to win a playoff series, throw away way too many possessions.

I haven't watched the game due to traveling but Rudy's stats looked good. Seems to me Ant may had taken a few ill advise shoots again near the end. To expect Gobert perform like he did a few weeks ago on a daily basis is just unrealistic. That is like Ant's going to score 40 every night.

I'm not talking about end results or effort I'm talking about scheme and decision making.
He needs to help earlier and more aggressively.
But then again I watched the game instead of the box score.
He got rebounds on 3 early possessions where his help was poor/late and the guy blew the layup.

[Nick K]

Finch....We're going places where there's no where to go. Everybody wants to get it for themselves and no team play. We have to grow up offensively. Finch was brutal. And it was good.

[younggunsmn]

Glad Finch was pissed in his postgame.
"There are a lot of ways to be immature".
Could not have said it better.
But how are you holding these guys accountable during the game?

[Nick K]

Glad Finch was pissed in his postgame.
"There are a lot of ways to be immature".
Could not have said it better.
But how are you holding these guys accountable during the game?

Let the next practice be all defense and run them till they puke. That will get there attention.

Then the next day practice sharing the ball. They've gone back to old comfortable habits.

At least they win now playing badly....and that says something.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

KAT and ANT show why they are not at LBL, Steph, KD, Jokic..... level. 8 assist for 11 TO is terrible for our 2 best players. Rudy was good for me, he is a bit down in defense but you can't expect him to stay at his top level all season. Mike talk to the guy at half time and things were worst but Finch has to coqch better and sit people when they show immaturity.

[twolves31]

This was a dirty dirty win. Not good at all.
Got up by 18 very early and then lost by 10 the rest of the way, at home against a team missing its two best players on a back to back.
So much bad stuff to clean up.

We aren't playing defense like we were earlier in the year, Rudy needs to start playing our version of defense again and not his where he's afraid to leave the paint. We have great wing defenders but they need more help from the bigs.
Rudy's been getting cooked getting caught in between for quite a few games now.
Commit the help and trust your teammates man.

Offense is dysfunctional. KAT was awful, Ant had a huge scoring game, but plenty of turnovers and terrible shots too.
We are too feast or famine right now to win a playoff series, throw away way too many possessions.

I haven't watched the game due to traveling but Rudy's stats looked good. Seems to me Ant may had taken a few ill advise shoots again near the end. To expect Gobert perform like he did a few weeks ago on a daily basis is just unrealistic. That is like Ant's going to score 40 every night.

I'm not talking about end results or effort I'm talking about scheme and decision making.
He needs to help earlier and more aggressively.
But then again I watched the game instead of the box score.
He got rebounds on 3 early possessions where his help was poor/late and the guy blew the layup.

Was it a good game no, but a win is a win. Dallas blew a 20pt lead yesterday to a Cleveland team missing Mitchell, Mobley, and Garland, Boston needed to overtime to beat a Detroit team that has lost 28 games in a row. Not every game in the regular season is going to look pretty, but it's fine as long as that stays in the regular season and we don't play like that come playoffs.

[winforlose]

KAT and ANT show why they are not at LBL, Steph, KD, Jokic..... level. 8 assist for 11 TO is terrible for our 2 best players. Rudy was good for me, he is a bit down in defense but you can't expect him to stay at his top level all season. Mike talk to the guy at half time and things were worst but Finch has to coqch better and sit people when they show immaturity.

KAT had an off night, and I think that Knee is a part of it. He just seemed uncomfortable from the tip. I hope I am wrong and just making excuses, but I am legitimately concerned for him. Ant was the hot hand. Normally I want him to pass more, and I didn’t love all his shot choices, but I want a hot hand shooting. THJ did the same for them. When it is that guys night, feed them and let the rest take care of itself. One nitpicking thing, Ant has been missing more free throws lately. I know 14 of 18 is nothing to complain about. But he was 9 of 13 on Tuesday. I just want to see above 80% consistently. Again nitpicking, but that matters. I actually thought Kyle played better tonight. I was shocked to see him with a -11. I don’t usually trust +/- that much, but this seems like an especially shocking disparity between eye test and box score.

[KGdaBom]

We have the biggest talent to BBIQ/mental toughness disparity in the entire league.

It's only a matter of time until we are fighting for our playoff lives in the standings again.

You couldn't be more wrong. We are winning the west and #1 seed.

[winforlose]

We have the biggest talent to BBIQ/mental toughness disparity in the entire league.

It's only a matter of time until we are fighting for our playoff lives in the standings again.

You couldn't be more wrong. We are winning the west and #1 seed.

I agree with you. This wasn’t a mental toughness thing, this was an arrogance thing. We had the upper hand and we knew it. We looked past the Mavs and played sloppy. Mavs did the same thing last night with an injured Cavs, and Celtics did the same with the Pistons tonight. The problem is, we did this exact thing a week ago against the Lakers. If a player wants a night off they should sit, otherwise they need to show up, and play like the #1 seed.

[Worm Guts]

There’s no doubt we were bad tonight, but it’s been so long since we’ve had a good team that people seem to forget that good teams have bad games too. They even have bad stretches during the season. The key is that they don’t last very long. So hopefully we’re a legitimate good team and pull ourselves out of our funk before it puts a dent in our record.

[winforlose]

There’s no doubt we were bad tonight, but it’s been so long since we’ve had a good team that people seem to forget that good teams have bad games too. They even have bad stretches during the season. The key is that they don’t last very long. So hopefully we’re a legitimate good team and pull ourselves out of our funk before it puts a dent in our record.

The following two statements are going to sound like contradictions but somehow they are both true at once. On the one hand the Wolves are in their toughest stretch of the season and cannot afford bad games. On the other hand, they are still 6-3 despite having multiple bad games in that stretch. Just weird how it is all working out.

[TimberKat]

There’s no doubt we were bad tonight, but it’s been so long since we’ve had a good team that people seem to forget that good teams have bad games too. They even have bad stretches during the season. The key is that they don’t last very long. So hopefully we’re a legitimate good team and pull ourselves out of our funk before it puts a dent in our record.

The following two statements are going to sound like contradictions but somehow they are both true at once. On the one hand the Wolves are in their toughest stretch of the season and cannot afford bad games. On the other hand, they are still 6-3 despite having multiple bad games in that stretch. Just weird how it is all working out.

Well, if you want consistency, DET is the most consistent team. We are what the records said we are, granted we got a little lucky with opponents back to backs.

[cmoss84]

Love Conley...someone steals or blocks him-he steals it back and makes a play. NAW is so important to this team in so many ways. Dlo is too...what a provider!
Should a playoff team play consistent minutes to someone making a spectacle out of finally making a 3? If you have a cool handshake with Ant, does it mean you can't be traded?
Is Dwight Powell this generation's Mark Madsen?
So much to ponder.