Wolves v Celtics 1/10 Game Thread

[FrenchMinnyFan]

The issue is that ANT is not a rookie. He is in NBA now for years and did not improve this part of the game. Finch is nice but the polite speach "" This is part of learning process'' is a bit of sweat talk. If no improvement, there is no chance we pass Denver, Clippers or Boston as same mistake bring always the same result. But season still long, maybe i'm wrong and ANT improve at crutch time. Hope so.
I see KAT annoyed a cpl of times with that. KAT change a lot because he wants to win. Not sure things will not getting worse if ANT ( and JAden) still show too much immaturity, I'm also not sure Mike will be willing to sign new contract. AS he say before, the only things that matter for him is to win a title before retired. Let's see.

[colincb]

You've got the top team in the West and the second-best team in the league after my Celtics and by the metric I look at (record vs .500 and above teams added to a team's road wins - home losses) the two teams are far better than the rest of the league. That doesn't mean either will get to the Finals, but they're both clearly among the small group of contenders.

Edwards is your future and as one pundit said tonight, he's where Tatum was a couple of years ago making mistakes at the end of the game that he won't make down the road. I also thought your coach did a very good job tonight.

[winforlose]

You've got the top team in the West and the second-best team in the league after my Celtics and by the metric I look at (record vs .500 and above teams added to a team's road wins - home losses) the two teams are far better than the rest of the league. That doesn't mean either will get to the Finals, but they're both clearly among the small group of contenders.

Edwards is your future and as one pundit said tonight, he's where Tatum was a couple of years ago making mistakes at the end of the game that he won't make down the road. I also thought your coach did a very good job tonight.

Thanks for the kind words. Truth is Ant isn’t ready, but it wasn’t just Tatum that kicked our ***. Brown really came to play and smoked us in the first quarter. It’s no wonder you guys are undefeated at home.

[vtime]

Towns was actually great. But we froze him out in the fourth. NAW made the one mistake with the offensive foul, a huge mistake, but played well. We desperately need McDaniels to play better. He’s been almost unplayable offensively lately; and today, he made some really dumb plays defensively.

I feel bad for Towns, because often times he is tasked with shooting shots from incredibly awkward angles because he touches it late in the shot-clock. He is clearly Minnesota’s best offensive weapon, and he’s basically relegated to garbage man at the end of games. Just a waste of his extraordinary offensive talent, he shouldn’t be relegated to being the secondary scorer. It’s total bull.

I think that more has to do with how the game is played. I think its just much easier to play through a guard elite guard (Ant) for offense than it is to play through an elite Big (Towns). Bigs don't get the calls guards get, Bigs are easier to stop and stifle, guards can get through defense. As we saw tonight and against Dallas, having elite scoring guards/wings are pretty much the trump card in clutch games. If you have a Tatum, Luka, or Kyrie you can go to who can get you buckets at a drop of a hat your team can win any close game. It's way harder for Towns to get offense off like that.

That still doesn't mean we can't use Towns far more effectively. I have been saying we need to get him way more shots than we are. I still think Ant should be our go to guy but Towns should be getting feed like crazy from the opening tip IMO. I'd go to Ant to close out games but I'd rely on Towns to carry me for quarters 1-4 until the last 5 minutes or so.

I think we should be having him gun it, especially from the corner.

All of the best players in the league are bigs. Giannis, Embiid, Jokic. They have all of the MVP’s and 2 of the titles the last 5 years.

[FarBeyondDriven]

I'm surprised none of you seem too bothered by the 31 FT attempts by the Celtics to your 20. Games like this are so easy for officials to screw up with just a couple calls and this game veered towards that a little too much for my taste. 51 FT between the two teams and only 3 misses?! That has to be a record

[Calinks]

I feel bad for Towns, because often times he is tasked with shooting shots from incredibly awkward angles because he touches it late in the shot-clock. He is clearly Minnesota’s best offensive weapon, and he’s basically relegated to garbage man at the end of games. Just a waste of his extraordinary offensive talent, he shouldn’t be relegated to being the secondary scorer. It’s total bull.

I think that more has to do with how the game is played. I think its just much easier to play through a guard elite guard (Ant) for offense than it is to play through an elite Big (Towns). Bigs don't get the calls guards get, Bigs are easier to stop and stifle, guards can get through defense. As we saw tonight and against Dallas, having elite scoring guards/wings are pretty much the trump card in clutch games. If you have a Tatum, Luka, or Kyrie you can go to who can get you buckets at a drop of a hat your team can win any close game. It's way harder for Towns to get offense off like that.

That still doesn't mean we can't use Towns far more effectively. I have been saying we need to get him way more shots than we are. I still think Ant should be our go to guy but Towns should be getting feed like crazy from the opening tip IMO. I'd go to Ant to close out games but I'd rely on Towns to carry me for quarters 1-4 until the last 5 minutes or so.

I think we should be having him gun it, especially from the corner.

All of the best players in the league are bigs. Giannis, Embiid, Jokic. They have all of the MVP’s and 2 of the titles the last 5 years.

Sure. Giannis is in a different category offensively IMO with how he attacks and plays. Embiid is just way more prolific than most any other big scoring wise with his ability and the calls he gets and even still, in the playoffs he is easier to hamper than elite wings/guards. Jokic of course is pretty much the best player on the planet any given night and can definitely come up big with clutch buckets but again, he is easier to stop scoring wise than elite guards IMO and he still needs someone like Murray to be a massive threat in the clutch.

Not saying its impossible for bigs to be the go to guys at the end of games but It's just much easier for it to be a guard/wing of comparable talent. The game is officiated so that it is much easier for those guys to carry an offense and they are just more vital to your team getting clutch time buckets.

In today's game I will take a Jimmy Butler, Curry, Luka, Kyrie, Kawhi, Shai, etc. over any comparable bigs when it comes to the last two minutes of a game and we need to get some buckets.

[Mattya]

I'm surprised none of you seem too bothered by the 31 FT attempts by the Celtics to your 20. Games like this are so easy for officials to screw up with just a couple calls and this game veered towards that a little too much for my taste. 51 FT between the two teams and only 3 misses?! That has to be a record

It would be one thing if we were driving to the rim and drawing contact, but the free throw disparity was like 3-5 free throws with about 4 minutes left in the 4th. We took contested jumpers most of the rest of the way while Brown and Tatum drove and got our defenders into the popcorn machine and drew fouls. We had our chances and took bad shots or turned it over or gave up long rebounds on free throws.

[thinktank]

Finch and Ant need to get together and form crunch time guidelines. Things like:

1. Don’t **** stop your dribble.
2. Avoid the sidelines / halfcourt line and don’t get trapped. Ie stay toward the middle of the floor.
3. When in the middle, again, don’t stop! If you do stop, pick up your dribble and get tough.

Ant has been getting burned on some pretty basic crunch time decision-making and these simple concepts can seriously help him!

[thinktank]

Ant is proving that as good as he is, he is not ready. He does not deserve All NBA, he does not deserve All Star, and he does not deserve to be the face of the team. Karl, Mike, and Rudy are all more valuable than he is.

LOL. Calm down. Without Ant you wouldn’t have think very highly of these other three.

[life_saver]

The issue is that ANT is not a rookie. He is in NBA now for years and did not improve this part of the game. Finch is nice but the polite speach "" This is part of learning process'' is a bit of sweat talk. If no improvement, there is no chance we pass Denver, Clippers or Boston as same mistake bring always the same result. But season still long, maybe i'm wrong and ANT improve at crutch time. Hope so.
I see KAT annoyed a cpl of times with that. KAT change a lot because he wants to win. Not sure things will not getting worse if ANT ( and JAden) still show too much immaturity, I'm also not sure Mike will be willing to sign new contract. AS he say before, the only things that matter for him is to win a title before retired. Let's see.

Ant is still just 22. His playmaking & decision making isn't the best but it's okay to admit that he definitely has improved in both these aspects when compared to his first 2 seasons

[Gant]

I do think the trash talk with Brown got to Ant. Both are from Atlanta. Brown’s older but I bet they know each other somewhat. Ant seemed more selfish than normal on the offensive end. He HAS to learn to make the right play and use his teammates if we’re ever going to do something in the playoffs.

Read on Twitter

As Anthony Edwards leads the West-best Timberwolves, Jaylen Brown has been a huge supporter of the young star’s progress. They’re both from the Atlanta area, so there’s been plenty of brotherhood and camaraderie from some of the game’s best guards.

“Tonight was just a night where we’re playing against a young superstar in Anthony Edwards, where he’s going to be aggressive,” Brown said. “He’s young, he seeks matchups like this. You know he wants to play against big names and big teams because it’s an opportunity for him to showcase his greatness.”

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2024/01/jaylen-brown-reveals-message-to-anthony-edwards-in-familiar-duel.html

[Calinks]

Looking back once again our offense was an issue. We are too easy to stop. That 9-0 is what sealed the deal, if we have a better offense, that wouldn't have happened. If that was a 9-3 run we win the game. We just have to get better in that area, they really need to work hard on finding better shots, getting the most out of stars (that means not letting KAT go all 4th quarter without a shot) and really getting an offense that can get some points.

Been saying it all season, as long as we are middle of the pack on offense we will be held back. You can't win the massive games without being able to get buckets. Last night we did manage to do this a lot, NAW stepped up massively, but that's not normal fo him, that was NAW and Anderson having amazing games and we still came up short. We got a lot of work to do on the offensive end.

[minimus]

We got a lot of work to do on the offensive end.

TC needs to do his magic one more time... We need one more proven ballhandler / decision maker... Maybe Monte Morris?

[thinktank]

Stay away from the sidelines and corners in the clutch.

Keep the ball in the middle of the floor.

Keep your dribble alive.

If you get doubled, be strong and make a strong pass.

That’s all we need to do! We’re close to being the best team in the NBA!

[BlacJacMac]

The issue is that ANT is not a rookie. He is in NBA now for years and did not improve this part of the game. Finch is nice but the polite speach "" This is part of learning process'' is a bit of sweat talk. If no improvement, there is no chance we pass Denver, Clippers or Boston as same mistake bring always the same result. But season still long, maybe i'm wrong and ANT improve at crutch time. Hope so.
I see KAT annoyed a cpl of times with that. KAT change a lot because he wants to win. Not sure things will not getting worse if ANT ( and JAden) still show too much immaturity, I'm also not sure Mike will be willing to sign new contract. AS he say before, the only things that matter for him is to win a title before retired. Let's see.

KAT is 28 years-old in his 9th season, and you're admitting he's made changes to help us win this year. But Ant, at age 22 is a finished product?

Ant has a long ways to go with his decision making, but that's one of the last things to come. He's made huge strides every year of his career and there is no reason to think "maturity" isn't on the horizon.

[TimberKat]

The issue is that ANT is not a rookie. He is in NBA now for years and did not improve this part of the game. Finch is nice but the polite speach "" This is part of learning process'' is a bit of sweat talk. If no improvement, there is no chance we pass Denver, Clippers or Boston as same mistake bring always the same result. But season still long, maybe i'm wrong and ANT improve at crutch time. Hope so.
I see KAT annoyed a cpl of times with that. KAT change a lot because he wants to win. Not sure things will not getting worse if ANT ( and JAden) still show too much immaturity, I'm also not sure Mike will be willing to sign new contract. AS he say before, the only things that matter for him is to win a title before retired. Let's see.

KAT is 28 years-old in his 9th season, and you're admitting he's made changes to help us win this year. But Ant, at age 22 is a finished product?

Ant has a long ways to go with his decision making, but that's one of the last things to come. He's made huge strides every year of his career and there is no reason to think "maturity" isn't on the horizon.

I rewatched Michael Jordan's rookie season game against the Lakers last weekend and first think I noticed was how much better a passer he was compared with Ant (at one year younger). It's the same tunnel vision since College, so don't expect it to be "fixed" or "mature" anytime soon. My best hope is if we can contain it. I like the basic rules you guys proposed. In addition, maybe don't give him the ball (or not as often) until later in the clock (look for offense elsewhere first, ex: Towns post up,), make his move earlier in the clock, simplify his 1 on X (which we already did and teams are catching up to it). Overall, if we can "contain" the error rate and with one good trade like last year, Wolves are a top 4 team in the West.

[twolves31]

The issue is that ANT is not a rookie. He is in NBA now for years and did not improve this part of the game. Finch is nice but the polite speach "" This is part of learning process'' is a bit of sweat talk. If no improvement, there is no chance we pass Denver, Clippers or Boston as same mistake bring always the same result. But season still long, maybe i'm wrong and ANT improve at crutch time. Hope so.
I see KAT annoyed a cpl of times with that. KAT change a lot because he wants to win. Not sure things will not getting worse if ANT ( and JAden) still show too much immaturity, I'm also not sure Mike will be willing to sign new contract. AS he say before, the only things that matter for him is to win a title before retired. Let's see.

KAT is 28 years-old in his 9th season, and you're admitting he's made changes to help us win this year. But Ant, at age 22 is a finished product?

Ant has a long ways to go with his decision making, but that's one of the last things to come. He's made huge strides every year of his career and there is no reason to think "maturity" isn't on the horizon.

I rewatched Michael Jordan's rookie season game against the Lakers last weekend and first think I noticed was how much better a passer he was compared with Ant (at one year younger). It's the same tunnel vision since College, so don't expect it to be "fixed" or "mature" anytime soon. My best hope is if we can contain it. I like the basic rules you guys proposed. In addition, maybe don't give him the ball (or not as often) until later in the clock (look for offense elsewhere first, ex: Towns post up,), make his move earlier in the clock, simplify his 1 on X (which we already did and teams are catching up to it). Overall, if we can "contain" the error rate and with one good trade like last year, Wolves are a top 4 team in the West.

Ant is not Michael Jordan.

[BlacJacMac]

The issue is that ANT is not a rookie. He is in NBA now for years and did not improve this part of the game. Finch is nice but the polite speach "" This is part of learning process'' is a bit of sweat talk. If no improvement, there is no chance we pass Denver, Clippers or Boston as same mistake bring always the same result. But season still long, maybe i'm wrong and ANT improve at crutch time. Hope so.
I see KAT annoyed a cpl of times with that. KAT change a lot because he wants to win. Not sure things will not getting worse if ANT ( and JAden) still show too much immaturity, I'm also not sure Mike will be willing to sign new contract. AS he say before, the only things that matter for him is to win a title before retired. Let's see.

KAT is 28 years-old in his 9th season, and you're admitting he's made changes to help us win this year. But Ant, at age 22 is a finished product?

Ant has a long ways to go with his decision making, but that's one of the last things to come. He's made huge strides every year of his career and there is no reason to think "maturity" isn't on the horizon.

I rewatched Michael Jordan's rookie season game against the Lakers last weekend and first think I noticed was how much better a passer he was compared with Ant (at one year younger). It's the same tunnel vision since College, so don't expect it to be "fixed" or "mature" anytime soon. My best hope is if we can contain it. I like the basic rules you guys proposed. In addition, maybe don't give him the ball (or not as often) until later in the clock (look for offense elsewhere first, ex: Towns post up,), make his move earlier in the clock, simplify his 1 on X (which we already did and teams are catching up to it). Overall, if we can "contain" the error rate and with one good trade like last year, Wolves are a top 4 team in the West.

Comparing anyone to Jordan is unfair.

But compare him to Kobe or Tatum at 22 and you'll see two guys just as lost with their decision making.

Ant is the same age Dwayne Wade was as a rookie (4.5 Assists, 3.2 Turnovers).

[Klomp]

Clearly time to blow it up. No hope to even make the play-in with this roster. Tear it all down!

[thinktank]

Clearly time to blow it up. No hope to even make the play-in with this roster. Tear it all down!