Game 82: Suns at Wolves (WE MADE IT!)

[guest81]

The most interesting thing about the season is the dichotomy between COTY Finch and needs to be fired Finch. Both men exist at the same time and they occupy the same space. If we lose in the first round I believe he gets fired. His stubborn refusal to make changes to his lineups and his schemes have led us to the brink of wasting our best season. Now he must get together with the other coaches and become an expert on the Suns. Then 3 days from now, he needs to teach these guys how to beat the Suns offense and defense. This is looking really bad, and it starts and ends with Finch.

Ridiculous take. Finch is a top 5 coach

[winforlose]

The most interesting thing about the season is the dichotomy between COTY Finch and needs to be fired Finch. Both men exist at the same time and they occupy the same space. If we lose in the first round I believe he gets fired. His stubborn refusal to make changes to his lineups and his schemes have led us to the brink of wasting our best season. Now he must get together with the other coaches and become an expert on the Suns. Then 3 days from now, he needs to teach these guys how to beat the Suns offense and defense. This is looking really bad, and it starts and ends with Finch.

Ridiculous take. Finch is a top 5 coach

Who keeps putting out the same bad lineups and getting out coached in key games. Also, our lack of offense scheme and disciple is on display most nights when we keep turning the ******** ball over.

[guest81]

The most interesting thing about the season is the dichotomy between COTY Finch and needs to be fired Finch. Both men exist at the same time and they occupy the same space. If we lose in the first round I believe he gets fired. His stubborn refusal to make changes to his lineups and his schemes have led us to the brink of wasting our best season. Now he must get together with the other coaches and become an expert on the Suns. Then 3 days from now, he needs to teach these guys how to beat the Suns offense and defense. This is looking really bad, and it starts and ends with Finch.

Ridiculous take. Finch is a top 5 coach

Who keeps putting out the same bad lineups and getting out coached in key games. Also, our lack of offense scheme and disciple is on display most nights when we keep turning the ******** ball over.

They won 56 games, had the number 1 defense, and didn't lose 3 games in a row

[Shaka_Zulu]

Such an embarrassing game.

So much turnovers, so much low iq offense. Run some damn plays.



And sit Slowmo for the entire Suns series. He kills us vs them.

[Mattya]

Everything spirals downhill once Glen started coming around again.

[KGdaBom]

My money is on this being Kats last dance as a Wolf.
Too many short comings to make up for the talent.

Gee you expecting Kirk to be gone. I'm shocked I tell you.

[Zonarosa]

The most interesting thing about the season is the dichotomy between COTY Finch and needs to be fired Finch. Both men exist at the same time and they occupy the same space. If we lose in the first round I believe he gets fired. His stubborn refusal to make changes to his lineups and his schemes have led us to the brink of wasting our best season. Now he must get together with the other coaches and become an expert on the Suns. Then 3 days from now, he needs to teach these guys how to beat the Suns offense and defense. This is looking really bad, and it starts and ends with Finch.

Ridiculous take. Finch is a top 5 coach

yeah, but not a surprising one.

[Araxen]

Ridiculous take. Finch is a top 5 coach

Who keeps putting out the same bad lineups and getting out coached in key games. Also, our lack of offense scheme and disciple is on display most nights when we keep turning the ******** ball over.

They won 56 games, had the number 1 defense, and didn't lose 3 games in a row

The defensive system is Gobert's design and not Finch's. Finch's offensive system is horrible.

[guest81]

Who keeps putting out the same bad lineups and getting out coached in key games. Also, our lack of offense scheme and disciple is on display most nights when we keep turning the ******** ball over.

They won 56 games, had the number 1 defense, and didn't lose 3 games in a row

The defensive system is Gobert's design and not Finch's. Finch's offensive system is horrible.

Wolves were a top 10 defense before gobert came over

[KGdaBom]

I don't give a rat's ass about the Suns beating us in the regular season other than it costing us the 2nd seed losing today.

[Note30]

They won 56 games, had the number 1 defense, and didn't lose 3 games in a row

The defensive system is Gobert's design and not Finch's. Finch's offensive system is horrible.

Wolves were a top 10 defense before gobert came over

13th but yes, they held 10 for quite a while.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Just watch replay. No worries this is all about tactics, we play like dumbs against Suns to make them overconfident .

More seriously, Mike and Rudy did the job, the others sucks. When you reach half with 19 TO, you likely loose against anyone.
The good point is that we re now clearly the underdog for the first round. Hopefully we come with less pressure.
KAT, ANT, NAZ won't fixed the issues they show all year long (Stupid decision, TO...), we will have to deal with it. At least i hope they will up their offense.

[Chuck Everett]

You can't get down 44-22 in the first quarter and then turn the ball over 19 times in one half and expect to win. Gobert played with heart and grit, however if Ant and KAT won't play like all-stars/all-nba, then you can forget about it. The pressure is on them to perform. This is the same Suns team that needed a miracle to beat Sacramento on Friday. KAT has to punish Durant, Grayson, Booker, Royce O'Neale, Gordon or Beal on the offensive end. If he can't, well... you already know.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

ANT is not playing well for weeks. I am totally convinced they should have sit him for a while and work on his physical condition instead of chasing top spot that we did not get anyway. Now we got a week to prepare it, hope it help and everyone come healthy ready to give 100%. Go Wolves !

[_AIJ_]

Id rather put KAT on KD tbh. He gets cooked everytime he defends the smaller guys

[Guest84]

You can't get down 44-22 in the first quarter and then turn the ball over 19 times in one half and expect to win. Gobert played with heart and grit, however if Ant and KAT won't play like all-stars/all-nba, then you can forget about it. The pressure is on them to perform. This is the same Suns team that needed a miracle to beat Sacramento on Friday. KAT has to punish Durant, Grayson, Booker, Royce O'Neale, Gordon or Beal on the offensive end. If he can't, well... you already know.

Only problem with this is none of our bigs are as physically imposing as Sabonis. So Kat will have to do it a different way. Kat and the others will def have to shoot Phx out of that shell defense so Ant can get loose. This may be a series where Ant will need to learn/focus on playmaking.

[Klomp]

We have a couple of issues we're fighting against.
-This year, the two-big is more difficult against the Suns because Josh Okogie was replaced in the starting lineup with Grayson Allen. Skillset-wise, that was the perfect move for them to make in our specific series, since we can no longer hide either Towns or Gobert on Okogie.
-Karl and Naz can't shoot over Durant or drive past him. With last year's lineup, they were often facing at least one guy who they could do one of the two against. Durant's length and quickness negates a lot of their advantages.

Now for the other side of the coin.
-I think this has to be an Ant series. And in the three games this season, Ant has been a virtual no-show. The first meeting was on the back-end of a back-to-back (a usual weak spot for him) and the last two, he has been playing on tired legs. He needs to get his body right and get into his playoff mindset. If he's on his game, we have a fighting chance at worst.
-It might also need to be a Monte series over JMac. They are similar players, but Monte is just a little bigger.
-I think the FT line can be an advantage for us. Their depth can get them into trouble quickly, whereas we have a little more room to withstand foul issues.

[BlacJacMac]

We have a couple of issues we're fighting against.
-This year, the two-big is more difficult against the Suns because Josh Okogie was replaced in the starting lineup with Grayson Allen. Skillset-wise, that was the perfect move for them to make in our specific series, since we can no longer hide either Towns or Gobert on Okogie.
-Karl and Naz can't shoot over Durant or drive past him. With last year's lineup, they were often facing at least one guy who they could do one of the two against. Durant's length and quickness negates a lot of their advantages.

Now for the other side of the coin.
-I think this has to be an Ant series. And in the three games this season, Ant has been a virtual no-show. The first meeting was on the back-end of a back-to-back (a usual weak spot for him) and the last two, he has been playing on tired legs. He needs to get his body right and get into his playoff mindset. If he's on his game, we have a fighting chance at worst.
-It might also need to be a Monte series over JMac. They are similar players, but Monte is just a little bigger.
-I think the FT line can be an advantage for us. Their depth can get them into trouble quickly, whereas we have a little more room to withstand foul issues.

Ant is going to have to adapt. They're defending him with 3 men. His man, and then they bring 2 more when he gets the ball. Its resulting in more TOs than FGs.

He's going to have to give up the ball before the double/triple gets there and then immediately MOVE to a clean place to (hopefully) get it back quickly.

[Klomp]

We have a couple of issues we're fighting against.
-This year, the two-big is more difficult against the Suns because Josh Okogie was replaced in the starting lineup with Grayson Allen. Skillset-wise, that was the perfect move for them to make in our specific series, since we can no longer hide either Towns or Gobert on Okogie.
-Karl and Naz can't shoot over Durant or drive past him. With last year's lineup, they were often facing at least one guy who they could do one of the two against. Durant's length and quickness negates a lot of their advantages.

Now for the other side of the coin.
-I think this has to be an Ant series. And in the three games this season, Ant has been a virtual no-show. The first meeting was on the back-end of a back-to-back (a usual weak spot for him) and the last two, he has been playing on tired legs. He needs to get his body right and get into his playoff mindset. If he's on his game, we have a fighting chance at worst.
-It might also need to be a Monte series over JMac. They are similar players, but Monte is just a little bigger.
-I think the FT line can be an advantage for us. Their depth can get them into trouble quickly, whereas we have a little more room to withstand foul issues.

Ant is going to have to adapt. They're defending him with 3 men. His man, and then they bring 2 more when he gets the ball. Its resulting in more TOs than FGs.

He's going to have to give up the ball before the double/triple gets there and then immediately MOVE to a clean place to (hopefully) get it back quickly.

Yes, I understand they have been guarding him aggressively, but I believe he will be able to still find ways to exploit this. But he needs his legs. Once he does that, the shell will hopefully soften and cracks can be found.

[BlacJacMac]

We have a couple of issues we're fighting against.
-This year, the two-big is more difficult against the Suns because Josh Okogie was replaced in the starting lineup with Grayson Allen. Skillset-wise, that was the perfect move for them to make in our specific series, since we can no longer hide either Towns or Gobert on Okogie.
-Karl and Naz can't shoot over Durant or drive past him. With last year's lineup, they were often facing at least one guy who they could do one of the two against. Durant's length and quickness negates a lot of their advantages.

Now for the other side of the coin.
-I think this has to be an Ant series. And in the three games this season, Ant has been a virtual no-show. The first meeting was on the back-end of a back-to-back (a usual weak spot for him) and the last two, he has been playing on tired legs. He needs to get his body right and get into his playoff mindset. If he's on his game, we have a fighting chance at worst.
-It might also need to be a Monte series over JMac. They are similar players, but Monte is just a little bigger.
-I think the FT line can be an advantage for us. Their depth can get them into trouble quickly, whereas we have a little more room to withstand foul issues.

Ant is going to have to adapt. They're defending him with 3 men. His man, and then they bring 2 more when he gets the ball. Its resulting in more TOs than FGs.

He's going to have to give up the ball before the double/triple gets there and then immediately MOVE to a clean place to (hopefully) get it back quickly.

Yes, I understand they have been guarding him aggressively, but I believe he will be able to still find ways to exploit this. But he needs his legs. Once he does that, the shell will hopefully soften and cracks can be found.

I'm definitely not saying he can't do it. But he and Finch need to figure out how. He can't just keep driving into 3 people and hoping things will work out.