Vixen Twins watch Wild Wolves and Loony Lynx (MN Sports Thread)

[swede700]

On 11/10/2018 at 1:30 PM, TENINCH said:

Twins now with 60 million less in payroll than what they spent past season. Send your wishlist to Santa!

To be transferred into a league that has a fairer competitive playing field?  That's not possible.  

[Worm Guts]

20 hours ago, gopherwrestler said:

Ah that’s right, championships shouldn’t be the goal. 

You literally have to put points up in today nba to have a chance. 3/4 these guys make shots tightly covered from deep. 

Defense is pretty much gone in the NBA.

Obviously championships should be the goal, but I strongly disagree that defense is gone. That's just not true.  And I think Covington could a starter on good team, he already was actually. I would have preferred to take a different approach because I don't think this team is ready to compete for anything right now, but I do think Covington it 3&D type role player that you love to have.

[Klomp]

2 hours ago, swede700 said:

It's not quite as bad as Kahn, but it is rather amazing how quickly Thibs screwed up the masterful job that Flip did. Even I thought Thibs couldn't mess this one up...and he has, marvelously.

I go back and forth about this. I'm not sure I agree. 

All Flip did was do was create the equivalent of what Dallas or Phoenix have right now. People thought they had potential, but it was just that....potential. It wasn't a guarantee to work had Thibs kept Flip's vision. Also, we had extension deadlines coming up. How does Towns feel about the franchise if we missed our 14th straight playoffs? How do fans think of the Towns/Wiggins/LaVine trio if we miss again? I thought last year was very pivotal to make the playoffs. I don't believe we would have qualified if Thibs kept the status quo with the young trio. The team needed an infusion of talent and leadership. It's just too bad diva Jimmy showed up. Thibs was out of Chicago before diva Jimmy showed up there, so I think maybe there was a misread of Jimmy's personality and fit into this group. Taj and Jeff have been fine. I think we would've been fine had diva Jimmy not blown everything up. 

Blame goes on Jimmy far more than Thibs.

[Klomp]

21 hours ago, gopherwrestler said:

Ah that’s right, championships shouldn’t be the goal. 

While championships are the ultimate goal, a season isn't a failure if you don't win one.

[swede700]

37 minutes ago, Klomp said:

I go back and forth about this. I'm not sure I agree. 

All Flip did was do was create the equivalent of what Dallas or Phoenix have right now. People thought they had potential, but it was just that....potential. It wasn't a guarantee to work had Thibs kept Flip's vision. Also, we had extension deadlines coming up. How does Towns feel about the franchise if we missed our 14th straight playoffs? How do fans think of the Towns/Wiggins/LaVine trio if we miss again? I thought last year was very pivotal to make the playoffs. I don't believe we would have qualified if Thibs kept the status quo with the young trio. The team needed an infusion of talent and leadership. It's just too bad diva Jimmy showed up. Thibs was out of Chicago before diva Jimmy showed up there, so I think maybe there was a misread of Jimmy's personality and fit into this group. Taj and Jeff have been fine. I think we would've been fine had diva Jimmy not blown everything up. 

Blame goes on Jimmy far more than Thibs.

There is no question in my mind that Flip would have developed Towns better than Thibs has.  Towns was his kind of player, not Thibs'.  While Wiggins may still be where he is at, I think Flip would have done a far better job at utilizing him.  Flip never got the opportunity to coach all three at once in addition to Rubio.  I also think he would have done a better job drafting role players the last 2 years. 

I do think if he had the opportunity to have Rubio, LaVine, Towns, Wiggins for 15 and 16, I don't think there would have been any threat of missing the playoffs in '17, because they would have been there a year earlier.  They lost the whole season of development in '16 because they had to regroup and learn a different style in Thibs' first year. And that is unfortunate, because the addition of Butler only delayed what I now believe is the inevitable conclusion, and that's another star's career wasted wearing the Wolves' uniform.  The last two were wasted because of the inability to put any sort of talent around the player.  This time because it's a poor match between coach and player. 

The only way to short circuit that is to fire Thibs now and hire someone more conducive to the star's playing style.  And I'm not talking about firing him at the end of the season...I mean now.  Butler wasn't the only cancer to the organization.  The other one occupies the bench and the President's office.     

[SemperFeist]

6 hours ago, Klomp said:

Blame goes on Jimmy far more than Thibs.

I still put more blame on Thibs. While Butler’s antics created this mess, it was Thibs’ stubbornness and refusal to see what everyone else saw in August that made it the embarrassment that it had become.

Had Thibs swallowed his pride and made the deal with Miami that was reported, not only would this disaster have been averted, but they would have gotten a sweeter deal for Butler. 

[byuvike88]

I'm excited to see how this team does without Jimmy. It's hard to say a team got better by trading their best player, but I am excited to see how Towns responds and if Wiggins starts playing looser and looking more like the Wiggins who showed so much promise. I like Covington a lot and I like Saric shooting. It'll be interesting to see if they can work out some more deals to get rid of Dieng's contract. I am excited to see how it all plays out and they are off to a decent start tonight.

[Klomp]

On 11/12/2018 at 10:51 PM, byuvike88 said:

I'm excited to see how this team does without Jimmy. It's hard to say a team got better by trading their best player, but I am excited to see how Towns responds and if Wiggins starts playing looser and looking more like the Wiggins who showed so much promise. I like Covington a lot and I like Saric shooting. It'll be interesting to see if they can work out some more deals to get rid of Dieng's contract. I am excited to see how it all plays out and they are off to a decent start tonight.

Looked much better tonight!

[byuvike88]

2 hours ago, Klomp said:

Looked much better tonight!

Agreed! They were definitely inconsistent offensively, but they played better defensively than I have seen in a long time. Effort was much better all around. Okogie and Covington bring so much energy I think it ignites the team.

[The Gnat]

Yeah, they definitely looked better. On the radio someone commented that Towns looked like he had a weight off of his shoulders and that he was just having fun out there playing.

Also, did something happen to Thibs? Okogie has been getting some minutes (and looking solid), Thibs doesn't play rookies.

[Worm Guts]

50 minutes ago, The Gnat said:

Yeah, they definitely looked better. On the radio someone commented that Towns looked like he had a weight off of his shoulders and that he was just having fun out there playing.

Also, did something happen to Thibs? Okogie has been getting some minutes (and looking solid), Thibs doesn't play rookies.

I think Thibodeau is mostly concerned with winning, so he’s not much interested in development just whether that player deserves to be in the rotation based on his play. Okogie has earned his spot in the rotation.

[Klomp]

5 hours ago, The Gnat said:

Also, did something happen to Thibs? Okogie has been getting some minutes (and looking solid), Thibs doesn't play rookies.

He does when they deserve them.

[SotanKing]

3 in row for Wolves now...team looks fun. 

[Vikes_Bolts1228]

1 hour ago, upriser7 said:

3 in row for Wolves now...team looks fun. 

I think most of us can relate.

We've all had that boss/co-worker who makes work an absolute nightmare and things are so much better when they're fired or off that day.

[Klomp]

9 minutes ago, Vikes_Bolts1228 said:

I think most of us can relate.

We've all had that boss/co-worker who makes work an absolute nightmare and things are so much better when they're fired or off that day.

I think it might be a bit of a mirage in that we weren't as bad as we looked during that 0-5 road trip. It was just an avalanche of issues, with the Butler saga looming large and injuries that popped up. Teague missed the whole road trip, Rose missed the Portland game (which Jimmy skipped) and Wiggins missed the Sacramento game. Not only are all three guys healthy now, but we traded a guy who was skipping games and giving half effort when he did play for two guys who are very solid and know how to play the right way. We instantly have become a team with a lot of depth.

Maybe the most important development, Ticket was back in the building!

Most people will look at that from the angle of the relationship between him and the team, which is no doubt important. But I'm also looking at the importance of him being in the arena watching the team play well and play free. The stank aura around the team is gone, and hopefully KG will be able to spread that message around to the TNT folks. This team is different, and the trade has made a major impact already.