***Official Timberwolves @ Lakers GDT 7 Apr Official***

[LwnmwrMan222]

Man, Naz 30/10 tonight. Gonna be a tough decision if KAT wants to come back to start the playoffs to put Naz on the bench. I don't know how you can do that.

Towns starts on the bench as he works his conditioning back up to game shape.

If the team is rolling, don't fuck with it. If Towns plays so well he has to start, do it. If the team struggles and you need a spark, then put him back in. You have more options and flexibility if you start with Towns on the bench until his play or other circumstances demand a change.


Naz is awesome tonight, but he just went 3-13 for 8 points two nights ago.

Understood, but he's been playing closer to tonight's game lately, than the last game two nights ago.

[twolves31]

the wolves second unit that finch puts together in the second quarter and the beginning of the fourth have just played real well in most of the games. when that unit isn't humming the wolves are in trouble. like on friday.

That second unit is also usually in when our opponents rest their best player or players. That 2nd group has been great, where before the trade deadline that 2nd unit regularly let opponents back into games and swung all the momentum to the other teams.

yep. the wolves second units have been much better than most of their opponents and have been a real key as to why they've just kept rolling with KAT out.

I think Morris added into the mix has helped that 2nd rotation so much just by coming in early in the first and 3rd quarters giving Conley rest so that bite bite can be in there and keep things moving and calm the first 5-6 minutes of 4th quarters.

[YBBR]

dude needs to join Jarret Culver wherever he is.

When did we take him 27th or something? 28th maybe? Not like number 6 Jarrett Culver! Christ, Culver.

Crazy draft...

Culver taken in the lottery...now out of the league

Nowell taken in the 2nd...outlasted culver, still hanging around the league

Naz undrafted...kicking ass and about to get a big payday

Naz Reid never got his name called. Not you can't go around town without someone calling out Naz Reid!

[A$$MAN]

stop being cute Rudy. that ant rudy passing/avoiding taking their layups turnover was garbage. don't leave the windows open on a laker run by tossing it away like its globetrotter ball

Finch should have called a timeout first chance he had after that Rudy garbage. The team obviously wasn't focused and thought they were comfortable with the 20 point lead.

finch presser right now. he said he thought they lost their "seriousness" and that play was probably what he was talking about. they were up 17 when it happened and he should have called a TO and told them to knock that shit off.

Well, that's on him then for not squashing that shit as soon as he sees it.

[Beef Supreme]

Remaining games:

Wizards - This is an absolute must win. It's a fucking layup against a team that is got to be making summer plans already.

@ Nuggets - Massive showdown. Top seed is possible if we lose, but not likely.

Hawks - Another must win. Hawks are in the play-in and don't have a chance to fall out of it or rise out of it. Really, they can only either finish the 9 or 10 seed. They can't move more than that in the standings. That's not really that much to play for. Have to win at home.

Phoenix - Got embarrassed by them last game. Top seed could come down to this game. Maybe Towns is back for this one?


3 of 4 at home is nice, but the toughest one is on the road.


Meanwhile, the Nuggets schedule is:

@ Jazz
Timberwolves
@ Spurs
@ Grizzlies

So 3 of 4 on the road. Spurs played them tough last time and would probably love a statement win to close the season. But really, the game against us is the one.


OKC:

Kings
Spurs
Bucks
Mavs

All at home. Should be favored in all of them, but none of these teams are gimmies (with the way SA has been playing better lately) Glad they're one game back.




Should be a good finish!

[weimy froob]

finch praised Ant's play tonight. i'm sure that assist to turnover ratio and his overall decision making made him very happy.

[twolves31]

Remaining games:

Wizards - This is an absolute must win. It's a fucking layup against a team that is got to be making summer plans already.

@ Nuggets - Massive showdown. Top seed is possible if we lose, but not likely.

Hawks - Another must win. Hawks are in the play-in and don't have a chance to fall out of it or rise out of it. Really, they can only either finish the 9 or 10 seed. They can't move more than that in the standings. That's not really that much to play for. Have to win at home.

Phoenix - Got embarrassed by them last game. Top seed could come down to this game. Maybe Towns is back for this one?


3 of 4 at home is nice, but the toughest one is on the road.


Meanwhile, the Nuggets schedule is:

@ Jazz
Timberwolves
@ Spurs
@ Grizzlies

So 3 of 4 on the road. Spurs played them tough last time and would probably love a statement win to close the season. But really, the game against us is the one.


OKC:

Kings
Spurs
Bucks
Mavs

All at home. Should be favored in all of them, but none of these teams are gimmies (with the way SA has been playing better lately) Glad they're one game back.




Should be a good finish!

Beat Washington, Denver, and Atlanta, and that final game means nothing rest the starters and prepare for whoever gets the 8th seed.

[weimy froob]

Finch should have called a timeout first chance he had after that Rudy garbage. The team obviously wasn't focused and thought they were comfortable with the 20 point lead.

finch presser right now. he said he thought they lost their "seriousness" and that play was probably what he was talking about. they were up 17 when it happened and he should have called a TO and told them to knock that shit off.

Well, that's on him then for not squashing that shit as soon as he sees it.

yeah you could see it coming--but that isn't his style. his team got the W so his way worked in the end though. again. but i wanted to see that TO called earlier in the third quarter for sure.

[weimy froob]

Remaining games:

Wizards - This is an absolute must win. It's a fucking layup against a team that is got to be making summer plans already.

@ Nuggets - Massive showdown. Top seed is possible if we lose, but not likely.

Hawks - Another must win. Hawks are in the play-in and don't have a chance to fall out of it or rise out of it. Really, they can only either finish the 9 or 10 seed. They can't move more than that in the standings. That's not really that much to play for. Have to win at home.

Phoenix - Got embarrassed by them last game. Top seed could come down to this game. Maybe Towns is back for this one?


3 of 4 at home is nice, but the toughest one is on the road.


Meanwhile, the Nuggets schedule is:

@ Jazz
Timberwolves
@ Spurs
@ Grizzlies

So 3 of 4 on the road. Spurs played them tough last time and would probably love a statement win to close the season. But really, the game against us is the one.


OKC:

Kings
Spurs
Bucks
Mavs

All at home. Should be favored in all of them, but none of these teams are gimmies (with the way SA has been playing better lately) Glad they're one game back.




Should be a good finish!

who knows when SGA is going to be back? a quad injury is probably going to keep royce lewis out for two plus months. maybe three months. i don't know the particulars of SGA's--but i'd say it's a major concern in OKC.

[weimy froob]

the second quarter was their highest scoring quarter of the year. taking full advantage of the AD absence.

[Beef Supreme]

Remaining games:

Wizards - This is an absolute must win. It's a fucking layup against a team that is got to be making summer plans already.

@ Nuggets - Massive showdown. Top seed is possible if we lose, but not likely.

Hawks - Another must win. Hawks are in the play-in and don't have a chance to fall out of it or rise out of it. Really, they can only either finish the 9 or 10 seed. They can't move more than that in the standings. That's not really that much to play for. Have to win at home.

Phoenix - Got embarrassed by them last game. Top seed could come down to this game. Maybe Towns is back for this one?


3 of 4 at home is nice, but the toughest one is on the road.


Meanwhile, the Nuggets schedule is:

@ Jazz
Timberwolves
@ Spurs
@ Grizzlies

So 3 of 4 on the road. Spurs played them tough last time and would probably love a statement win to close the season. But really, the game against us is the one.


OKC:

Kings
Spurs
Bucks
Mavs

All at home. Should be favored in all of them, but none of these teams are gimmies (with the way SA has been playing better lately) Glad they're one game back.




Should be a good finish!

Beat Washington, Denver, and Atlanta, and that final game means nothing rest the starters and prepare for whoever gets the 8th seed.

Destiny in our own hands!

[weimy froob]

Finch should have called a timeout first chance he had after that Rudy garbage. The team obviously wasn't focused and thought they were comfortable with the 20 point lead.

finch presser right now. he said he thought they lost their "seriousness" and that play was probably what he was talking about. they were up 17 when it happened and he should have called a TO and told them to knock that shit off.

Well, that's on him then for not squashing that shit as soon as he sees it.

i'm just reading britt's twitter feed right now and this is what he sent out in real time while the lakers were making that push in the third quarter. i know how he felt.

brittrobson
@brittrobson
You would think in game 78, with first place and top seed in the balance over the next week, and a potential playoff opponent down their two best players, the Wolves might recognize the moment as a time not to fuck around. But you'd be wrong.

[Beef Supreme]

Remaining games:

Wizards - This is an absolute must win. It's a fucking layup against a team that is got to be making summer plans already.

@ Nuggets - Massive showdown. Top seed is possible if we lose, but not likely.

Hawks - Another must win. Hawks are in the play-in and don't have a chance to fall out of it or rise out of it. Really, they can only either finish the 9 or 10 seed. They can't move more than that in the standings. That's not really that much to play for. Have to win at home.

Phoenix - Got embarrassed by them last game. Top seed could come down to this game. Maybe Towns is back for this one?


3 of 4 at home is nice, but the toughest one is on the road.


Meanwhile, the Nuggets schedule is:

@ Jazz
Timberwolves
@ Spurs
@ Grizzlies

So 3 of 4 on the road. Spurs played them tough last time and would probably love a statement win to close the season. But really, the game against us is the one.


OKC:

Kings
Spurs
Bucks
Mavs

All at home. Should be favored in all of them, but none of these teams are gimmies (with the way SA has been playing better lately) Glad they're one game back.




Should be a good finish!

who knows when SGA is going to be back? a quad injury is probably going to keep royce lewis out for two plus months. maybe three months. i don't know the particulars of SGA's--but i'd say it's a major concern in OKC.

Would be crazy if Towns came back before SGA. He's shooting and jogging now. Can't be too far off.

[Beef Supreme]

finch praised Ant's play tonight. i'm sure that assist to turnover ratio and his overall decision making made him very happy.

I thought he played really well. Some over-dribbling at times, but made good decisions with the ball. 9/20 is okay shooting (45%). 3 of 8 from 3 is okay too (37.5%). Neither are great, but neither are bad. Okay shooting night. Lack of whistle hurt his efficiency, but he was still okay. The 8/1 ratio is what made him really effective tonight.


He only had 1 rebound, which is really low for him, but we won the rebounding margin, so who cares who gets them? Rudy had 16 and Naz had 11. Sometimes it just doesn't come your way.

[weimy froob]

Alan Horton
@WolvesRadio
Naz Reid vs. Lakers tonight...31 PTS | 11 RBS | 2 STLS | 1 BLK | 12/16 FG | 6/8 3PT | +11

[Beef Supreme]

[weimy froob]

Wolves Win! I hate LA!

Alan Horton
@WolvesRadio
Wolves have now won the season-series vs. Lakers for a 3rd straight year -- 1st time they've done that in franchise history.

[Beef Supreme]

Monument to ineptitude:

[weimy froob]

That second unit is also usually in when our opponents rest their best player or players. That 2nd group has been great, where before the trade deadline that 2nd unit regularly let opponents back into games and swung all the momentum to the other teams.

yep. the wolves second units have been much better than most of their opponents and have been a real key as to why they've just kept rolling with KAT out.

I think Morris added into the mix has helped that 2nd rotation so much just by coming in early in the first and 3rd quarters giving Conley rest so that bite bite can be in there and keep things moving and calm the first 5-6 minutes of 4th quarters.

monte and Jmac have been very important and Jmac probably wouldn't be as effective if he had to play those additional minutes. tonight it was monte with 14 plus minutes and Jmac with 13 plus minutes. it's been a mix and match of the bench and the starters--but it's been very effective.

[Beef Supreme]

Karl showing the love:

[weimy froob]

he's a character.

[EmeraldAxe]

32 fta lakers to 14 for wolves?

[weimy froob]

wolves need to take advantage of this break. time to stack another W. OKC is winning.

I agree the Wolves need to take advantage of LeBrons absence. Game plan to stop the Brow and hit some 3s for a big victory.

The first half went as planned.

only after AD went out.

Minnesota caught a needed break Sunday in Los Angeles.

With every game carrying immense weight over this last week of the NBA season in the race for the No. 1 seed in the West, Minnesota — fresh off a loss Friday in Phoenix — was tasked with a road bout against the surging Lakers.

The Lakers entered Sunday’s game as winners of nine of their previous 10 contests. They beat the Wolves the last time Minnesota came to town. The Wolves were in danger of dropping out of the top spot in the West.

But then LeBron James was ruled out with flu-like symptoms in the hours leading up to tip-off. Still, Minnesota trailed by four at the end of the first frame in Los Angeles as the Wolves struggled to find defensive answers.

And then Anthony Davis left the game with an eye injury after that first quarter, and he did not return. Without their top star players, Los Angeles no longer had any defensive presence, nor enough firepower to keep pace as Minnesota used a big second quarter to spark a 127-117 victory.

“Obviously, caught a break there,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters.

[weimy froob]

Naz Reid was again excellent for Minnesota, knocking down one outside shot after another. Reid — who struggled Friday in Phoenix — was the offensive force the Lakers had no answer for. The big man tallied 31 points and 11 rebounds.

“I’m just going. I’m going out there competing, going out there and doing what I do best. Doing what I love. I’m going out there to play hard,” Reid said in his postgame, on-court television interview. “I’ve got goals and aspirations I’m trying to accomplish. We all do, as well. That’s to win a ring. We all had that same mindset tonight.”

Davis’ absence rendered Los Angeles’ defense relatively moot. The Lakers were sans a rim protector, forcing Los Angeles to sell out to protect the paint.

So when Anthony Edwards was able to get into the teeth of the defense, he could either finish or kick out to shooters. He did plenty of both. And Rudy Gobert had no real counterpart, and dominated on the glass because of it.

Edwards finished with 26 points and eight dimes, while Gobert 18 points and 16 boards.

Minnesota led by 15 at the break after scoring 46 points in the second frame. For the game, Minnesota shot 52 percent from the field and 39 percent from deep.

“We all were moving the ball, we all were getting open shots, cutting, making the right reads, making the right play for the next person,” Reid said. “I think everybody was playing for the next person tonight.”

To the Lakers’ credit, they countered in the third. Rui Hachimura — who tallied 30 points on 11 for 17 shooting — found offense in the paint and beyond the arc. Los Angeles pulled within four in the third before Minnesota closed the quarter strong to push the advantage back to 10.

“I thought we lost our seriousness there in the third,” Finch said. “They took advantage of that, got back into the game.”

But the Wolves tightened the screws defensively to open the fourth and effectively put the game away. The Wolves have now won 16 road games by 10-plus points.

Minnesota now returns home for a date with Washington on Tuesday before Wednesday’s pivotal bout with Denver.

[somuchyummy]

Monument to ineptitude:

Son of Yum sent me this earlier today. It's good that the youth of the Timberwolves fanbase can get a sense of the suffering we've been thru.

[weimy froob]

it was inadvertent--but KA was probably the MVP of last night's game.

[A$$MAN]

it was inadvertent--but KA was probably the MVP of last night's game.

That's a huge problem when THAT contact takes you out of the game. AD such a drama queen. Edwards, Towns, and Gobert wouldn't last 5 minutes in any game if they were that soft.

And some of those comments were hilarious!

Anderson a dirty player...

You can see he tried to purposefully take him out...

Anderson targeted his eye...

AD gets hit all the time with no calls...

[Moses Scurry]

I hit my head harder every time I come out of my storage space.

[DonaldDouchebag]

Weird. I thought he must have got a finger to the eye. He got a wrist?

[MolluskVonMuskie]

Wow that looked like a super legit Injury..........lol. What a crap League!