Good post

trolololol

I think we're watching a different league and/or player but that's cool. Tbh, I'm not sure any of these guys are better at help D:

stoudemire (he rotates well sometimes...)
nowitzki (his D is much better than several years ago, but his rotations aren't anything special imo)
lee (haven't seen much of him in a while but from memory, not Mr. rotation or Mr. 1on1 D)
boozer (he's on a defensive juggernaut but from the playoffs last year I can't say Boozer rotations was part of that)
blatche (ugh)
brand (hmmm, this is a guess, tbh I haven't paid attention to him in like 10 years)
diaw (a lot of the time he's basically immobile on D, although I think in shape he's good at rotating)
amir johnson (didn't seem great at it)
frye (he can block shots when he gets over, but from memory doesn't seem he's great at rotating)
Griffin (his 1v1 D seems good)

I'm sure I'm wrong on a couple of these b/c I don't have league pass or watch each team religiously. But from memory I can't really buy that Love is the worst defensive rotator of starting 4s anymore. I mean, 2 years ago, *maybe* but I can barely remember how bad he was given how much better he is right now.

Does Al Jefferson count as a 4?

Ehh, isn't their starting 4 Millsap, tbh I have no idea how Millsap is on D - barely seen him play. But yeah, Jefferson may have been worse at help D when they were teammates.

I'm not sure if this guy is trolling or what. Enough of this.

Last nights game was one of the best I've seen in a long time. It didn't have the fantastic ending of the Clipper game last week, but we beat a very good team from start to finish. We basically played them even for each of the first 3 quarters, then clamped down on D in the 4th and just put them away. Part of why this was such a great game was because of how SA played - they were very good. They played probably the toughest D against the Wolves than any team has so far this year, and the Wolves didn't flinch - they battled the whole game and took over in the end.

Hollinger has us at 43.7% to make the playoffs right now, based on how we've played to this point. I am thinking our odds are better than that because we're getting healthy and the team will have more time to gel. http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds

edit - note the projected win total for us - he has us going 34-32 for the season right now. Coincidentally, that was what I predicted (in some random Canis Hoopus thread) before the regular season started. I'm thinking 34 wins might be pessimistic now.

The game vs the Lakers tomorrow is a huge one!

NBA.com is running a poll on who's the most exciting player in the NBA. The poll is a ways down on their front page.



Let's help Ricky win this!

http://www.nba.com/

When I voted in that poll late last night it was James 29%, Ricky 26% iirc.

Playoffs are a crazy idea but we're only 2 games out of the spot. We do have to overtake 3 teams though to get there though, as it stands.

We've played a tough schedule so far and currently have the 3rd best road record in the western conference.

I don't think we can make the playoffs. The west is just insanely tough. We'd be like a 4-seed in the East.

We're 2.5 games behind the 3rd seed in the west right now.

1. OKC
2. Denver
3. Clippers
4. Spurs
5. Portland
6. Dallas
7. Utah
8. Lakers

Houston
Memphis
Minnesota

To make the playoffs 3 of those teams above us would have to not make it. Which three? Those are some good teams!

The truth is somewhere in between. He gave Love a high five and he stood with the team. He didn't really look pouty but he wasn't really happy like everyone else on the team. He stood for the rest of the game but didn't look really happy (Brad Miller is happy, Tolliver is beaming with happiness, then Randolph and Beasely are just sort of watching, then Ellington who spends the last two minutes almost running onto the court with excitement before being put in to shoot free throws).

Yes, I just watched the last 3 minutes of the game staring at the bench on every Spurs possession.

i did not see a high five from beasley.

this was obv during the tv timeout, but from what i saw, he kind of walked out with the group(didnt see a high five). this was a huge moment in the game imo and most on the bench were going nuts. he was much less excited. it's not like beasley is some blank faced player. he shows a lot of emotion good or bad when he is involved.

they then showed the huddle, and beasley was staring casually at the jumbo tron, or up in the air while everyone else was excited/amped about the game.

i mean, i was drinking last night and watching the game. it was a matter of seconds and by all means is it not a professional evaluation(armchair broadcaster ftw).

I just remember seeing him not as excited as everyone else and him not really being involved in the huddle.

i could easily be wrong, but that's what stood out in my head when i watched it.

didnt see this when i posted.

i was obv exaggerating, he wasnt pouting, but being indifferent about such a pivotal moment in the game is a bitch move, imo.

mind readers itt

and yeah, he was looking up at the Jumbotron at the beginning of the timeout (ya know, at the time when the 5 are just sitting down, toweling off, getting a drink and the coaches are talking to each other about what to say). probably watching a replay of something or checking the score or seeing how much time was left...

*shrug*

much ado about nothing imo.

playoffs?!? you guys are talking playoffs?!?

damn glad that this is an actual converstation this year, when last few yrs we were eliminated about on game 10.

Pretty standard for him at all times. He rarely, if ever pays attention to the coach during timeouts - he never has. He doesnt ever seem to take anything seriously. He's got the attention span and work ethic of a 6 year old. I'm almost 100% sure he has ADD. I saw a list of symptoms of ADD not long ago. Beasley has every one with flying colors.

Good article on Pek: http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/138267534.html

i never claimed to be able to look inside the mind of michael beasley and know what he was thinking. all i was stating is what i saw from my perspective(which is my own, and clearly not yours).

im pretty sure 90% of the people reading this thread saw my post as a casual fan perspective, which is what it was meant to be(it is the twolves homer thread). everyone knows that you cannot accurately judge the courtside demeanor of athletes in any game to determine a motive, so if you want to lol at my casual fan observation not being factual then yeah you could apply that to everyone that has ever made a random comment based on courtside demeanor and you would be absolutely right because the person you are questioning cannot provide factual evidence to the contrary.

however if you would wanted to delve into it:
when Beasley was a starter last year they never had a game like this where they played a very good team from start to finish and not only beat them, they outplayed them down the stretch. you would think one of the people that have been there the longest would be excited about it.

yeah they beat the mavericks(without dirk), and they have played well vs some other good teams, but from what ive seen this is their potential "get over the hump" game. they didnt shoot themselves in the foot with free throws and turnovers and were completely deserving of a win. the wolves outplaying a very good playoff team almost never happens.

also, Beasley is not an emotionless person, so for him to be relatively emotionless in their best win of the year was a huge emotional outlier of what he normally is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuS7DRvQenA

this video is beasley going nuts over taking a charge. you would think that the gravity of the spurs game would cause more of this type of behavior, not less. the score of that game at the time was showing 105-70 in favor of the heat. not a close game, not a pivotal play, just drawing a charge during garbage time.

from what i saw, it looked all game that beasley was trying to reassert himself as the wolves #1 option. every time the ball went to him he looked to score. the game did not turn out well for him statistically, and the wolves took the lead with him on the bench.

you can say staring at the jumbo tron is just doing whatever at a timeout, but adelman was talking and drawing up a play. maybe it's just me but people that dont pay attention during a timeout(even if they arent involved) bug the **** out of me. he's supposed to be a starter and he will be playing those minutes eventually(if he is a starter and the #1 option he wants to be). not caring about a play being drawn up for his teammates is self centered imo. he should be at least listening to his new coaches end game philosophy so that when he is in that scenario he can succeed. it's not like he has been with adelman for years. they have had less than a season with no preseason to work out plays/defensive schemes and practices.


he doesnt have to be as excited as everyone else, and he doesnt have to show as much emotion...but when his norm excitement level is less than what it normally is in a very important regular season game, it stood out to me.

Beasley is a known pouter so him doing it the other night wouldn't shock me.

I remember from the Milwaukee game earlier in the year he got into foul trouble early and decided to sit on the baseline by himself and cry for awhile.

His obvious changes in effort level make it clear he doesn't get it, and nothing he has shown makes it appear like he ever will. He shouldn't need to be playing against one of his buddies like Durant or getting 20 shots a game to decide to show up.

That kind of **** is a big part of why I dont want him to be part of this team. He has mental issues.

The Wolves are 6-3 when Rubio starts.

The Wolves are favored by 1 over the Lakers, and the Lakers' big 3 are all healthy.

Big game today!!!

Wolves are 1-0 when Pek starts! Long may that experiment continue.