The defense the champs don't want to play
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- čas přidán 22. 12. 2023
- The Minnesota Timberwolves at the top of the west with the NBA's highest rated defense. This detailed film breakdown explores why Minnesota's defense is better in 2024, what's changed with Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, their effective zone, big wings, and Rudy Gobert's underrated mobility as a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.
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#ThinkingBasketball - Sport
This improvement of KAT's commitment on D and defensive reads is crazy
He stays focused on the d
He got tougher
Gobert probably helped him a lot
It really was like he suddenly turned all the what-ifs on defense into nightly possibilities
😂 Nope Kat stopped being a lazy bum brat cause his irrelevant now that Ant is the new better star of the franchise and Ant is more marketable than a big man.
KAT can be traded anytime especially that his contract is ending in 2024.
Intro really shows how fast the current mainstream basketball media turns on a player/situation. If NBA GMs listened to these guys, you’d have 7 trades a week
Well yeah they would love 7 trades a year, more drama more content
But anyways let's not kid ourselves we had a whole season and that timbs team was underperforming
@@AmalingThey didn’t have a whole season. Barely had a whole calendar year let alone a season
@@ekisola17they 1000% had a whole szn lol, they traded for gobert early in the off szn, so it’s not like they didn’t have time to assimilate him into the system
I do think the main thing they needed was time to gel and learn, but for a team with title aspirations, it should not take being a subpar record and getting bounced in the 1st round to learn the adjustments and gain the commitment they’re showing now
I mean they still gave up too much
Almost as if most of them only casually followed Utah and didnt understand why the Gobert centered defense was failing in the playoffs (spoilers, it was because of everyone else)
KAT is a completly different player. His defensive has obviously improved but his focus is sharp. Finally becoming the player we all knew he could be. Glad he made it through the really tough personal things he had to face
also ants been a1 since day1
What personal things?
@@davidhodgin8900family deaths due to COVID
@@Coolbrees24 yeah he lost quite a few family members to COVID sadly, in a short space of time too
@@MrSkeleton131including his *mother* 😢
It's often forgotten, but sometimes the key to getting to most out of a roster is just...players getting better. KAT and Ant are both visibly better this year than they were last year, that's just effort and coaching
also yeah not having Deangelo and replacing him with a vet defensive PG who knows Rudy
@@Sotanath86q so true people forget Conley and Gobert played together at Utah
It’s also building the defensive scheme to better suit the team. There’s a great article about it by Chris Hines from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Rudy Gobert and Elston Turner basically built the scheme. Part of it was asking for Rudy to do more to accommodate the strengths of the personnel - specifically how they “fly around” in coverage. I think Ant, Jaden, KAT, and the other younger players are more engaged in the defense because of how active they are in the scheme. Rudy has not only embraced it, he’s excelling in it. The talk of Rudy not being able to defend against switching or up in the perimeter does not jive with how he’s been performing this season. The entire team has been so fun to watch on the defensive side.
I honestly think this is the case. Last year was a wash due to injuries and key young players like Ant and McDaniel learning how to play team defense. Conceptually Gobert as your drop/rim defender works wonders IF its the *opposite* case of the Jazz. Being you get guys with length who can stick to their man at the perimeter and play their spots well. This season is the fruition of that promise. Gobert is still the same force as he was in the regular season last year. McDaniel and Ant are more focused defensively. KAT seems healthier and is playing that off-ball role and help defender. When its him and Reid on the floor the defense is just as solid with changed assignments as Reid can be the big who plays the screen defense.
@@MrSkeleton131 I don’t get how people can forget that it was just yesterday.
Rudy hittin the emote mid play sends me every time I see it
Nice call dude
Gobert fist pumping after the stop on Chet with the play still live at 7:26 is so funny to me
NAW is such an amazing defender and it’s crazy that we got him as a throw in for D’ANGELO RUSSELL😭😭
That's what most commentators miss. It's not like this team has the same roster from the beginning of last season. Conley and NAW are huge contributors. If they were on the roster the whole season, the Wolves would not have been a play in team.
NAW was a great player from the beginning. He had the potential but he lacked playing minutes.
@@TheKapei22 The issue is that he is pretty brutal on offense. His D was never in question
Tim Connelly proving to people that they didn't know what they were talking about. The vision was there. Props to the FO for understanding what KAT's capabilities are, why Rudy is a good pairing for him and why building a roster of size and length can work AND combat smallball, despite everyone calling them crazy
Props to Connelly to go and get Conley and Naw too.
Fr Tim Connelly is definitely worth the money, clearly proved he knows what he's doing, hopefully works in the playoffs as well!
TC seems to have built this team specifically to counter Denver.
As a Nuggets fan, it’s a real shame that the Wolves cannot financially keep this team together next season due to the Ant & McDaniels extensions & 2nd apron implications, real shame.
@@orangesodazz If the Wolves prove they can be contenders, the owners may pay the tax for 1-2 years. They said their main goal is to win and they were willing to pay big bucks to poach Connelly. Gobert's contract ends in 2 years, so they can renegotiate the deal and resign him for less to get under the 2nd apron then.
Naz will need to get paid big bucks when Rudy's deal expires. Naz can opt out after next season. His next contract should be around $25-$30M per year.
So this video aged very well with the Timberwolves up against the defending champs the Nuggets 2-0 in the 2024 Playoffs as I watched this. Good job! 😄😄
I think this is really about KAT. Gobert suffered because they asked him to do too many things at the same time. Now that KAT is engaged, Gobert can go back to being a proper defensive anchor
Oh definitely. He and Edwards plugging the leaks just makes Gobert, J-Mac, NAW, etc. that much harder to score on.
Isn't that all he's ever been, though, really? Cuz on offense he turns into Rudy Nowhere.
Gobert is useless in the playoffs and kat sucks at d....nuggets in 6 and clippers in 6 suns in 6 thunder in 6
@@razkable2-0 against the Clippers (including a 121-100 pounding in LA), 2-2 against OKC, and blew out Denver.
im so proud of being a T-wolves fan. AFTER YEARS OF MEDIOCRITY. If we can make it to the 2nd round ill be proud. If we make the conference finals I’ll count this season as a success.
Honestly this is the best Wolves *team* ever. When they were good for a bit with KG it was built on the back of a single player with a few complimentary pieces. This Wolves team has nine guys that could be starters. I don't expect any of them to win 6MOY because I don't know who our sixth man would be. Anderson, Reid, NAW are all contenders. Even down in the garbage time McLaughlin, Milton and Brown are rotation players on a lot of teams.
Considering what everyone thought the wolves would be, this season has already been a success! making noise in the playoffs would be a cherry on top
Then the guy you gotta watch for playoff growth is Edwards. The defense I feel is stable enough to be their identity. But some teams like the Nuggets will just find ways to score and you need someone who can be a walking bucket in those shoot outs.
@@t4d0Wyou ever watched Anthony Edwards in the playoffs?
@@Wooden_iguana14 Yeah and can you believe he can still get much better? Like an actual walking bucket that can't be denied because he's too fast and too big finishing at the rim?
7:15 the amount of times I've seen this clip, might be the defensive possession of the year!
It is so good. He's like a 1 man wrecking crew, guarded the perimeter, then the midrange, then helped at the rim and deterred a shot, then out in space again, then deterred another shot, then contested another midrange...all by himself. Like he guarded multiple players on his own...crazy.
It might not even be his best play this season! There are some ridiculous ones in the video.
Who’s here after game 1 vs the nuggets
Gobert being the butt-end of a million jokes about his defense in Utah is one of the widest misconceptions in history. Lots of people laid every single problem about Utah on him alone.
Yeah on him and not Mitchell for playing needless hero ball and the coaching and role players for their atrocious perimeter defense. It was very strange to watch
that Utah team had the worst perimeter defense of almost any team and people wondered why Rudy would get exposed having to defend 2-3 players at the same time
They would put 4 traffic cones out with Gobert, a team would stretch him out to the perimeter, then fans would wonder why Utah is giving up so many points.
Even the narrative that he’s a bad perimeter defender was absurd. He had one of the best fg% against on perimeter isos for a big in the league. I think guards were shooting like 25% with him guarding them.
Exactly!! I have gotten into sooooooo many CZcams comments section fights with people showing them how elite Gobert is as an offensive player and as a perimeter defender. I don’t know why people can’t see what’s plainly In from of their eyes, Gobert is one of the best players of all time. So unique and weird for sure. But he’s amazing.
People love to hate him cause he's not your charismatic superstar and the entire world loves to hate the french. In reality, he's just a different kind of defensive beast - the best of this era '
The city of Minnesota lmao
🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️
Stephen A doesn’t think before he speaks.
Tbf not saying it isn't quite a miss, but what other team uses the state instead of the city? Was Minneapolis Timberwolves too much of a mouthful?
@@user-go4lv4id9vUtah, Indiana, and Minny. There are 3. A “journalist” that covers the NBA should know that Minnesota is not a city.
It's an embarrassment for the city of Golden State
They gave Denver a hard time in the playoffs last season more than the Lakers. Hoping this team can have a solid playoff run.
They match up really well against Denver. But to be honest I think they're more likely to get eliminated in the first round than reach the finals.
@@Pigaroulettesyeah it’s all about matchups they’re the best matchup for Nuggets but against other teams I’m not sure
@@Pigaroulettesfirst round by who 🤣🤣🤣 we’re not scared of any team in the west as shown by our record lol
@@jotangs4311look at this guy. Literally the same energy with “we’re fine in the west”. Either bron, jokic, curry or luka will humble your azz
What about the Lakers, how much more likely are they to enter the playoffs, compared to the Wolves?
The trust and team communication is like the glue to the defense that was missing last year with virtually the same roster of players for the Wolves. Impressive turn around for a team after a first year of being excoriated by the media for the trade.
Not the same roster from the beginning of last year. Mike Conley makes the Wolves tick.
Minus Dlo, yall dont understand how much he was sabotaging us
Losing D'lo was a blessing, fetting Conley for him was a miracle. I'm sad we let Vando go as part of the deal but you need to make sacrifices sometimes. Getting rid of D'lo was worth losing Vando.
@@andrewstepanek8933 serious question, why does everyone like Jarred Vanderbilt so much? I'm new to basketball so still don't know that much, and I know that defensively he is rated to be pretty good, but from what ive seen this season his offense is pratically nonexistent. Does his defense make up for his offense?
@@RandomGuy-vo1muyou nailed it on the head. Having a big wing defender is key to making it far into the playoffs. Just to add to that his hustle not just on defense, but on offensive (offensive rebounds and loose balls) is also key in a playoff run.
Always have been a defender of GOBERTs skills even if the nba slanders him in utah
I read this like you were saying you were as good a defender as Gobert is. 😂
"it's like shoving a beach ball in to a coffee cup" might be the best descriptor of an elite defensive big man of all time.
It is beautiful to watch Timberwolves defense
The dlo trade single handedly saved the gobert trade. No idea why the jazz gave the wolves conley, NAW and 3 seconds 😅. Also mcdaniels is at least 6'10.
This is the key to the Wolves success!
@@ryanwall1780 Indeed! Conley is the straw that stirs the drink (shout out jim pete and grady 😁)
Weird how many people watch your videos and still don't understand a thing about defense. Their hatred for Gobert is stronger than their brain (which, to be fair, isn't that difficult).
Maybe in they really don't understand the basketball they are seeing. Especially when they still refer to players impact purely on numbers and not how they are playing as a group on defense.
Weird how someone makes a huge generalization about what complete strangers do or don't know about a sport based on one comment on CZcams, then insults them further to stroke his own ego (which, to be fair, is probably not that unusual for someone used to being the only one to stroke it, along w/ other things). You sound like Bill Simmons himself. Settle down, Beavis.
@@kevinlakeman5043 LOL don't over think it. If it isn't about you then there is no reason to behave like you have a stick up your ass.
I had a thought, that Gobert is the defensive mirror of jokic - one's the consecutive MVP winner, the other's DPOY. Both were criticised for lack of 2 way impact (jokic on defence and Gobert on offence) and saying that they can't win just via offence/defence and both are the system on the respective ends and were let down by their supporting cast in the playoffs.
...Yeah I know it's a stretch, but I like a good storyline so let me have it
As a novelist, I approve. And Joker proved them wrong...!
another point here is that Jokic is a little underrated on defense and Gobert is a bit underrated on offense too: Jokic may struggle with quicker, more athletic players at times but he has good basketball IQ, hand-eye-coordination, and timing to be at the right place at the right time most of the time and get deflections much more often than most fans would expect. Gobert is a non shooter who also doesn't create off the dribble and isn't regarded as a major post threat, but his screens are really effective and he basically finishes everything he catches within 5 feet of the rim, being really good at the things he CAN do means he's not a net negative on offense like all the casual fans suggest
Jokic is a massive body and smart player, he is way better than people give him credit for on defense. Just because he's not a high-flyer and blocking a lot of shots doesn't mean that he's bad on D. I mean just take the NBA's defensive rating average of 110.6... Jokic is consistently below this number every single year, with a career average rating of 107.4 which shows that not only is he not a bad defender, he's better than average. In fact, Jokic has never even had a single year above 110.6
This aged beautifully. Damn.
"Schedule have been soft"
Minnesota has the 8th highest SOS.
Yeah this month has been 16 straight teams of above .500 teams...
That stat deserves an enormous asterisk. Half the time we've played against teams above .500 they've had stars out.
Let's do that same statistic with only the first 30 games lol (wolves fan here)
our upcoming games are the ones that are tougher
@@bittypimp69We’ve had games with McDaniels out, Ant out or even both out but no one talks about that do they?
@@jotangs4311 Ant missed 3 games. McDaniels has missed more, but he’s not as critical to our team as Lebron is to the Lakers. Or Halliburton is to the Pacers. Or Irving is to the Mavs. Or Zion is to the Pelicans(twice). Or Butler is to Miami. Or Embiid is to Philadelphia. Or Morant is to Memphis(also twice). And that’s not an exhaustive list. Let’s just say the next dozen games or so are going to tell us a lot about this team. Or it won’t, if we keep inexplicably playing injured teams.
I could cry watching this analysis man, proud of my wolves rn and hoping we can make it to a good middle seed+ in the playoffs and hopefully take our first series in ages.
Loving the accountability that our teammates are playing with, being able to correct each other and call each other out to help each other is what it's all about
Love you showing their defensive communication!
Really glad Gobert is figuring it out with these other guys. I've always appreciated his skillset and work ethic as a Jazz fan.
Opening with the receipts was so cathartic for a long time Timberwolves fan. I love you guys, I love the wolves my life is excellent.
I actually tried to pull our own receipts, but Cody said he "loved the trade" on the podcast last summer when we broke it down.
@@ThinkingBasketball I saw the vision last year, and so of course told all my coworkers the wolves were going to be good. One very mediocre season later everyone thought I didn't know what I was talking about. I literally posted this video in the work group chat like 30 minutes after it came out, so I get the last laugh. Anyways keep being the best basketball analysts, and Merry Christmas.
Gosh I love defensive effort. Reminds me of old school ball where they go all out on offense and defense.
Watching the playoffs now and I gotta say good work covering their defence all season long
I appreciate good defense so I love these breakdowns you guys do. It's super interesting and informative.
8:23 omg that block is so nasty
This was awesome! I love the breakdown of the different coverages. Last year, they had to rely on the drop almost exclusively it seemed (Rudy knew what worked in Utah + Towns was injured + you had to hide D’Lo). It’s amazing to see them employ Drop, Level, Switching and Zone effectively. If they can continue this through the playoffs, it’s going to be very difficult for any team to get buckets.
Been loving the increased uploads! Keep up the great work Thinking Basketball Team!
Here after game 1 of the western conference semifinals. So far this video has aged VERY well
I once said on a CZcams comment section somewhere Rudy defense is the value of a 30 ppg scorer ( kind of a reach) but it stands. On jazz when ever teams kind of just play “5-out ball” they would just force Rudy to play perimeter instead having a clear defensive play, even last year twolves had defensive pieces to use but the chemistry wasn’t there yet, the only difference from this last year to this year is chemistry and effort especially more understanding of roles.
THANK YOU!! HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A WOLVES VIDEO
I love the way you make your videos you really make analyzing basketball enjoyable
This video has aged really well.
This man literally called it
Been waiting for your video on this for a while.
this the video we been waiting for 😮💨
Excellent content this Timberwolves team is gelling and working hard I just hope they stay with the effort .
@2:09 trust is key to having a good defense as you explained in a video about the warriors defense two years ago
Gorgeous to start this video with receipts. Hats off!
None of those takes were wrong at the time
Those takes can still be true if Minnesota doesn’t go on a run this year lol. They can’t keep this roster next year.
The biggest difference I see is that KAT has changed the mindset from "I have to score a bunch of points" to "I want to win basketball games "
He's legit actually leading by example, which is kinda what people always wanted from him
I don't think KAT was ever that type of player honestly, he was always lackluster on defense, yes, but he was a team first guy in all the years he's played.
No once did he complain about lack of touches, lack of scoring, coaching, teammates, or anything at all, but he always trusted what the front office gave him in terms of coaching staff and personnel, bought into whatever philosophy the numerous coaches brought to him and just trusted the process through and through
It’s because he accepted Edwards is the better player lol
@@MAppoloo Exactly. He'll talk big about his own game (thinking he's a real 'unicorn' type big and best shooting big) but even in some 'candid' podcast interviews, he was always team first. Even with the whole situation with Butler then which was definitely shaky. I think he's come to an understanding where he's good at and it took a whole different FO to also get to that. As well as getting a real difference maker in ANT to make him the real first option and having everything fall into place.
Nah he’s always wanted to win & been a team player the difference lies in the approach toward what maximizes the team’s chances of winning
Gobert dropping is basically a hedge an ice and a recover help. He does it all. It's so satisfying that another fanbase finally sees it. Even if its another small market like the "City of Minnesota"
thank you, Ben. Thank you. ❤
Vidéo sympa comme toujours, bonne année 2024.
Love these analyses :) I don't even watch basketball and I love your channel.
Amazing video, thank you very much!
great video. respect to Stephen A for his love for Minnesota City. Its a great place to live or visit and it deserves better than its gotten for sure.
What I really like about this team is that we can't point at one player that's the difference maker here. KAT's improvement on defense is applaudable, Ant is finally at that next level as a two way player and Rudy anchors it all. Plus their two tall wings McDaniels and Reid are wing depth stuff of dreams.
They got this much better basically without any personnel changes (Conley for Delo was in season). Just mindset, teamwork and health. All of last year's haters look really stupid right now.
4:30 communication is amazing 😮
Great video!
I did not know that Golbert was that good on Defense because most of the highlights are just blocks were he is standing still/relativly still. He is far more mobile than I ever thought. Kyle Anderson also looks like a Defensive beast (never seen him before) with exillent defensive footwork and hands.
great video, thank you
9:00 How has our schedule been soft? We 20 pieced the defending champions, swept Miami, beat Boston, beat Dallas, and beat OKC in a game that Ant got hurt and didn’t play down the stretch
I'd appreciate if you did an in-depth analysis of why the Pistons have struggled when/if their loss streak ends. I think it's even more intriguing to see what a team does wrong, than what they do right
Fast foward to the 2024 playoffs 😎
I was defending the Sabonis trade and the Gobert trade but I was always treated like a psycho lol
The Sabonis trade was a bad trade. They traded an all-nba caliber player for a non-shooting, bad defending center who got played off the floor by Golden State in the playoffs.
The Gobert trade was always fine, it was just a massive overpay - and still is. Minnesota has an extremely expensive roster right now with a bunch of good players…they should be good! They can’t keep this roster beyond this year so let’s see if you’re still dying on the hill of the trade a year from now when they’re not as deep and versatile.
Taking a victory lap on the Sabonis trade is laughable at this point, and the Gobert trade is still up in the air. They basically have this year to win a championship because they will have to re-tool the roster this summer to cut costs.
The Sabonis trade IMO cemented him being more important than Fox. It is very reflective on whose got the highest paid guarantees for the Kings payroll atm. Sure Fox has made big improvements on his offense and trying to become a bonafide two-way player. But he wouldn't enjoy the spacing and movement to attack the hoop in half court without Saba and moving shooters playing their game. Besides playmaking bigs are the meta to raising the floor of the offense even if they aren't reliable shooters. Many folks looked too much into the moving pieces of the Gobert trade and not Gobert himself along with the *core* of the young Wolves team. Most of those role players aren't even high impact guys on playoff teams last season. Beasley is seeing minutes now for the Bucks in the back court but he ain't seeing shit in the playoffs if they need to play defense. Hell last season was a testament of Gobert's regular season impact when the Wolves couldn't stay healthy but were still a play-in team. All while not having McDaniel in the playoffs vs the Nuggets.
Nice analysis,
Gobert has been by far the best defender in the league for nearly 10 yrs now. Not only is he a specimen born to lock down the post, he works his ass off every single possession, and his IQ is through the roof. Take all the counting stats and analytics out of the conversation; to understand Rudy's greatness, one must merely watch him.
Literally, next time you happen to be watching the Wolves play, when they are on defense, don't watch the ball, keep your eyes glued on Rudy.
You'll never catch him out of position or sleeping or ball watching. The dude knows exactly where he needs to be at all times and makes some of the quickest reads and reaction times you'll ever see
Which is why the Jazz defense was so great so long and why the Timberwolves defense is about to be great for so long. If you're practicing with this dude every single day, you cannot help but get better in defensive schemes and cohesion. "On Defense, Rudy is always right" is probably the best way to approach things. And clearly they have bought in.
Incidentally, on the offensive end, imagine being Anthony Edwards, or Donovan Mitchell for that matter. What a luxury it is to practice everyday against Rudy
One the Big 3 Celtics really screwed the league up with is big trades and super teams need to work immediately to be considered successful. Even LeBrons Heatles took a season to figure it out.
Underrated comment
This is such a disingenuous comment lol. There’s a huge difference between the Heatles who went 58-24 and made the finals, and the play-in Timberwolves who lost in the first round.
Granted there are levels but for the Wolves it was going to take time. They were dealing with injury issues (Kat, McDaniel in the end of the season), young players figuring out the defense with ANT, McDaniel and Reid. The whole roster construction needing to fine tune itself by the offseason. Outside of Conley the Wolves at 8 deep are tall *AND* know how to play it on defense. So its no surprise a year together later that this defense looks built for the playoffs as promised. So I always laughed it off when people want to blow things up after last year.
To piggy back to what others commented, I agree this video is less about Gobert and more about everyone else performing to the level of the vision of that defense. Ant and McDaniel got better and sharper as perimeter defenders. KAT I always believed in as a help defender but I like how he's bought in with his play. Even as a rim blocker when Reid is on the floor. NAW is another good wing to have as a body come playoff time. Because there will be matchups where Conley's size is a liability. But overall I feel this version of the Wolves defense certainly has the teeth to go after some teams in the first round. Hopefully they don't have to prove it in the play-in yet again.
I didn't like it when it first happened either but Rudy is sweet
People in the comments still talking crazy like it's last season. Minnesota got a good chance to go the finals this year.
I dont think they will because they never really went deep in the playoffs, they might need some more experience but I would love it if they did
Dont think theyre that good but they can a deepish run. Still need way more offensive firepower
@@jojoprocess2820 they have enough dude
Won’t even make the playoffs
@@nbajony17th best offense isn’t enough. They can get better sure but as of now they don’t.
Always love that clip of Rudy pushing Kyle and backing away.
This defensive masterclass Minnesota is providing this yeat marks a huge difference between the Utah days of Gobert. In on year only, the guards and Kat have made an impressive job to learn how to play defense around Rudy. That's why he's now in the DPOY discussion. Because everybody is doing his job, Gobert can be this defensive monster in the paint again.
Well done
Great breadkdown!
Nickeil is such a underrated defender
facts
Excellent video been with the Wolves since the start, still unreal for many of us, their D is amazing, who would of thought? Haha
next twolves/gobert video could you cover how Gobert's offense has been/is different this year??
also curious if as good as regular season Gobert is, do you think Gobert will get played off the floor in playoff crunch time?
Glad Rudy is doing well. And most of the former Jazz, for that matter. I really liked that Mitchell/Rudy/Conley/Ingles era.
I'm so happy Dlo is gone. I've always been a big fan of defense since I grew up watching KG in his prime and his transcendent defensive IQ and play.
So I've got mixed feelings about KAT. His defense in his first two seasons in the league was much better than it has been at any point since. So I'm convinced that it's an effort and desire issue with him on that end of the floor.p
This year he's decided to be more engaged on defense but it's still wildly inconsistent and you can find a handful of plays in every game where he loses interest. This might not seem like a big deal, but when the rest of the team is crisp with their switching and on point on contesting, he sticks out like a sore thumb.
KAT has been loyal to the team and all but if the Wolves don't get past the first round this season he definitely has to go while his stock is still high from being a perennial all-star. I would still trade him in all circumstances except if we make it to the WCF. If we do make it that far then of course we'd just run it back with the same roster. I'm sure we could fleece the Lakers for like Reaves and a bunch of picks while they desperately try to sacrifice their future for LeBron winning NOW.
So in short, get rid of KAT.
Length. Communication. Versatility. This Timberwolves team has all the characteristics of a unit that is almost impossible to score on at times. I also think the fact that they just don't ever have any weak points out on the court boosts their ability to get stops in a huge way. KAT's improvement this season made sure of that.
The Lakers have to hide Russell. The Bucks have to protect Beasley, the Hawks have Trae, and so on. Minnesota often has five average to above-average defenders out on the court and that ties everything together for them in a way that separates them from most other teams.
Russell on defense is less an issue with the Lakers and you could see it in the first 2 rounds last season. It was only against the Nuggets where they needed a different lineup to handle Jokic that he got less play time overall and in the last 2 games. But overall he can stand his ground defensively against the smaller lineup the Grizz and Warriors had. Beasley is certainly not seeing playoff minutes if Griffin needs defensive stops in the playoffs. Conley may see decreased minutes in the playoffs if he gets match up hunted. And some other big wing will play the end of 4th quarters on defense.
Jokic and crew will figure them out. Looking forward to the rematch.
If both squads are at full strength, that would be a great match up. Not going to be in the 1st round this year though.
As a huge nuggets fan, the wolves gave us a ton of problems with that lackluster roster last year missing McDaniels. I could easily see that series going seven games if they meet up fully healthy this year
@@daltongiddings2771its pretty overrated how much “problems” Minnesota gave Denver last year. They won one game, and Denver outscored them by 44 in the series.
@@Fent- this is what happens when you watch box scores instead of games. No hate, but if you watched the series you’d agree with what I said.
@@daltongiddings2771 I think there is truth about how 'Wolves gave nuggets in the playoffs' being exaggerated. It wasn't like the Nuggets didn't adapt well in that series either like they did to the rest of their opponents they faced all the way to the Finals. The saving grace was that Murray didn't have to go nuclear because much like in the Lakers series, there is no answer defensively when he's going 30+ ppg for the series. Plus the Lakers tried making it hard on him too.
They have look better this year we gotta see what they do in the playoffs
I would really like a video looking into the impact that Luka has on the Mavericks. The Mavericks look like a really solid team when he (and Lively) are playing but when Luka is out, it looks like the Mavericks would lose to the Pistons. I don't think I have ever seen a team be quite as bad without their star player as the Mavericks of the last couple years.
2005-2007 Lakers without Kobe 😱
You have lol. The warriors without curry are useless
An early Christmas gift that I never knew I wanted 🎁
Kat’s improvement on defense looks amazing this year, definitely a big jump from last year
nice work. But a discussion of the Wolves defense that doesn’t mention Nickiel Alexander Walker is incomplete.
heat wolves finals would be the greatest thing ever imo
Lol no it wouldn’t
That intro has already shown how badly those old takes have aged. Meanwhile, the Wolves' recent sweep against the team they struggled the most against in the regular season shows how well this take has aged. Let's see if this delicious 5-year-old aged cheese can turn into an even more delicious 10-year-old, or even 20-year-old aged cheese.
bro u makes me love basket not just understand it !
Gobert was blame if not escape goat in his stint in Utah, when it is clear that he is the last line of defense and that his team mates does not rotate well.
100%
Hell, that last line of defense was the Jazz's only line of defense with how bad their perimeter defense was.
all that said, i love that line up with sloomo starting over kat, the ball movement, versatility and defense looks better, kat is still the man though behind edwards
3:33 that steal was nasty
U call it mate , I oughtta give it to ya . Fair play innit
Talk about your reactionary video for the clippers
When OKC has success with Giddey being out of the starting line up I need you to make a video about the Josh Giddey problem OKC has
Edwards is the 'form of the wing defender' LMAO this channel rocks
Feel like iv heard this before when utah was the #1 seed, lets see when the playoffs start if the wolves are real or not.
People are definitely penciling this team in the WCF but they’re just better defensively than Utah mostly because they actually have other impactful defenders other than Rudy.
They only have the 27th ranked strength of schedule left, so they have had the harder part already.
They're in the midst of the harder part a 16 game streak of strong opponents, which they are currently 5-2 in I believe.
@@wolvesjr34 ^This guy knows Wolves basketball!
Australian Wolves fan since 1996... it's nice to be in an era where I'm no longer expecting the team to fall apart with a big lead or to get blown out if they give up a bad early start!@@paulm.e.mueller2903
I would love to see Wolves vs Nuggets in the WC Finals.
sometimes its as simple as 2 of your 3 best players really buying into the defensive end and being absolutely locked in. yes, having mike conley who’s basketball IQ is leaps and bounds higher than D Lo’s helps on every front but Ant got even better this off season and KAT looks like a totally different player. as just a neutral NBA fan, i hope minnesota can carry this into the playoffs because it’d just be cool to see the wolves make some real noise when it matters. their size presents a tough matchup for any team in the west, particularly the nuggets.
Yes.