Game #17, Road Game #8: Minnesota 89, Atlanta 90
Season record: 2-15
1. Brewer and Smith Lead the Paint Mob
After 10 pathetic quarters of play--from 1:25 to go in the 3rd against San Antonio until 1:34 to go in the 1st tonight--the Timberwolves found a pulse and fought to retain their diminishing fan base, clambering back from a 26-7 deficit only to lose on Joe Johnson's last-half-second jumper in what was arguably the year's most entertaining ballgame to date.
For Wolves fans, here are the stats that matter: 56 points in the paint. Eighteen rebounds for Corey Brewer in a game-high 44:17. Twenty offensive boards, 7 of them by Craig Smith. And a huge, as yet unposted plus-margin in second chance points.
Brewer is the king of second chance points, partly because his JV-caliber jumper snuffs so many first chances and partly because his hustle and hellbent for leather crashing of the boards--weakside, strongside, up the gut, it doesn't matter--enables him to grab so many balls and keep so many others in play. No other Timberwolf has snatched 18 rebounds (14 on the defensive glass) thus far this year, but on the downside, his 3-15 FG is likewise a pretty rare clang quotient for that many attempts. Brewer's 6 points came on a floor-length dribble and layup after grabbing a defensive rebound, a half-court dribble and layup after a steal, and a putback on the offensive glass. Total combined distance from palm to rim on those three buckets: Maybe 9 inches. Otherwise, he was 0-8 on jumpers, which makes him 3-7 on layups and tip-ins (or tip-outs).
But there are plenty of reasons to like having Corey Brewer on your team. First of all, his two glaring weaknesses--a horrendous jump shot and a scrawny physique--are among the easiest things for an NBA-caliber athlete to remedy in their early 20s. If he spends the next off-season or two pumping iron, pounding milkshakes and jackin' jumpers, he's going to keep getting better. Second, he's obviously been extremely well coached--a tip of the buzzcut to Billy Donovan. Tonight, Florida Gator Al Horford led the Hawks with a plus +22 in 35:19; Brewer led the Wolves with plus +9 in 44:17, and Chris Richard was plus +4 in 2:50. All play so hard as to appear reckless, and yet they all also play smart and unselfishly. Which brings me to Brewer's defense, which is very good both on the ball (provided he isn't up against a much larger veteran) and in rotation (especially when he covers for the Wolves' sliding bigs--despite going just a buck-85, he's comfortable mixing in the paint). Needless to say, this was Brewer's best game of the year.
By going 9-15 FG, Craig Smith actually lowered his shooting accuracy from the previous five games, when he was above 70%. It is a little disconcerting that Smith is thriving at precisely the time Al Jefferson is being increasingly dislodged from the paint and missing loads of bunnies when he does establish position. And, as is true with Brewer, the Hawks' plethora of large but undisciplined, scrambling 6-7 to 6-9 swingmen, works to his advantage--both Smith and Brewer thrive on the chaos of loose balls, be they tipped in the air or battered along the floor, and Smith especially knows how to exploit eager defenders.
But the rhino sobriquet fits Smith well. His nine buckets tonight went like this: Tip-in, layup, putback, baby hook, layup, layup, layup, layup, layup. Every single one of his 20 points were paint-oriented, including the two free throws (he's improving from the line, BTW). He and Brewer put in so much sweat equity tonight that it seems churlish to point out that the three members of Atlanta's starting frontcourt shot over 50% and got to the line 26 times (Brewer had 5 fouls, Smith 4, and Michael Doleac 5 in 17:04). The rhino and the gator greyhound are not optimal for stopping paint production. But tonight they dished it out at least as good as they received it, and almost led the Wolves to victory.
2. The Value of Jaric
After the Wolves sleptwalked through two consecutive losses, interim coach Jerry Sichting, searching for causes for the lack of intensity, asked rhetorically, "We don't miss Marko that much, do we?" On the basis of circumstantial evidence, Jaric is indeed a vital cog in this ballclub's motor right now. With the Lima-boned (sorry, couldn't resist) Serbian playing the best NBA ball of his life, the Wolves vanquished New Orleans, played Dallas tough, and led the Spurs in the first half. Then he turned an ankle and Minnesota collapsed: That ten quarter drought we opened this trey with corresponds almost exactly to the time Marko was on the sidelines.
Brewer will appropriately get the huzzahs and generate the warm fuzzies because he's a current rook and future bedrock, but Jaric was the Wolves' MVP tonight. His fabulous line--18 points (6-13 FG, 5-5 FT), 9 assists (albeit with 5 turnovers), 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and a plus +7 in 38:42 of a one point loss--wasn't even quite as good as his actual performance. The way he was setting up Jefferson, Brewer, McCants and Gomes in the first half, he should have had 12 or 13 assists easily. More importantly, the two things that have always plagued Jaric in the NBA--his ineffectiveness and then timidity about penetrating to the hoop, and his crunchtime nerves--are in the process of being rebutted. The key to Marko's resurgence this past two or three weeks has been his proclivity and prowess at getting to the hoop--and finishing. He's been more aggressive off the dribble than I've ever seen him, and yet it seems to have simultaneously enhanced his court vision, because he's dishing both off penetration and with pick-and-roll bounce passes, wrist-snap dishes to bigs in the paint and relays around the horn better than ever.
And tonight, he executed a coup de grace on that "choker" aura that has followed him around like a bad odor since his opening months at point guard seemed to conclusively demonstrate he was the anti-Cassell in the clutch. With the Wolves down a point with 20 seconds to play, Sichting calls a play out of a timeout that has Marko outfoxing Joe Johnson to get the feed off the inbounds and lay the ball in. After Josh Smith twirls for a banker to tilt the lead back to Atlanta with a hair more than seven secs to tick, Marko inbounds to Craig Smith, gets the ball back and drives the right lane, guarded from the foul line in by Josh Smith, who has 7 blocks on the evening already. Shielding Smith with his body, Jaric again lays it in with two seconds to play. If Joe Johnson doesn't hit that 16-footer with the buzzer going off, Jaric is in the headline of tomorrow morning's paper. For all kinds of reasons justified and not justified, he's been a special target of scorn for Wolves fans since soon after his arrival. I've done my share of ripping on the guy--and daresay I will again, in the not too distant future. All the more reason to give it up for him right now.
3. The Other Stuff
So how did the Wolves hawk up a 19-point deficit in the first 10 and a half minutes of the game? Sichting thought his best swingmen would be glue guys Gomes and Buckner. Nope. They were outhustled right to the bench--Gomes lasting 8:26 before departing at 21-7, Buckner staying two minutes longer for the full 26-7 nadir. Neither one returned. I don't know how badly the duo lagged in transition, but with 2:50 to play in the half, color commentator Jim Petersen said the Hawks had 21 fast break points and they finished the game with 26.
Along with the aforementioned Smith and Jaric, Michael Doleac provided a stolid low post presence at both ends of the court and seemed to help staunch the bleeding when he entered the game. Doleac and Mark Madsen are a bit of a push on defense (pun intended), with Madsen quicker and Doleac taller but both understanding help and switches and the need for a hard and/or strategic foul. The difference is that Doleac has a low-post game and can stick the little jumper if he has to.
And what of the 1-2 scoring punch of Jefferson and McCants? Well, Jefferson's shooting slump continues--he was 8-25 FG tonight and many of those misses were automatic buckets in the first few weeks of the season. The longer this bricking continues, the more I'll suspect that his knee bruise is more harmful than anyone is letting on. For whatever reason, he doesn't seem to be in rhythm, and looks both slower and less crafty than usual around the hoop--he owned Al Horford in their first meeting and that certainly wasn't the case tonight. He's also getting pushed out of his favorite spots more easily--it feels he's put up more jumpers from 12-feet and beyond during the past three games than in the Wolves' previous dozen combined--and with a marginally better percentage. It is his bread and butter stuff in the paint that is suffering. Oh, and if Jeff goes 75% from the line instead of 1-4 FT, Minnesota wins tonight.
McCants is the enigma, the talent that isn't mixing. Coming off the bench, he bombed in a couple of treys that first kindled the notion that the Wolves might actually have a hope of surmounting that 19-point disadvantage. But even with Buckner getting himself banished from Sichting's rotation for the night, Shaddy only logged 17:33, pushed aside by the success of the backup-point backcourt of Telfair-Jaric and Brewer's Chinese fire drill heroics (did I mention Corey also had 4 steals, and that plus +9 in 44:17 means the Wolves were minus -10 in the 3:17 he sat?). One disturbing note is that even when McCants is not gunning (he was 3-6 FG, 3-3 FT tonight), his natural wont is to hold the ball and study his options before furthering the play. It's like having the sniffles while singing in a barbershop quartet (or in this case quintet)--not always ruinous but disruptive and of petty annoyance to the overall blend and musical rhythm. And since McCants has not been especially brilliant on defense or in taking care of the ball, he is slowly playing himself out of the mainstream of the Wolves' grand plan for progress. On the other hand, his three buckets--those flammable treys and a nifty 4th quarter move when he split the coming double team and slashed to the hoop for a layup + one (which he converted)--again demonstrate that McCants is the team's premiere scoring threat on the perimeter by a wide margin. Not only is the jury still out on his future, the defense and the prosecution are both making compelling arguments.
Being in street clothes due to a bum ankle didn't prevent Antoine Walker from slapping palms, barking advice into players' ears during timeouts, and otherwise performing as a more sage, more subdued Mad Dog on the sidelines.
Twice in the last 46 seconds of the game, one of the Wolves' bigs heatedly called out one of the point guards for not getting them the damn ball when they had great, relatively unfettered positon in the paint. First it was Al Jefferson yelling at Telfair with 46 seconds to go; then Craig Smith let Jaric have it with 20 seconds left. This is both a good and a bad thing. You want your big men not only demanding the rock with the game on the line, but knowing they've earned it and (correctly) thinking that's the identity the team wants to establish. You don't want that desire to spill over into potentially hurtful bickering when the game's in the balance, however. Understandable though it may be, Jefferson and Smith need to stow the seething and grow up a little.
Great Win by the Wolves tonight! Looks like we found our 8 man roster. 5 words: play Brewer, play Craig Smith
By the way, as fun as the game was, did anyone else notice that only one celtic was playing well. This hustle team could have been alot of fun (especially on defense!) if Garnett was still around. I think everyone would have had alot of fun with the product had we still been able to lose Blount and Davis for Walker.
Of course, McHale wouldn't be worshipped right now by all of New England. SImmons said it best: "My NBA guide claims that McHale retired from the Celtics in 1993, but apparently that's a misprint."
I said the same thing in the offseason and I still believe it. Why couldn't they have dumped the same bad contracts in the offseason and swung some of those expirings (Howard/Walker = $16mil) for more talent next summer? Yay rebuilding. So much fun!
They fought, that's all I need to hear for now
Wow, I'm glad I was only able to catch the second half of last night's game or I probably would have shut it off (though I doubt I'd have the strength to turn away).
First off, I totally agree that Brewer had a monster game. 44 minutes! 18 boards! 3-15 FG! But I've always thought his handle needs work as much as his shooting, and often leads to tentative/deferential decisions with the basketball. Craig Smith also has finally showed up to play - he's looked great the last few games.
But as for Jefferson's problems, I think that once Theo was out of the picture, we've allowed ourselves to be "figured out". First of all, Al is spending WAY too much time at center (click my name for 82games link). And the production between those two spots is night and day - Jefferson outrebounds his PF counterpart by almost 10 boards (over 48 mins.), and holds his opposing PF to an effective FG percent of 47. When matched up on the center? Jeff is outrebounded and opposing centers shoot an effective FG percent of 63.
It's really disturbing to me because it means my favorite player (Craig Smith) is logically the man to squeeze for minutes. Since Al is our best player, but only best when he has a true center at his back, we cannot afford a luxury like Craig's rebounding and putbacks at the expense of perimeter D, at least most of the time. Walker and Jaric have been the two best surprises on this team this year, and they've gotta compete for minutes with Cookie Monster? Say it ain't so!
My hope is that adding Foye to the mix just gives us another ballhandling option in case Walker or Jaric aren't playing well. I think his knee is being re-tested on Monday?
Hey I think you might be on to something. Everyone always said AJ was not gonna be a real center but I guess I forgot. You're probably right.. Again, let's hope they get a good center to pair with aj (at 4 or 5 in case the pingpong balls are bad or somewhere else if they don't)
It's foolish to assume guys like Brewer and Foye are going to become above average jump shooters in this league just because they are young and have time to practice. In many cases, you're either a shooter or you're not. If it was so easy to get better, why aren't guys like Jaric, Hassell, Anthony Carter and Telfair nailing jumpers at an impressive clip? I'm pretty sure they've all spent hella time in the gym shooting jumpers. The truth is this team is starved for shooters, which remains the major problem it's been the last several years.
Jim--
Do you seriously think that players don't improve their field goal percentage after their rookie year? How about these field goal percentages:
Kobe rookie 41.7% career 45.3%
LeBron rookie 41.7% career 46.4%
Nash rookie 42.3% career 48.5%
or let's take three players more directly comparable to Brewer.
Josh Howard rookie 43% career 44.8%
The other two, Raja Bell and Bruce Bowen, are remarkably similar in that their raw FG% hasn't grown much, but that's because they shoot a far greater percentage of treys than they did when they first came into the league, and are thus much more efficient (as in pts per shot) scorers:
Since both had very limited minutes their "rookie" seasons, I am taking their first full year, when they had more than 300 minutes of playing time.
Bell first full year 42.9% FG 27% 3FG career 43.6% FG 41.1% 3FG
Bowen FFY 40% FG 34% 3FG career 41%FG 39% 3FG
Yeah, AC and Telfair never got better and are perhaps bad shooters. But you fell into a common wrong stereotype on Hassell:
Hassell rookie 42.5% career 44.8% (and 49% last year with the Wolves)
And Jaric follows the Bell/Bowen pattern of holding his normal FG% (40.1% as a rookie, 40.7% for his career) while improving from beyond the arc (31.9% rookie, 34.1% career).
If you're going to dispute what I write, read it first. I never said, let alone assumed, that Brewer and Foye would become "above average jump shooters"--all I said was that Brewer would get better at it. And that's practically conventional wisdom--players sharpen their shooting eyes after gaining experience in the league.
Finally, being "starved for shooters" is hardly "the major problem" for this ballclub. The Wolves currently rank 17th in the NBA in FG% (12th from beyond the arc)--and next to last in opponent's FG%--so I'd guess stopping other people's shooters is "more major."
Aren't you the guy who was caustically ripping on people's optimism during comments after the last trey? Ragging on a 2-15 ballclub is the easy part. Coming up with original and specific analysis that holds up to scrutiny is obviously not quite so automatic for you.
I think you misinterpreted/overreacted to my post. Let me try to clarify what I meant.
First, you're absolutely right that most players will improve their shooting, I should have clarified I wasn’t directly calling into question what you wrote. Brewer will get better but the question I meant to ask is whether he will ever become great or even above average. That's debatable and important because two of the supposed "cornerstone" guards of the future on this team aren't naturally great shooters.
And I never said shooting was the Wolves biggest problem, just a major one. If the franchise ever wants to make it back to the playoffs, they better get some guys who are reliable outside shooters because Brewer and Foye may never be.
Secondly, I'm not sure I understand you’re point about Hassell. The vast majority of the time he's been a non factor offensively. It's true his field goal percentage isn't that bad and has improved over his six years in the league but you've got to factor in his attempts and the fact opposing teams often ignore him on defense, leaving him wide open lanes to the basket or ridiculously open jumpers on the rare occasions he actually shoots the ball. Hassell is well-known as a largely one-dimensional player and I assume most Wolves fans expect Brewer to be more than a rich man's Hassell.
Third, I think ripping me to shreds for not digging up stats to back up my observations is taking this blog a little too seriously. The Wolves are 2-15 and one of the many reasons why is that, yes, they don’t have enough above average jump shooters. I don't think many people would disagree with that.
Jim--
Let's take these one at a time.
To set the context, I wrote that "Brewer's two glaring weaknesses--a horrendous jump shot and a scrawny physique--are among the easiest things for an NBA-caliber athlete to remedy in their early 20s. In the next off-season or two if he keeps...jackin' jumpers, he's going to keep getting better."
You commented: "It's foolish to assume guys like Brewer and Foye are going to become above average jump shooters in this league just because they are young and have time to practice. If it was so easy to get better, why aren't guys like Jaric, Hassell, Telfair and Anthony Carter nailing jumpers at an impressive clip? I'm pretty sure they've all spent hella time in the gym shooting jumpers."
It sure sounds like you were making a specific response to that specific point I made--only you were calling me foolish for assuming something I didn't assume. And when I rebutted the point, you accused me of misinterpretation/overreaction. But then you say I didn't misinterpret you at all; and concede that you need to clarify the question you wanted to ask in the first place. And that question is whether I think Brewer will become "great or even above average"--as I shooter, I assume you mean. No I don't; and I don't think any reasonable person would suppose I did by what I wrote. Nor did any other commentator make that claim--the biggest booster of his shooting, Cornelius, specifically says "I'm not saying he's a great shooter." So you are calling some straw man "foolish," and that kind of laziness doesn't fly here.
That's equally true when I'm the one being lazy. Which is what happened when I read you saying that shooting was "the major problem it has been for the last few years." I just read "the major problem" and jumped to the conclusion that you were calling it THE major problem, without comprehending the rest of the clause. My apologies for the overreaction.
You say you don't understand my point about Hassell. Well, first of all, you are the one who raised his name, in the context that he isn't "nailing jumpers at an impressive clip." Right, because he often defers his shot, as we both agree. But I think Hassell is frequently mischaracterized as not being able to nail his shot. And because my original point--that Brewer could improve the accuracy of his horrendous jumper by jacking j's the next two off-seasons--was the place where you brought up Hassell, I assumed you were mischaracterizing him in the same way. So I went with Hassell's FG% numbers in rebuttal. Understood?
You criticize me for "ripping" you "to shreds" for not backing up your assertions with evidence, and then accuse me of taking my own blog too seriously! Yeah, guilty as charged. When some yo-yo comes in one day and calls people pathetic for their optimism and passion for the local NBA squad and then comes back the next day and calls me and others foolish for something we never said or assumed, I tend to look for a little substance behind the rhetoric. And when I don't find any, I get testy. But even when I'm being friendly, I take this site seriously. We talk hoops here in what I always hope will be a passionate, meaningful and relatively erudite way. That's the standard. If it doesn't correspond with your stereotype of a lowly blog, well, you're the outlier, pal.
Finally, you strip everything down and conclude with the statement that the Wolves are 2-15 because of a paucity of above average jump shooters. Well, yeah, as you concede, that's fairly conventional wisdom. And believe it or not, me and folks here at this, this, blog, usually like a little bit more than that if somebody's going to be carrying an attitude with them through the door.
I don't think this is a "lowly" blog. It's great and a lot of fun, that's why I read it. Sorry for offending you, the last thing I wanted to do was insult the blog, just trying to have a little argument fun, not going for a hard-core fight here. If I have a point to make in the future I'll try to make it more clear than I did. I'll be back, not going trough the door.
Classy response. It was the end of a tough week and I was a jerk about it. Thanks for coming back.
From TrueHoop:
From 2000 - 2007 I played 7,905 minutes in 415 games. During that time I shot just 55 three-pointers, and made a measly 14. That's a rate of one made three-pointer every 565 minutes, while making 25%.
This season I have played 459 minutes in 19 games, but have shot 15 for 40 from downtown. That's 39% shooting, and a made three every 31 minutes. Who am I?
...Eduardo Najera.
Antoine Wright is another young player who has improved his shot and shot selection.
I'd also like to point out that shooting percentage is also very dependent on point guards (and other players who set up teammates well), and style of play. There's a reason that everyone wants to play with guys like Kidd and Nash, and there's a reason that Garnett's FG% is through the roof this year...
For example, in 3 years a good shooter like Antawn Jamison went from the Warriors (47% FG, PG was Arenas), to the Mavs (53.5%, PG Nash), to the Wiz (43.7%, PGs Arenas/Hughes). I like Gilbert, but he's not exactly what I'd call a set-up man. And Najera, mentioned above, shot the ball very well (albeit somewhat infrequently - he's more of an energy guy) with the Mavs for a few years, then shot 40 percent with the Warriors and was traded midseason to the Nuggets, where he shot 50 percent for the rest of the season.
The Wolves' closest thing to a set-the-table PG was Cassell, and his ability to knock down a three and play the high-screen game with KG opened up our other options.
My point is that we have no PG who is capable of hitting our players in when they are open enough for a high-percentage jumper. Instead, guys are covered and shoot anyway - it's what you're taught to do when coming off a screen - there's not time to think. Maybe we don't need it if we're going to dump the ball to Al and Craig all season? Anyway, I don't think it's a strength of Foye's, tempering my optimism on his return.
I'll look for the link later, but there's a cool urban legend about Steve Nash - apparently he has a history of setting up his poor-shooting teammates with slightly "off" passes, so his teammate would catch the ball, but would not be in a position to attempt a clean shot and would have to pass it.
Brewer's shooting problem is that he is hurrying his shots. While his RPM registers incredibly high, he shouldn't forgo the mechanics of his shot especially on open J's. Trim the RPM down a notch to regain timing when putting the shot up.
The past two outtings, I've been treated to just what appeals to me most about Corey's game: the rim-to-rim play. I suspect Horford has experienced Corey's rim-to-rim and tipped off his Hawk team mates. That is when Corey had the good sense to dish when approaching the Hawks basket.
Read that Shaddy had a ominous pain in his repaired knee. I sincerely hope that is all that it is.
I have to agree with CA here - except I'm going to go farther - I am going to go out on a limb and say that Brewer deserves to be called a good shooter. Not a great one, but a good one. (And I'm writing this right after the Phoenix game...in other words my last impression of him is that airballed jumper from just outside the FT line with about a minute left.)
Probably no one will read this because another game has been played, so I'll elaborate after Britt's next post, if you'll all indulge me...
Who knows if Brewer will ever develop a shooter's touch? I really doubt it. Do we really need a non-shooting rookie to take 15 shots? And while it'd be nice to see him develop the touch, we don't need him for that, and didn't draft him for that. One, he's a rookie. Two, his game seems to be best suited for running the court, being active, working hard on the boards and D, and getting points whichever way he can. Three, I'm more concerned with our other "shooters": gimpy McCants (if it's not in his knee, it's in his head), Jaric (confidence head case, although he's showing some spark), Telfair, Foye (although he seemed to look OK last year, especially for a rookie), and the rest of the lot. So, let's get what we can out of him in this losing season while he develops, and put the other guys under the microscope.
Incidentally, Corey's shooting percentages in college were fairly impressive.
2005-2006: 171 FG, 365 FGA = .468
2006-2007: 169 FG, 356 FGA = .474
I know, I know, this is college but shooting is still shooting.
The future is what it is, so who knows with any certitude where Brewer's shooting with go. My point is that Corey is making the adjustment to the pace of the NBA, which he describes as everyone works at a faster pace.
Given that it is to Brewer's advantage to out speed his opponent, he has a tendency to be all arms and legs with limited control. This carries over to his shooting technique.
The shop worn adage in basketball is to use your speed but once you face up for the open shot, slow down and use the mechanics you use when you perfect your shot during practice.
If you watch Corey, the reason why J-Pete says his shot seldom takes the same form is because he rushes his shot.
I don't have the stop motion evidence to prove it, but my eyeballs say that analysis of his jump shot is right on the money. He looks like young Rodman until he puts on weight or makes jump shots. It's hard to think 15 shots from Brewer is good basketball. Maybe someone can think of a player who plays crazy and then slows down for his jump shots. It would boost my confidence for the future.
It's a little misleading for some to compare his shooting percentage in college to what it is now. We can tell by looking at his shot that his early career technique won't translate into nearly 50%FG shooting. His college numbers are boosted by putbacks, fast breaks, and other shots with a release point eight inches through the rim. I don't know if he can get those shots in the NBA, but he needs either those or a jump shot to be helpful on offense. Even without, it's unbelievable that the guy shooting 3-15 would have been the game's hero had they eked out the victory.
I wonder if Brewer is one of those guys who needs a dribble to get into the rhythm of his shot. You see this a lot with college swing men. They play in a motion offense and they aren't on the receiving end of too many plays that call for them to catch and shoot without a dribble. If the Wolves are going to run a low post offense, Brewer is going to have some open looks around the 3 point line where he won't be able to dribble into his shot. Regardless, he needs to spend the summer shooting 3s in front of a ladder. Catch and shoot; straight up and down.
I think he'll improve his shooting this year and will be hitting 40% from the floor in March (probably not cumulative). He can improve that number with shot selection alone and I think it's obvious that he's one of the best coached and smartest b-ball IQ guys on the team.
Though he was plenty good on the catch-and-shoot 3s in the NCAA tournament last year - in the SEC tourney too.
I think something that was lost in all of this was that the Atlanta game was the best coached game of the year. Jerry Sichting was quick to recognize his early lineup mistakes and he adjusted the offense in the 2nd half to take advantage of Atlanta's indifference to Brewer's shooting abilities. The Wolves ran the same 1/2 court set the entire 2nd half; high pick, big man shoots to the low block, point clears the pick and either drives to the rim or passes down low. Either way, Atlanta collapsed into the lane with little discipline and Brewer was free to attack the lane without a body on him. It was the best looking basketball of the year for the Wolves.
What do you think are the chances of seeing a Telfair, Jaric, Brewer, Smith, Jefferson starting lineup on 70's night against Phoenix?
I know you haven't called for Sichting to replace Wittman, I am just anticipating the inevitable. I can hear it Mr Fun and Barreiro rousing the crowd, already?
S&P
I think Sichting did all right, but best coach game of the year? It sounds a little like those calling for Gus Frerrote to replace Dante. How do you make that judgement?
What about the defensive assignments on Atlanta's last two offensive sets? Could that have been better coached?
as always players either make coaches look like idiots or geniuses. I am just not sure if Sichting did anything different than Wittman would have done given the injury situation and matchups.
I agree with S&P - this was the best coached game of the year, and I don't think it is at all an overstatement to say that.
Exhibit A: Sicthing found what was working in the game and stuck with it. He played the guys who earned their minutes and who gave the most energy and production while on the floor. Rather than returning to Buckner and Gomes to start the 2nd half because they had started the game, he kept the same lineup that had played so well in the 2nd quarter out there and they rewarded him for it.
Exhibit B: He got the most out of McCants without letting him torpedo the offense for the Wolves. That may just have been the luck of his jumper falling tonight, but in limited minutes Rashad had a good game without being allowed to take over.
Exhibit C: He sat Jefferson down in the 3rd quarter to take a breather so that he could play the whole 4th quarter instead of the normal pattern where he sits out the beginning of the 4th, which is when games normally begin their slide away from the Wolves. If Jefferson had shot better in the 4th (or just made his free throws), this strategy would have looked even better.
Exhibit D: Even though you could argue that Buckner should have replaced Telfair on the final two defensive plays, it's hard to argue that the coaching or even the execution on Bassy's part were much to blame. On both plays, Smith and then Johnson took tough, contested shots, and they just made them. That does happen in the NBA despite the best efforts of the defense sometimes.
Now, is Sichting really some genius coach? Probably not. He might have just gotten lucky, but at least it seemed like he used some common sense in deciding who to play and what plays to run, something that I haven't generally seen out of Wittman.
Oh no, I like Wittman a lot; I think he does a good job and I'm in no way calling for him to be replaced. This was just a really solidly coached game.
Sichting put the right combinations on the floor after he sent Buckner and Gomes to the bench and he identified and stuck with a 1/2 court set that Atlanta simply couldn't get their heads around. I don't know if this was different than Wittman and I'm not so sure that it matters if it is. This was the first time all year I've watched a victory and said to myself, "the coaching staff really turned around a bad effort by putting the right players in a position to succeed." I think that's the right cliche.
As for the last 2 defensive sets, the Smith shot came off of a block and Telfair just happened to be in the area where Smith ended up with the ball after it was blocked (another reason why blocked shots are overrated.) The Johnson shot was a fall away from 18 feet with Telfair in his face. The Wolves were set up exactly where they needed to be. Bassy didn't rotate off of Marko's guy quick enough and Johnson got just enough room for the winner....fading back and to the right. For $14 million/year, Atlanta can have that win.
It seems like the best 123 lineup for the wolves is telfair, jaric and brewer. It creates chaos that jaric and brewer especially thrive on, and given that we go into every game with a talent deficit, we need it to frustrate our opponents and sneak out some wins. I'm a little worried about when our injured players get back. Even though Foye has a better chance of guarding Smith and Johnson on those last two plays, he won't be able to push the pace like telfair, and that pace seemed necessary during the last three quarters. Also, what happens with 'Toine? He is our most veteran, controlled and timely player (I still can't believe it) and should be on the floor if we want to win some games, but he either squeezes out one of our 2-3s that nearly won the game last night or he pushes Jefferson to center, which has been negatively analyzed in previous posts.
Midlife,
Last night was a good game for the Wolves and Bassy has definitely shown himself to be another valuable piece in the trade next to Jefferson. But, lets not get carried away. The Wolves are still 2-15 without Foye in the lineup. Foyes return has to strengthen this team and give them a better chance to win. Last night, the pace was pushed as much by Jaric and Brewer as Bassy. I doubt that Foye's return slows the Wolves down, although it might give the half court sets more structure with him setting up the offense. Foye and Jaric worked well together last year and I think their chemistry will continue to develop once he returns. Bassy will still get most of the minutes backing up Foye and Jaric will probaly solidify his minutes as the starting guard alongside both of them - McCants getting minutes when Jaric needs rest. I think Brewer may be making his case for the starting small forward and Jefferson did fine at the 5 spot last night with Smith alongside him. Doleac, Madson and Walker rotating between Smith and Jefferson should give the team some options in the front court.
Gomes and Buckner are going to have to earn their spots back into the rotation somehow.
I agree with Andy B that Buckner should've been on the floor for defense at the end. Use the right tool for the job. Right now, we just need a win, any win. It doesn't matter who's on the floor at the end to celebrate it. But, at least it was an entertaining game. Who would've ever thought to say that about a game against Atlanta in December? Take what you can get, I guess.
To my mind the best thing about this game (and I think it is a great thing, I'm pretty ecstatic right now) is that the Wolves have found a rotation: Jaric, Brewer, Telfair and McCants on the perimeter (with Foye when he gets back); Doleac, Jefferson and Smith on the inside. Last night was amazing - you could actually see these guys start to gel right at the beginning of the third (or arguably some time in the 2nd) - it's great when that happens to a team. Brewer coming out of his shell is such great news for this team, because he's such a glue guy - does precisely those things that allow a team to gel - good passer, good defender (his game is similar to and yet compliments that of Jaric), smart. These guys all played wonderfully together (would have won had they not dug themselves such a big hole), you have to be happy if you're a Wolves fan - I think this could mark the turning point of the season. (Not that they'll win 50 - but who cares? - last night they actually started to become a *team*.)
Britt, 2 slight disagreements: I think Brewer's jumper is better than you are making it out to be. He shot very well for Florida much of the time last year, especially when it counted. I know the NBA's different, and I'm not saying he's a great shooter, but I think the mid-range jumpers will start to fall now that he's worked himself into the lineup (how can they not play him after this?) - the shot is sometimes the last thing to come when you're in the process of gaining confidence.
Also, didn't you think Jefferson was much more effective in the 2nd half? I'd say the first half was worrying, while the 2nd half assuaged these worries. Probably a question of rhythm: as the team starts to play better, so does he. Had he had more touches (and I think you're right, he should stop berating the guards: Atlanta's front court guys are long and quick, a few times in the 2nd half the guards simply couldn't get it to him despite their best efforts), his 2nd half numbers would have been even better.
Finally, re: McCants: I think the Wolves *need* him, as the only consistent perimeter scorer; the good thing is, the games of the other perimeter guys compliment his very well (their slashing and good passing will open up shots for him)...frankly I think he'll develop a real chemistry with Jaric/Brewer/Telfair: you don't have to jack up shot after shot if you have confidence that your teammates will get you the ball when you're open.
Sorry about the length of this post, I'm just really excited about the game!
Cornelio--
Don't worry about the length. This is the gravel pit of sports blogs. Commenters stop by because they--as Dylan sang in "From a Buick 6"--"need a dump truck to unload my head."
But you've driving with rose-colored spectacles on. Jefferson wasn't that much better in the second half--5-13 FG after going 3-12 FG in the first half. When you're a low-post player, that isn't a good percentage.
As for Brewer, not only is his form kinda funky, but he needs time to get his feet set and square himself up--those split seconds are much less prevalent in the NBA. He was shooting 33% from the field before last night (25-75). Playing more certainly didn't improve things vs Atlanta, dropping him down to 31%. Will he get better, even this year? Yeah, probably. But he could shoot 37%, 39% and still accomplish that.
Finally, don't forget the personnel on the opposing team. Matchups are the first thing you notice in an NBA game and the Hawks are a good fit to enhance Brewer's skill set.
What's worse is that Al was 2 of 7 with at least one turnover in the 4th. That was basically the game breaker. Marko was hot, Smith was hot, and we kept giving it to Al so he could clang 6 footers.
Perhaps the other guys should have been yelling at Telfair too... for giving Al the ball too much.
Britt, I am glad you are starting to take Jefferson to task. Not only has he been playing like shit for the past week, but he's been getting too much of a free pass on this blog all season, and he hasn't earned it.
I can only tolerate him being a complete black hole on offense as long as he's shooting at least 50%.
I agree that Jefferson looks a little slow and he struggled with his shooting last night. Still, a mark of a good player is hitting shots when they matter and the 20 footer that he made to put the Wolves up by one with a minute to go was a thing of beauty and shows hes a gamer even on his off-nights.
That shot was way beyond AJs range, and he shot it out of anger. I noticed in the replay that AJ turned around and intentionally left Telfair hanging on the high five. Then he laid into him at the other end of the court, loudly, with the game hanging in the balance.
Gamer? Taking a shot you have (maybe) a 20% chance of making out of frustration, then berating your teammate in front of everybody? Had McCants pulled that we'd be calling for his head.
If I recall right, he shot it not out of anger but because there was 1 second left on the shot clock. I could be wrong, but that's my recollection.
Yeah,
I tend not to notice all that stuff either with McCants or Jefferson until it becomes glaringly obvious such as Ricky Davis last year. McCants often gets typecast as a thug for his facial expressions on the court. I don't know the guy, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt until it become too obvious to ignore. It may have gone down exactly as you say. Or, it may have been Jefferson's way of celebrating. I have no idea.
So far, from what I can tell, this group is sticking together through some difficult growing pains. From the television, I think we all reach too greatly to try and decipher players emotions and what they are saying to each other. Jefferson may have been simply giving Telfair a teaching moment in an animated way. The same with Jaric and Smith. Who really knows.
What I do know is that Jefferson's shot way out of range had a really nice stroke and follow through. Looked like he had been shooting them all his life. set, shoot, swish and with a hand in his face. From my spot on the couch I rose with a beer in hand and said, "Yeah, AL, My man." That's the only conversation I was privy too.
I too am becoming a little annoyed with Big Al. It may be that his injury is hampering him. But before he got injured he was bad on defense. In fact, laste last year, after a good spurt of defensive play, Doc said to him in the huddle: "Great defense, Al!" Then he paused and said: "I think that's the first time I said that to you all year."
At the PF position you can't have that. I can tolerate shots not going in as long as they are taken in the flow of the offense. But in Al's case, he berates Bassy for not getting him the ball, when it seems like it's all Bassy has been doing lately. His assist numbers have been down because Al isn't converting.
Another problem is when he gets the ball early in the shot clock he seems in decisive. He holds onto it for 5 seconds or so plotting his move. This allows the defense to start to collapse in on him.
Then he makes a lazy pass back out to Bassy who is then expected to feed the post again so we can all be treated to another Tim Duncan wannabe moment. What he needs to do is take the feed, and if he can't make a move to the hoop within 2 seconds kick it back out and let the guard make the play.
I agree that he's a lot like McCants in this sense. Bassy, for all his improvement, has been showing a tendency as of late to dribble himself into bad spots on the perimeter instead of just going to the paint and either taking it all the way or finding somebody, like he had been doing. I make no bones about the fact that he's my favorite player, but this purposeless dribbling could soon start to irk a lot of people who have been giving him the benefit of the doubt.
My point is that Al is not yet the superstar his body language would indicate he thinks he is. Yes, he should get a lot of touches, but he's gotta do a better job with the rock. And he's absolutely not earned the right to scream at teammates on the floor.
Not even a year ago, people were questioning his toughness, heart and work ethic and I'd say about 2/3 of Celtic Nation wanted him gone. He changed people's perceptions over the course of the season, but it was just one season. He needs to string a few more of those together before he gets all Jordan on people.
During the Lakers game, the camera went tight on him during a break in the action. He was shaking his head and had this look on his face like "Why should I have to play with these terrible motherfuckers?" The press clippings have gone to his head. He has talent and could be great, but he's played big minutes and has put up some real stinkers lately. The 2-15 record is as much on him as anybody else.
Sorry, one more quick thought: I wonder how much of the team's gelling (is that a word? are you gellin'?) has to do with Sichting letting them play and find their own rhythm - in contrast to Wittman's micro-managing. I hope I'm wrong here, I probably am.
Count me as one that thinks Sichting did a better job. Doleac did exactly what he was supposed to do out there, using his fouls up and making the east shots. He's the best center we have without Ratliff and I'm mystified that he has been on the bench all this time. Especially because all the advantages our best player gives us evaporates when he plays out of position. (Is this still leftovers of having a PF for 12 years that could play many positions well?)
It was an entertaining game to watch and it is too bad they did not come away with a win.
Marko was great on the defensive end as well, tipping passes and getting steals. He and Brewer can create a lot of havoc away from the ball. I enjoy watching them together. I love the lineup of Telfair, Jartic, Brewer, Smith and Jefferson when they were together last night.
Telfair continues to play well also. What is unfortunate were the last two offensive sets run by Atlanta had, first Smith scoring over Bassy and then Johnson for the win. As bad a showing as Buckner had in the first quarter, you wonder if he would have been the better defensive option at the end of the game than Telfair. It wasn't that Telfair did naything wrong. He was contesting both shots, but he was just several inches too short. And, on the Smith shot Jefferson never got his hands up when he arrived to help and Jaric did not close quick enough on Johnson to alter his shot when arriving to help Bassy. Plus, if either Smith or Johnson do miss those shots, I think Sichting is correct in thinking that Bassy deserves to be on the floor to celebrate the win. It would be a positive growing experience for him and the team.
But, Buckner could probably have contested either shot better than Bassy. Oh well. It was still a good game and something positive to build on. With some good luck Jefferson's knee will heal, Walker will get healthy and Foye will return soon. That means McCants and Gomes minutes will be further reduced, but it also might mean that couple more wins might be forthcoming.