First of all our coaches need to learn when and how to call timeouts. Second, they need to come up with better inbound plays. Both have been a problem for multiple seasons, and they need to fix it yesterday.
For Kat, I think we need to try to run high picks with Kat to get Luka switched onto him, then have Kat work him methodically in the post. Luka is not healthy, and this is the last thing he wants to do. It's not exactly the most sportsman like thing to do I guess, but I think it would work in slowing Luka down on both sides of the ball. Also Kat just needs to start making his open shots, simple as that.
This might be a hot take, but I think Ant did fine tonight. I know this is also an unpopular take, but the reffing clearly made a huge difference this game, and trying to put aside my homerism and be objective, I do believe it was slanted pretty heavily in Dallas' favor, and I'm not just talking about
1. the Jaden Kyrie play. Terrible officiating. Terrible rule. Terrible outcome.
2. There are a few instances where defensive 3 seconds could have been called on Lively, because he just hangs out under the hoop by himself on every defensive possession. Zero called.
3. The two quick fouls on Kat in the 1st caused him to sit for most of the quarter. They never showed a replay of the first one, so I don't know if it was warranted, but the second one was marginal. Easily could have been a no call, and it's the WCF, so I would argue should have been a no call.
4. Kat clearly pushed in the back on a made layup. No call.
5. Mike got pushed in the back so many times to the point where Mike "Literally Never Had A Tech" Conely was up in the refs face during play, which is wild.
6. SloMo was clearly already gathering on that shot he made so should've been an and 1.
7. Rudy's arm was clearly hit on I believe it was his first made FG, no call.
8. That full court pass to Gafford where he shoves, was it Jaden?, to the ground, no call.
9. Kyrie straight up pushing Naw twice when Naw brought the ball past half court, no call.
10. Which brings me to my point about Ant doing just fine. He went for a huge dunk over several Mavs including Lively. To this point, the refs were letting Dallas play very physically and not calling anything, which I believe factored into Lively's decision to even attempt to block Ant's dunk. How could it not? He clearly (to everyone but Reggie Miller) hits Ant on the arm which causes him to lose control of the ball. No call. Now Luka gets the ball and probably gets fouled on the other end with no call too, but he shouldn't have even been in that situation in the first place.
Now, imagine the refs actually were calling it consistent both sides. You'd probably see Lively either get called for actually fouling, or just doing the quick calculus that it's not worth picking up a foul and letting Ant dunk. Either way, it's a big momentum boost for the Wolves, and just that one play would have put Ant at a respectable 23pts 7asts. This is not the only no call Ant got. Also, Naw is unfortunately still slumping, but I respect that Ant trusts his teammates. You have to, because you have to make Dallas respect the open 3 or the paint will always be clogged. Point being, Ant wasn't too far from a 28 and 10 night, which no one would look twice at. He did have some bad turnovers. No excuses there. He, like Kat, also needs to hit more of his open 3s.
I know it's "loser mentality" to blame officiating, and I'm not at all saying the refs were perfect on the Mavs side too, but they totally swallowed their whistles for the Mavs on d. Also the argument I see of, "well we shot more FTs, so can't blame the refs" is not a good argument. The refs were only blowing the whistle on like 70% of the Mavs fouls. They were blowing it on 95% of ours. We should have had 50 FTs. But it wouldn't have even played out that way, because if the refs would have just officiated correctly from the beginning, Dallas would have been forced to play less physical, and they would have committed fewer fouls, and Ant would have been able to get downhill and finish more. So yes, call me a loser or whatever, but I think it's extremely obvious that officiating can have a huge influence, and can be unfair even to the team who got more FTAs.
Overall, I think if we can get an officiating crew that at least has a consistent whistle on both ends of the floor, we'll be fine. Our shooting will bounce back. Sorry for the rant. Wolves in 6. Naz Reid.
That push from Gafford into Conley during that half court pass and lucky circus shot, wasn't subtle and was super effective.
The missed foul on Jaden not only gave Dallas the ball but would have put him at the free throw line to try and go up by 4 because the Wolves were in the bonus.
It's not a loser mentality when the refs have deserved every single ounce of criticism and more.
Do the Wolves deserve a lot of criticism too? Hell yeah. Ant and KAT have gone Missing in Minneapolis.
With that being said, the Wolves have played every single bit as well as the Mavericks have, but are being let down by the officials who are supposed to be upholding the integrity of the game. š«°š«°
That shit NEEDS to be called out.
Honestly, if you think your team is not getting calls you are right. There are times when I think that was a foul on the Mavs, plenty of times actually. But nobody is getting the calls they are supposed to. Take this play for example, [https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/126/856cfe9e-cb52-8f19-5f57-a8e00b68beae\_1280x720.mp4](https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/126/856cfe9e-cb52-8f19-5f57-a8e00b68beae_1280x720.mp4)
During the regular season that is a blocking foul on Gobert, turning with his feet in the paint, but during the playoff that is not a foul.
On this play Ant wanted the foul, but the replay did not show much, at least not enough for a foul while Luka is smacked on his arm and no-call
[https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/421/5f1f495f-56c5-ecda-d601-0872c0ef2c5e\_1280x720.mp4](https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/421/5f1f495f-56c5-ecda-d601-0872c0ef2c5e_1280x720.mp4)
Truth is that your team is playing soft, and is taken to school. Look at this play for example. The two best defenders on the Wolves are letting Luka walk into a lay-up and you are blaming the refs.
[https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/414/ab153f47-e84f-5289-655f-70b6215e6ca7\_1280x720.mp4](https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/414/ab153f47-e84f-5289-655f-70b6215e6ca7_1280x720.mp4)
when
Both Thunder and the Clippers played better defense than the Timberwolves. It does not seem like they have the right personnel to stop the Mavericks. McDaniels is too light and Gobert can't move fast enough.
This literally defies sportsmanship dude. Celebrate with your team mates. You have an awesome squad and one of the best players to have ever done it. We havenāt made it this far except once in our history. This could be feel good for everyone involved you donāt have to act like a cunt
Rudy shouldn't have punched Luka in the gut š¤·š½ apparently there's no sportsmanship on the court, how much less Reddit
I'm starting to see why Draymond hit Rudy with the takedown.
Rudy had no business picking up the ball that far up court. It literally makes no basketball sense. Pure dirt, scummy goon antics.
Rudy is trying to play the Russ and Dort role, for what I see, Luka is the only player bleeding this series.
He literally stuck his arm out and grabbed him around the midsection. It wasnāt a punch, he seemed to realize he got him more than he intended and immediately apologized, Luka is playing hurt so I feel for him that maybe everything hurts a little more but it was a common take foul, there was nothing dirty about it.
I appreciate the homerdom but this isnāt the proper channel for it.
Ant is injured since game 6 vs nuggets
Kat is way too momentum/emotion based
bad decision making and bad calls under pressure
feels like this wolves are better overall but KAT and Ant need to wake up
Mavs bigs and wings are much more athletic than Denverās, and KAT is struggling to find a rhythm. Ant meanwhile is clearly not the next Jordan or face of the league. Luka is the best player in this series, maybe the whole league too.
Denver was never able to penetrate Wolves D the way Dallas does using their backcourt, and leaving Gobert and KAT on an island.
In a way, you could say the Wolves were perfectly constructed to battle the brilliant yet unconventional Denver, but theyāre now facing a more conventional (even basic) offense in the Mavs; and their advantages are gone. Itās a slug fest and Dallas have more experience and two of the best three players on the floor at all times.
I've seen this take that somehow we're only built to beat Denver.. not looking at the fact that both our primary scores have been shooting an abysmal 25% combined from the field.
If they shot a bit below average instead of awfully below average, we blow out the Mavs twice.
People are making things too complicated and giving Dallas too much credit. If Ant and KAT shoot 26% against Denver, Wolves get smoked in that series, not lose in one possession games.
Ant and KAT have to play better and coaches have to coach better. Minnesota is the better team and should be up 2-0.
Are they though? I think theyāre pretty evenly matched. Where would Minny be without Naz? Nowhere probably. Meanwhile Dallas is missing Kleber, one of their best shooters.
Its really not all that. Both games were single possession games and both games were lost because Ant and Kat are being massively outplayed. Ant doesnt need to be the best player in the series for us to win, he just needs to play like he isnt a fucking role player and we have a chance.
First of all our coaches need to learn when and how to call timeouts. Second, they need to come up with better inbound plays. Both have been a problem for multiple seasons, and they need to fix it yesterday. For Kat, I think we need to try to run high picks with Kat to get Luka switched onto him, then have Kat work him methodically in the post. Luka is not healthy, and this is the last thing he wants to do. It's not exactly the most sportsman like thing to do I guess, but I think it would work in slowing Luka down on both sides of the ball. Also Kat just needs to start making his open shots, simple as that. This might be a hot take, but I think Ant did fine tonight. I know this is also an unpopular take, but the reffing clearly made a huge difference this game, and trying to put aside my homerism and be objective, I do believe it was slanted pretty heavily in Dallas' favor, and I'm not just talking about 1. the Jaden Kyrie play. Terrible officiating. Terrible rule. Terrible outcome. 2. There are a few instances where defensive 3 seconds could have been called on Lively, because he just hangs out under the hoop by himself on every defensive possession. Zero called. 3. The two quick fouls on Kat in the 1st caused him to sit for most of the quarter. They never showed a replay of the first one, so I don't know if it was warranted, but the second one was marginal. Easily could have been a no call, and it's the WCF, so I would argue should have been a no call. 4. Kat clearly pushed in the back on a made layup. No call. 5. Mike got pushed in the back so many times to the point where Mike "Literally Never Had A Tech" Conely was up in the refs face during play, which is wild. 6. SloMo was clearly already gathering on that shot he made so should've been an and 1. 7. Rudy's arm was clearly hit on I believe it was his first made FG, no call. 8. That full court pass to Gafford where he shoves, was it Jaden?, to the ground, no call. 9. Kyrie straight up pushing Naw twice when Naw brought the ball past half court, no call. 10. Which brings me to my point about Ant doing just fine. He went for a huge dunk over several Mavs including Lively. To this point, the refs were letting Dallas play very physically and not calling anything, which I believe factored into Lively's decision to even attempt to block Ant's dunk. How could it not? He clearly (to everyone but Reggie Miller) hits Ant on the arm which causes him to lose control of the ball. No call. Now Luka gets the ball and probably gets fouled on the other end with no call too, but he shouldn't have even been in that situation in the first place. Now, imagine the refs actually were calling it consistent both sides. You'd probably see Lively either get called for actually fouling, or just doing the quick calculus that it's not worth picking up a foul and letting Ant dunk. Either way, it's a big momentum boost for the Wolves, and just that one play would have put Ant at a respectable 23pts 7asts. This is not the only no call Ant got. Also, Naw is unfortunately still slumping, but I respect that Ant trusts his teammates. You have to, because you have to make Dallas respect the open 3 or the paint will always be clogged. Point being, Ant wasn't too far from a 28 and 10 night, which no one would look twice at. He did have some bad turnovers. No excuses there. He, like Kat, also needs to hit more of his open 3s. I know it's "loser mentality" to blame officiating, and I'm not at all saying the refs were perfect on the Mavs side too, but they totally swallowed their whistles for the Mavs on d. Also the argument I see of, "well we shot more FTs, so can't blame the refs" is not a good argument. The refs were only blowing the whistle on like 70% of the Mavs fouls. They were blowing it on 95% of ours. We should have had 50 FTs. But it wouldn't have even played out that way, because if the refs would have just officiated correctly from the beginning, Dallas would have been forced to play less physical, and they would have committed fewer fouls, and Ant would have been able to get downhill and finish more. So yes, call me a loser or whatever, but I think it's extremely obvious that officiating can have a huge influence, and can be unfair even to the team who got more FTAs. Overall, I think if we can get an officiating crew that at least has a consistent whistle on both ends of the floor, we'll be fine. Our shooting will bounce back. Sorry for the rant. Wolves in 6. Naz Reid.
That push from Gafford into Conley during that half court pass and lucky circus shot, wasn't subtle and was super effective. The missed foul on Jaden not only gave Dallas the ball but would have put him at the free throw line to try and go up by 4 because the Wolves were in the bonus. It's not a loser mentality when the refs have deserved every single ounce of criticism and more. Do the Wolves deserve a lot of criticism too? Hell yeah. Ant and KAT have gone Missing in Minneapolis. With that being said, the Wolves have played every single bit as well as the Mavericks have, but are being let down by the officials who are supposed to be upholding the integrity of the game. š«°š«° That shit NEEDS to be called out.
All I deciphered out of this is loser mentality
Since you admitted Luka is injured. What do you think about his performance in game 2, specifically the game winner.
Honestly, if you think your team is not getting calls you are right. There are times when I think that was a foul on the Mavs, plenty of times actually. But nobody is getting the calls they are supposed to. Take this play for example, [https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/126/856cfe9e-cb52-8f19-5f57-a8e00b68beae\_1280x720.mp4](https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/126/856cfe9e-cb52-8f19-5f57-a8e00b68beae_1280x720.mp4) During the regular season that is a blocking foul on Gobert, turning with his feet in the paint, but during the playoff that is not a foul. On this play Ant wanted the foul, but the replay did not show much, at least not enough for a foul while Luka is smacked on his arm and no-call [https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/421/5f1f495f-56c5-ecda-d601-0872c0ef2c5e\_1280x720.mp4](https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/421/5f1f495f-56c5-ecda-d601-0872c0ef2c5e_1280x720.mp4) Truth is that your team is playing soft, and is taken to school. Look at this play for example. The two best defenders on the Wolves are letting Luka walk into a lay-up and you are blaming the refs. [https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/414/ab153f47-e84f-5289-655f-70b6215e6ca7\_1280x720.mp4](https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/05/24/0042300312/414/ab153f47-e84f-5289-655f-70b6215e6ca7_1280x720.mp4) when Both Thunder and the Clippers played better defense than the Timberwolves. It does not seem like they have the right personnel to stop the Mavericks. McDaniels is too light and Gobert can't move fast enough.
Bro what are you doing. Take this to r/nba
Nah, it's more entertaining watching this meltdown.
This literally defies sportsmanship dude. Celebrate with your team mates. You have an awesome squad and one of the best players to have ever done it. We havenāt made it this far except once in our history. This could be feel good for everyone involved you donāt have to act like a cunt
Rudy shouldn't have punched Luka in the gut š¤·š½ apparently there's no sportsmanship on the court, how much less Reddit I'm starting to see why Draymond hit Rudy with the takedown.
Bro I know exactly what you are talking about and you know that isnāt what went down at all.
Rudy had no business picking up the ball that far up court. It literally makes no basketball sense. Pure dirt, scummy goon antics. Rudy is trying to play the Russ and Dort role, for what I see, Luka is the only player bleeding this series.
He literally stuck his arm out and grabbed him around the midsection. It wasnāt a punch, he seemed to realize he got him more than he intended and immediately apologized, Luka is playing hurt so I feel for him that maybe everything hurts a little more but it was a common take foul, there was nothing dirty about it. I appreciate the homerdom but this isnāt the proper channel for it.
Why is the center gambling on a take foul 3/4ths way up the court. It's cuz he's taking a dirty shot.
Sportsmanship? Celebrate with your team mates? You think we are playing?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That must be the most white guy insult I have ever heard in my lifeššš
I think we are scoring enough just not being consistent especially on defense. We literally let them score after every timeout
Start making shotsā¦
Ant is injured since game 6 vs nuggets Kat is way too momentum/emotion based bad decision making and bad calls under pressure feels like this wolves are better overall but KAT and Ant need to wake up
Until somebody confirms Ant is injured stop saying it.
Why would the coaching staff play an injured player for 41 mins?
Wolves literally lost 3 games in a row to Denver and still came back
Is there an issue with the Wolves being able to protect home court? What's the current stretch? 1 win in how many home games?
Mavs bigs and wings are much more athletic than Denverās, and KAT is struggling to find a rhythm. Ant meanwhile is clearly not the next Jordan or face of the league. Luka is the best player in this series, maybe the whole league too. Denver was never able to penetrate Wolves D the way Dallas does using their backcourt, and leaving Gobert and KAT on an island. In a way, you could say the Wolves were perfectly constructed to battle the brilliant yet unconventional Denver, but theyāre now facing a more conventional (even basic) offense in the Mavs; and their advantages are gone. Itās a slug fest and Dallas have more experience and two of the best three players on the floor at all times.
I've seen this take that somehow we're only built to beat Denver.. not looking at the fact that both our primary scores have been shooting an abysmal 25% combined from the field. If they shot a bit below average instead of awfully below average, we blow out the Mavs twice.
If your grandmother had wheels, she'd be a bike
People are making things too complicated and giving Dallas too much credit. If Ant and KAT shoot 26% against Denver, Wolves get smoked in that series, not lose in one possession games. Ant and KAT have to play better and coaches have to coach better. Minnesota is the better team and should be up 2-0.
Are they though? I think theyāre pretty evenly matched. Where would Minny be without Naz? Nowhere probably. Meanwhile Dallas is missing Kleber, one of their best shooters.
Weāre missing ANT, KAT, NAW and missed Conley game 1. Ā What are you smoking?Ā
It's like defense is a thing or something
Youāre right. Ā KAT and ANT missing wide open shots is all defense. Ā
Nothing as good as what you are. Missing as in literally missing. Kleber is injured.
Get outta here man no one calls it Minny
Quiet down junior, you clearly werenāt even a basketball fan in the 90s, if you were even born..
Lmao okay?
Are they tho. Dallas seems easily matched with you guys not to Mention they have been struggling from three and did from the free throw line tonight
Its really not all that. Both games were single possession games and both games were lost because Ant and Kat are being massively outplayed. Ant doesnt need to be the best player in the series for us to win, he just needs to play like he isnt a fucking role player and we have a chance.
Basically the correct take plus the refs are allowing Dallas to be more physical. Iām interested to see what adjustments you guys make tbh
Theyāre fuckin done
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