Game Thread GAME# 62: TIMBERWOLVES @ BLAZERS - MARCH 1, 2018 - THURSDAY, 7:30 PM (PST), TNT

[Pinwheel1]

I was really pissed at Terry Stotts cause he didnt put Nurk back in!

he pulled him out with 6:27 to go in the 3rd quarter, after he made his 3rd foul... I get that and he made the right move, but as everyone, I expected him to put him back in with like 7:00 min to go in the 4th quarter! he didnt, cause Ed Davis played well and obviously he tought Ed Davis is doing better job on defense than Nurk, but heres how they played against KAT

It seems to me that Aminu deserves some credit on KAT in the 4th as well. (That and he finally got tired and was a little bandged up late) But Having Aminu on him out top and doubling him when he drove to the basket with Davis worked a lot better than even thinking about having Nurk cover him away from the basket. Looks like Terry finally figured that out. He needs to do that with DMC in the future too...and every other center who burns us from deep.

 

[Mr. Robot]

It seems to me that Aminu deserves some credit on KAT in the 4th as well. (That and he finally got tired and was a little bandged up late) But Having Aminu on him out top and doubling him when he drove to the basket with Davis worked a lot better than even thinking about having Nurk cover him away from the basket. Looks like Terry finally figured that out. He needs to do that with DMC in the future too...and every other center who burns us from deep.

so if Im not mistaken, youre saying were better with Ed Davis playing against KAT...

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Napier +21

Napier does a lot on defense; he is all over the place, quick enough to help a little and still get back to his man if necessary.

 

[Pinwheel1]

so if Im not mistaken, youre saying were better with Ed Davis playing against KAT...

Well not the whole game, but yes in crunch time. I don't worry about Davis thinking he can score when the game is on the line, or try to make a tough pass. He rebounds and passes it right away unless he is at the basket.

Nurk is a bigger guy and bigger guys are not as mobile. You have to be mobile to cover KAT as he often starts out on the perimeter. You need two types of centers (and PF's) on your team. Nurk can bang down low better than Davis but Davis is versatile enough to play physical and quick enough to get out on his man. Davis is a very good big to have on your bench.

 

[Lukee]

As long we're winning, don't care.

 

[rotary111]

I have to give Nurk some credit. He doesn't pout when he gets pulled. He cheers as hard as anybody on the team. Portland Nurkic > Denver Nurkic.

I thought Stotts made the right call leaving Davis/Collins in and then running with the 3 guard lineup late in the game. If we would have lost... Stotts would have been roasted for it though.

 

[hoopsjock]

One overlooked factor in the Nurk/Davis discussion is that Davis ended up playing 18 minutes of game time without coming out. Most bigs, especially high energy ones like Davis, are more effective in shorter stints.

We won the game so obviously it didn't matter but Davis was gassed during crunch time of that game. It's a lot to ask of him to come in halfway through the 3rd and play the rest of the game.

 

[Jon]

man. it got loud last night. i think that was one of the very few times my hearing got muffled after the game. hell of a 4th quarter.

 

[DDolla]

Wolves are in trouble when game is on the line. They don’t have that closer guy like Butler.

 

[THE HCP]

Good for you. She's a little Philippino girl who was an Oregon State Beavers cheerleader. She's a top chef now. Why the fuck did I break up with her. Dammit.

I’ve seen pics of you bro......that was a mistake.

 

[THE HCP]

Ask me, game ball goes to Ed Davis......his defense in the 2nd half was amazing!

 

[SIeepwalker]

Ask me, game ball goes to Ed Davis......his defense in the 2nd half was amazing!

Nobody ever does

 

[Labinot41]

Salty Timberwolves fans in realgm

"Officials keeping Portland in the game"

"And Lillard always gets the call. Is he Harden now?"

"These Portland bums celebrating like they've won it already!"

"With average officiating this game would've been over already. Atrocious calls that clearly went Portland's way... Lakers-Kings level of bs. I haven't been this heated because of a stupid game in a minute. That hook call was actually correct in my eyes, but all the freaking contact calls on layups are tragic."

"Lillard can go eat a bag of d***s, and the rest of those JailBlazers.."

"Lillard is a Bitch"

"Celebrating like a hero every time he hit a shot, like he won a championship... Congratulations "

"Blazers’ bench people are the most annoying in the league along with the warriors. Especially Leonard. What a douche"

Hahahahaha fuck them all

 

[SIeepwalker]

"Blazers’ bench people are the most annoying in the league along with the warriors. Especially Leonard. What a douche"

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Even enemy fan bases can agree on some things.

Hatred of Meyers Leonard is apparently one of those things.

 

[theprunetang]

I’ve seen pics of you bro......that was a mistake.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Wolves are in trouble when game is on the line. They don’t have that closer guy like Butler.

Even with Butler, they had blown ten 4th quarter leads. Last night was the 11th time this season they have lost the game when leading in the 4th quarter. That has been a problem for them for years. I used to blame Rubio (hard to close out a game when the guy with the ball isn't a scoring threat), others blame their youth.

Well, Rubio is gone, and they brought it vets like Butler, Crawford, Gibson and Teague and have still blown more 4th quarter leads than any other team in the NBA. What's the excuse/reason now?

MIN and OKC have been consistently bad at blowing 4th quarter leads over the last several seasons. They usually rank 1st and 2nd in blown 4th quarter leads. OKC is because of Westbrook and his hero ball that leads to freezing out teammates, poor shot selection and unforced TOVs.

I'm really curious why MIN is still blowing so may games late. They have gone though multiple coaching changes, shuffled the roster and still can't seem to hold leads late. Reggie Miller was blaming their youth last night. Sure, they were without Butler and Gibson (at the and) last night, but they still had Teague and Crawford on the floor last night when POR took the lead and stole the game from them. And, that also doesn't explain their 10 previous blown 4th quarter leads.

It's interesting how some teams just can't put a game away. Durant's last season in OKC they won 55 games, but led the league with 15 blown 4th quarter leads - and they did that with one of the most unguardable players in league history. If they could have just won the games they led late, they would have won 70 games. Same with MIN this year. Even if they'd only won half of those games they led late, they would be running away with the 3rd seed.

Whatever the reasons, I'm just glad two of the teams that blow the most leads happen to be division rivals.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

Salty Timberwolves fans in realgm

"Officials keeping Portland in the game"

"And Lillard always gets the call. Is he Harden now?"

"These Portland bums celebrating like they've won it already!"

"With average officiating this game would've been over already. Atrocious calls that clearly went Portland's way... Lakers-Kings level of bs. I haven't been this heated because of a stupid game in a minute. That hook call was actually correct in my eyes, but all the freaking contact calls on layups are tragic."

"Lillard can go eat a bag of d***s, and the rest of those JailBlazers.."

"Lillard is a Bitch"

"Celebrating like a hero every time he hit a shot, like he won a championship... Congratulations "

"Blazers’ bench people are the most annoying in the league along with the warriors. Especially Leonard. What a douche"

Hahahahaha fuck them all

Wow, so much salt in those tears.

I LOVE it!

It's so obvious they wish they had a player half as good as Dame is at closing out games. If they did, they'd be fighting HOU and OKC for the first seed, not battling POR and everyone else for HCA. That was the 11th time they've lost a game while leading in the 4th quarter. Did the refs screw them every time?

BNM

 

[BBert]

Maybe Stotts will finally move Aminu to the 3 and start Collins at the 4?

 

[KingSpeed]

Wow, so much salt in those tears.

I LOVE it!

It's so obvious they wish they had a player half as good as Dame is at closing out games. If they did, they'd be fighting HOU and OKC for the first seed, not battling POR and everyone else for HCA. That was the 11th time they've lost a game while leading in the 4th quarter. Did the refs screw them every time?

BNM

fighting OKC???

 

[Boob-No-More]

fighting OKC???

Oops, meant GSW.

BNM

 

[BBert]

Even with Butler, they had blown ten 4th quarter leads. Last night was the 11th time this season they have lost the game when leading in the 4th quarter. That has been a problem for them for years. I used to blame Rubio (hard to close out a game when the guy with the ball isn't a scoring threat), others blame their youth.

Well, Rubio is gone, and they brought it vets like Butler, Crawford, Gibson and Teague and have still blown more 4th quarter leads than any other team in the NBA. What's the excuse/reason now?

MIN and OKC have been consistently bad at blowing 4th quarter leads over the last several seasons. They usually rank 1st and 2nd in blown 4th quarter leads. OKC is because of Westbrook and his hero ball that leads to freezing out teammates, poor shot selection and unforced TOVs.

I'm really curious why MIN is still blowing so may games late. They have gone though multiple coaching changes, shuffled the roster and still can't seem to hold leads late. Reggie Miller was blaming their youth last night. Sure, they were without Butler and Gibson (at the and) last night, but they still had Teague and Crawford on the floor last night when POR took the lead and stole the game from them. And, that also doesn't explain their 10 previous blown 4th quarter leads.

It's interesting how some teams just can't put a game away. Durant's last season in OKC they won 55 games, but led the league with 15 blown 4th quarter leads - and they did that with one of the most unguardable players in league history. If they could have just won the games they led late, they would have won 70 games. Same with MIN this year. Even if they'd only won half of those games they led late, they would be running away with the 3rd seed.

Whatever the reasons, I'm just glad two of the teams that blow the most leads happen to be division rivals.

BNM

So you're saying that Minnesota gets..................cold?

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

Giving me a lap dance!#BAM

That 90 lbs in your lap was all you buddy, the motion was from the HVAC.

 

[H.C.]

Even with Butler, they had blown ten 4th quarter leads. Last night was the 11th time this season they have lost the game when leading in the 4th quarter. That has been a problem for them for years. I used to blame Rubio (hard to close out a game when the guy with the ball isn't a scoring threat), others blame their youth.

Well, Rubio is gone, and they brought it vets like Butler, Crawford, Gibson and Teague and have still blown more 4th quarter leads than any other team in the NBA. What's the excuse/reason now?

MIN and OKC have been consistently bad at blowing 4th quarter leads over the last several seasons. They usually rank 1st and 2nd in blown 4th quarter leads. OKC is because of Westbrook and his hero ball that leads to freezing out teammates, poor shot selection and unforced TOVs.

I'm really curious why MIN is still blowing so may games late. They have gone though multiple coaching changes, shuffled the roster and still can't seem to hold leads late. Reggie Miller was blaming their youth last night. Sure, they were without Butler and Gibson (at the and) last night, but they still had Teague and Crawford on the floor last night when POR took the lead and stole the game from them. And, that also doesn't explain their 10 previous blown 4th quarter leads.

It's interesting how some teams just can't put a game away. Durant's last season in OKC they won 55 games, but led the league with 15 blown 4th quarter leads - and they did that with one of the most unguardable players in league history. If they could have just won the games they led late, they would have won 70 games. Same with MIN this year. Even if they'd only won half of those games they led late, they would be running away with the 3rd seed.

Whatever the reasons, I'm just glad two of the teams that blow the most leads happen to be division rivals.

BNM

You can have a defensive minded head coach.
You can bring in a two way player like Butler.
But frankly when you have players like Teague, Crawford, Wiggins, KAT who so obviously take plays off defensively.
You'll find it hard to keep the lead.
Then when you play your starters for the majority of the game... They get tired in the 4th. I don't think it's a coincidence Lillard was struggling early getting open looks, but was able to get wide open shots in the 4th quarter.

Anyone who watched the Minn game in the 4th quarter saw that entire lineup gassed with about 9 minutes to go in the game.
Sure they went on a run, and forced Stotts to call a timeout. But it was clear they were gassed.
Outside of the person with the ball, they were walking up the court.

 

[Pinwheel1]

You can have a defensive minded head coach.
You can bring in a two way player like Butler.
But frankly when you have players like Teague, Crawford, Wiggins, KAT who so obviously take plays off defensively.
You'll find it hard to keep the lead.
Then when you play your starters for the majority of the game... They get tired in the 4th. I don't think it's a coincidence Lillard was struggling early getting open looks, but was able to get wide open shots in the 4th quarter.

Anyone who watched the Minn game in the 4th quarter saw that entire lineup gassed with about 9 minutes to go in the game.
Sure they went on a run, and forced Stotts to call a timeout. But it was clear they were gassed.
Outside of the person with the ball, they were walking up the court.

So on one hand you say some of them take plays off on D and on the other you say they get were all gassed in the 4th because they play tough D. Can it be both ways?
The only thing I can think of why they close poorly is they lack a versatile offensive guard like Dame or CJ, (Great 3 point shooter who also has a pull up mid range shot, and attacks the basket) Butler is a great player but not necessarily a great shooter . I thought Crawford could be that guy for them, but maybe they don't use him in that roll? or maybe he has finally gotten old?