GameThread #11: vs Rockets
by wyn on Nov 18, 2009 6:00 PM CST
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PrintHouston Rockets at Minnesota Timberwolves, Nov 18, 2009 7:00 PM CST
via Getty Images
Oklahoma City's Sam Presti may be the new golden boy for fans of NBA General Managers, especially after the hubris and mediocre offseason Kevin Pritchard and the Blazers had (can't wait for the Blazers Edgers to drop by tonight). Both Presti and Pritchard, like Minnesota's David Kahn, undertook rebuilding efforts from the ground up. Houston's Daryl Morey, on the other hand, took over a team that had two high-paid, injury-prone stars in Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Including the playoffs and this season, Yao and McGrady have only played in 73% and 55% of the games under Morey. Neither have played yet this year and Yao is expected to be out all season (McGrady won't be playing tonight, but may return soon). All the while the star duo took up 48%, 50% and 54% of the Rockets cap.
But despite having his hands tied tighter than any other GM in the league, Daryl Morey went out and built teams that posted winning percentages of .671 and .646, made the West playoffs both years and, without 1 minute from either star, took the Lakers to Game 7 of the Semis last year. And so far this year, again without 1 minute from either star, the Rockets are 6-5 with wins against Portland, Utah and the Lakers. They also lost to Portland, the Lakers and Sacramento, but pobody's nerfect.
Make no mistake, these were Morey's teams: he served as Assistant GM from the Spring of '06 until he was hired as GM the next year. He had a huge influence on the acquisitions of Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier, then Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry and Luis Scola the next summer, and Trevor Ariza, David Andersen, Kyle Lowry and Chase Budinger this past season and offseason. That's your 9-man Rockets rotation, with not an All-Star among them and only three 1st round picks (Battier #6, Lowry #24, and Brooks #26).
Daryl Morey is the General Manager King of Bootstraps. David Kahn has been under some serious fire lately, but if there's any consolation for Wolves fans in the Morey story it's that even the biggest of set-backs don't ruin team-building. Strong player evaluation, especially in the draft, and smart financial moves can be stabilizers against chinks in the armor.
For an opposing viewpoint see The Dream Shake
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Wolves Lineup!
PG Flynn,
SG Brewer,
SF Gomes,
PF Hollins,
C Jefferson
Probably Hayes
Gotta have Scola whos 6’11 guard the 7 foot Hollins…Hayes is only 6’6..Al is licking his freaking chops
I dunno...
Hayes is an incredible post defender….I’ve seen him go toe to toe with guys like Duncan and Amare before and hold his own.
If it becomes a problem though, they’ll just bring in Carl Landry.
Scola's 6'9.
You were a daydreamer, a sass-mouth, and, not infrequently, a bit of a gigglepuss. Somehow I doubt twenty years of amphetamines and failure have done anything to improve that.
by Kevin Loves McHale's Navy on Nov 18, 2009 6:51 PM CST up reply actions
Aggression
The Rockets have a small front line, and we go at it. In principle, a good thing.
"It has come to the editor’s attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission."
Sounds like a good reason to start throwing lob passes
Set Hollins up right in front of the rim and turn it into a jumping match. There’s one direction Hayes definitely can’t defend, and that’s up.
Can't believe Hayes went for that fake
Always, always, always give Jefferson the mid-range jumper.
I think Ryan Gomes is my least favorite Timberwolf. His “all-around” game is really just a nice way of saying he doesn’t do anything that well. Every 5th game he might shoot well from outside, but besides that 5th game, he really is a net minus on the floor.
Agreed
He really needs to be a steady 7th or 8th guy on a top shelf team. He’d be perfect for a team like the Lakers where he they could just stick him in the corner on offense and know he will give a good effort on defense.
by Rascal Flatts on Nov 18, 2009 7:21 PM CST up reply actions
he's shooting 47% from 3
and is one of the better rebounders on the team. You prefer to see more of Pecherov, Hollins and Cardinal?
Well it’s not that I prefer those other players, of course not, they suck worse. I think Gomes is my least favorite player because he was young, we made a financial commitment to him, and I never see him doing anything special. Maybe I’m in the minority in thinking his play is a dissapointment, but after 07-08 I thought we had a better player on our hands.
Can a brother get a win here?
Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 18, 2009 7:24 PM CST reply actions
Shooting out of the triple-team...
…good thing it went in.
He played well against Phoenix with a double-double. Junior College might be a bit strong, but I agree with premise.
Okay Maybe JUCO is too far
D-League sounds better :)
Houston's key
They outsmart you and attempt a bunch of 3’s knowing the percentages work out better than 2’s.
Wow not to sound like a dick but we suck
Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 18, 2009 7:28 PM CST reply actions
i hate koalas..
….we lived in omaha when they had the koala exhibit come to the zoo. they talked up the damn thing for months and when the koalas finally got there all they did was sleep. apparently they sleep for 23 hours a day.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
The Kansas City Zoo
had the koalas also. The trick is you have to go when they are fed. Call ahead and find out what time that happens. Otherwise, yeah, you will never see them do anything but sleep.
They are sleepy
because they live on eucalyptus leaves. The oil gives them a 24 hour buzz. Consider them the Winston Churchill of marsupials.
I’m going to overlook your dislike of koalas by the way……..
Judd: "...I've since watched some Steven Seagal movies and I realise that pressure points are no laughing matter.".
God Love Please Hurry and Come Back
I can Deal with Jawai, Al and Hollins..But Pecherov needs to Benched ASAP
I'm Not
Jawai is a project..He’s in his second year with very little time on the court..he’s gonna learn..I think Jawai can be a good Big Man given the chance to grow and learn.
I would much rather watch Jawai
then Hollins or Pech.
Any way we can take Pech's shooting and transfer it to Corey?
They’d be like, the best player ever if we could just fuse them together.
I think you would still have a crappy player
if we combined Brewer and Pech. I dont think Crap X 2 = good
Corey shuts down everyone he guards
He just can’t shoot well enough to make it matter in the final score.
Hence, why we’d want to import a good shot into him.
Agreed
I was at the final sonics game at the Key chanting Clay Bennett Sucks. I will never be a Thunder fan.
I was there too
God, that was a great game. I got misty when the Glove showed up… Anyway, I don’t hate have anything against the players, but I’ll never be able to root for that team to do well.
by aarendsvark on Nov 19, 2009 12:13 AM CST up reply actions
People actually stay away from the Target Center
fearing that O.P. will likely be on the floor at some point.
With a name like that...
..he might grasp the Triangle better than the current scraps.
T Mac as a free Agent
If the Kahn administration is like the past one..meet your newest Timberwolf
Houston would be down by 20 to most other teams right now
They are playing terribly, but our TOs and poor shooting has kept them in it. They also understand the math of 3-pointers. All they have to do is hit one in three and their golden.
It's the Rambis way
The Wolves would be much more competitive if Flynn and Jefferson were carrying most of the load (with Pecherov taking the mid-rangers).
By far Jefferson's best half of the year
He defended, rebounded, made all of his shots, and had two assists and zero turnovers. It’s too bad his starting backcourt coughed the ball up 6 times.
by Rascal Flatts on Nov 18, 2009 8:10 PM CST up reply actions
Yes, he looked good
but Chuck Nevitt would be a defensive improvement in the paint for the Rockets (or at least he’d be taller):
Boy, that wing pick-and-roll with Brewer and Jefferson looked good...
Love to see some of that with Flynn and Sessions…
Can we get the Summer League refs back?
Twelve FT’s per game? Ouch.
All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.
Homer
And ladies and gents, that's why Flynn's assist stats are so low...
nice fast break dish to Brewer, easy dunk…. oops.
It is just not possible
for Brewer to miss layups at the rate he does. Not possible. Steve Sax disease? Mob ties? Not possible.
All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.
Homer
Watching stream
can’t see those details. On the other hand, getting smacked in the temple might actually help him.
All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.
Homer
You can really tell that Houston looks to get the corner 3 whenever possible.
Most efficient shot in basketball.
We're not going to beat them with 2-pointers
Houston’s goal is to take as many 3-point attempts as possible.
You knew we couldn't go a game
without an airball and fumbled layup by Brew
Wow sometimes I wonder why I
am a Timberwolves fan but then
Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 18, 2009 8:35 PM CST reply actions
I remember the good days
Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 18, 2009 8:35 PM CST up reply actions
That should be the only shot Corey takes
uncontested dunk. I am relatively confident he can hit that at a high rate.
All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.
Homer
Corey-High rate
Those words should never be used in the dame sentence, unless you’re saying
“Corery Brewer makes me drink at a very high rate when I watch him”
Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 18, 2009 8:37 PM CST up reply actions
Brewer jump shots should be categorized as
unforced turnovers
by dropstep on Nov 18, 2009 8:39 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
LOL nice
Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 18, 2009 8:39 PM CST up reply actions
Salvatore
needs to retire.
You know who the best refs are? Me neither, you don’t ever hear the names of the best ones because they aren’t ever the story.
All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.
Homer
Can we change this team's name to the Pups?
They aren’t Wolves…i’m sorry
They called them the TimberPups
back around 1990-95. I’m sure there are some uni’s they could find for throwback nights.
just wondering
That should be the only shot Corey takes
uncontested dunk. I am relatively confident he can hit that at a high rate
not by any chance a relative of Mr. Brewer’s are you?
by Son of Gerald Green on Nov 18, 2009 8:38 PM CST reply actions
Newsflash
Take away the 3-pointer and make Houston put the ball on the floor.
Battier is -2 in 32 minutes
Stewie is +15 in 12.
All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.
Homer
Wow
I think Corey should aspire to be Ariza-like.
After that, I think he’s half way there.
All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.
Homer
One of Love's underappreciated skills
is his ability to actually grab onto the ball. There have been so many plays in this game where our bigs have been batting at the loose ball on rebounds and in the paint with about coming close to finding the handle. Love is so good at snatching up those possessions. One of those below the rim skils that pay off numerous times per game.
I know nothing--NOTHING!
You were a daydreamer, a sass-mouth, and, not infrequently, a bit of a gigglepuss. Somehow I doubt twenty years of amphetamines and failure have done anything to improve that.
by Kevin Loves McHale's Navy on Nov 18, 2009 8:54 PM CST up reply actions
It's unreal how teams can just pick it up and stomp us out
I mean…..Houston SUCKS tonight. They would be getting killed if they weren’t playing us. But all they have to do is put it into 4th, no – not even that, 3rd gear and we’re done.
That's Houston's stat guys at work
They know that they don’t have the talent to slash, so their goal is to get as many set shot 3 pointers as possible. Battier, Ariza, Brooks, Budinger. Morey knows that it’s a great shot for a team without great athletes.
by Rascal Flatts on Nov 18, 2009 9:00 PM CST up reply actions
Game over
I have no confidence in a Flynn – Brewer back court.
That backcourt is -86 this season (the Wolves are -140ish overall)
And it’s played something like 65% of the minutes.
I give Rambis an A for patience
With Brewer he has no choice because the alternatives are even worse. But it takes an enormous dose of long-term thinking to yank Sessions and put Flynn out there late in the 4th. Flynn has really been falling off a cliff these last few games. We need him to step up.
by Rascal Flatts on Nov 18, 2009 9:09 PM CST up reply actions
I miss that catch and shoot Jefferson
Can we check him back in?
Schedule..
At Portland
at Clippers
Denver
Phoenix
at Denver
Memphis
Any chance of not tying that?
Please at least let us beat Memphis at home and not set a new record.
All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.
Homer
They just lost to the Hornets
The Hornets without Chris Paul. There aren’t many more teams more crippled than that, and they still beat the Clips. I’d say there’s a solid chance.
Houston's missed shots ...
Of all their missed shots we’ve rebounded 24, they’ve grabbed 18.
Ours misses? We’ve grabbed 11, they’ve grabbed over 30.
Impossible to win like that.
All right, brain. You don't like me and I don't like you, but let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.
Homer
What a disgrace
Brewer can’t even give a hard foul without being whisked away like a feather. Houston came in here as lethargic and sloppy as any team we’ve played and our guys still got their asses handed to them. Not good.
Indeed
these guys aren’t even fun to watch. Although I agree with the decision to blow the team up and lay out a long terms plan, these guys are pitiful.
The refs
Called a terrible game, though. Pretty much gave Houston home court advantage. I counted at least 6 blown calls.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
by biggity2bit on Nov 18, 2009 10:53 PM CST up reply actions
Brewer
has been leaving his man open for clean looks for 3 all night. He is constantly collapsing into double and triple teams, evn when not really necessary and leaving Ariza or Battier all alone at the line, even though Houston’s only offensive strategy is the 3. He does not close fast enough given the huge space he gives, and has been saved only because Houston has been bricking on even really good looks.
Haven't watched many games this season
but from tonight’s, any positives are hard to find. Depressing.
I pity SNP
having to write Game Recaps on this mess. The Recap from the Dallas Game could serve as a recap for any game (This team lacks serious talent).
1. We might be the most awful perimeter shooting team in NBA history. What one player do we have that a team fears at all from deep?
2. While Brewer has more long-term value than the great majority of players that put out there. He really needs to play next to an elite perimeter scorer. Jonny Flynn doesn’t qualify.
3. Why sign Ramon Sessions if you don’t really intend to play him at Crunch-Time? He’s clearly the only player who can really make the Offensive Function at the 1.
4. What value is their playing Damien Wilkins over Wayne Ellington?
Offhand
my answers to 3 and 4:
3. Ramon Sessions is insurance for if Flynn got hurt, an attractive contract around the trading deadline, and will start when Flynn hits the inevitable rookie wall. Also, on the unlikely chance that the Wolves were mediocre, Rambo/POBO didn’t want the only thing keeping them out of the playoffs to be an inexperienced undersized point guard.
4. Ellington was less ready than Flynn is, so I’m guessing that the team didn’t want to watch Scowlin’ Al gripe his way through another 82 game backcourt learning session. Once Sessions takes over, Ellington will get more time.
My take from the game
re: points 3 and 4: When Sessions and Wilkens were in the game the Wolves offense worked the best. Wilkens might not shoot much, but he always seemed to be the guy to make the cut in to Sessions to keep the ball from stalling. Pecherov also looked like he was beginning to understand how to pass and keep the ball moving-and when to take the shot.
Pavlovic looked terrible and out of control. He played like how I was afraid Pecherov would, but Pech looked tonight like he understood the offense far better than Pavs. Hollins looks like Brewer ca. 2007-all running around and trying real hard without quite grasping what he’s supposed to be doing.
Our B team was definitely better than our A team tonight, and I think it’s because they move more on offense without the ball. Al was looking good, especially his jumper, but far too often Flynn would bring the ball up and everyone was just standing around. Sessions would bring the ball up and be pointing and barking at guys to move over there, cut here, etc etc.
I like Brewer, a lot. He may never be a great shooter, but his energy and effort are awesome, and he played some great defense on Ariza and Brooks and Battier even though he collapsed inside sometimes too much. He’s just everywhere on the court. If he could score efficiently he’d be a star in the NBA.
Ariza-is his game only shooting the three ball? Seems like the Rocket’s offense was swing the ball around the horn until Ariza was open for a three. Or send it inside to Scola.
Speaking of Scola, as much as this team needs a scoring wing on offense, it really needs an interior defensive big man with an attitude. I think Jawai might have been the best interior defender tonight, although Al was a better rebounder and Hollins a better shot blocker. Teams are killing us by getting putbacks and their big men taking it in without paying any sort of price. Not that I’m necessarily advocating that we make this trade, but a Samuel Dalembert type presence would go a long way towards making us more competitive (as will getting Love back).
I liked Flynn’s abilities on defense, although a couple times he got caught being distracted by the Rockets. He also looks like he could do a lot more out there if he was allowed to. For now, though, he looked like a rookie trying to run a system of which 3 or 4 of the other guys who didn’t know it any better than he did. And that’s sort of the crux of this team-Wilkens, Sessions, Pecherov, and maybe Brewer and Jawai looked like they had a reasonable idea of how the offense is supposed to go. Al had some good moments. Everyone else was really hit or miss, with Sasha looking terrible. It’s hard to find any offensive efficiency when only three guys out there look like they really get it, and those three guys are all off the bench.
It’s worth mentioning that when the Wolves took their one point lead in the third quarter it was largely due to Sessions, Wilkens, and Pecherov running the offense. When Rambis removed Sessions and Wilkens I knew we weren’t going to win the game, and in fact would probably lose it by ten points or more (which we did). The ‘first’ unit had been getting beat all night by the Rockets, and not so much because the Rockets were beating us as we were beating us. If we can get to the critical number of three guys who reasonable understand this offense and play within it on the court at all times I think we’ll discover that games are a lot closer and wins more frequent.
It must have looked a lot worse on TV than it did at Target Center, as I thought this team looked a lot closer to being competitive than I had expected. Honestly, one good offensive wing player, one good (and consistent) interior defender, coupled with the return of Love and the expected grasping of the offensive and defensive schemes will have this team at 40 wins a lot sooner than people might expect. I expect that a lot of people will disagree with me, but we haven’t seen half of what this team can do as is because guys are still learning. I’m much more optimistic about our prospects going into next year.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
by biggity2bit on Nov 18, 2009 10:44 PM CST up reply actions
Just read through the game stream comments
A few quick observations:
-Pech must have looked much worse on TV than he did live. He was frequently the only guy making cuts and finding the open spot to take shots. I don’t remember thinking, ‘Oh god, why did you just take that?!’, at least when he was 12 feet + from the basket. Besides, he was also one of the few guys who could make a basket.
-This team will improve a lot with Love’s return. So many balls bobbled and bumbled. If he plays like he did last year he could average 12+ rebounds a night for us easy.
-I don’t think Rambis was necessarily coaching to win. The second unit got us a lead in the third quarter and was keeping us competitive in the game. In other words, they were fighting through adversity and starting to come out on top. So what does he do? He puts the first unit back in to see if they can learn how to do the same thing and predictably they look sloppy and disjointed. At this point I really do think it’s more a function of the first team guys taking longer to learn the offense than anything else.
For me that’s the biggest takeaway from this game-these guys are still struggling with the offensive scheme because most of them haven’t figured out how their existing offensive games already fit in it. Al showed some good glimpses tonight that he was beginning to recognize how his game can fit into this offense. Flynn, Gomes, and Brewer (altho less so) are still trying to understand that. But as people are talking about the Rocket’s stat guys emphasizing the three ball, I can see why Rambis is emphasizing the system. Once these guys do get it, the system will become a great equalizer for them. It’ll help everyone be productive and minimize the team’s dependence on needing a star player. However, if and when we get our star offensive wing player, it was clear that this system won’t limit them either. Basically if you can get everyone to run it together, everyone benefits. If you’re going to give props to the Rockets for their stat guy three’s covering talent deficiencies, be prepared to give credit Rambis for sticking this out once this team starts winning (which they will by the end of the year).
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
by biggity2bit on Nov 18, 2009 11:06 PM CST up reply actions
By the way
check out CDR’s line from tonight’s Bucks-Nyets match-up:
C.Douglas-Roberts G 44:57 9-20 1-1 12-14 -8 4 6 10 3 2 3 4 0 3 31
They still lost, and it took him 45 minute of PT to do it, but still.
I hope you're right B2B
I agree with how Kahn said in his last letter that the strength of the team is the coaching staff. The only way this team can even think of winning is if it plays a team game from beginning to end. The problem is that we basically have a whole team put together over the summer on the fly filled with kids and there isn’t a super star among them.
PATIENCE…It will get there.
It’s kind of interesting. Reading through most people’s take on the game I almost feel as though I watched a different game last night. Thinking about it, I realize that I didn’t make any distinction between starters and bench players last night-I was watching who I thought was moving well in the offense and who wasn’t. If you watch it this way you quickly realize that yes, we still lack talent, but you also find yourself realizing that this system-if everyone plays it-can really help offset a talent gap.
I guess I don’t have any expectation that this team is going to win anytime soon. I don’t have any illusions that a superstar is going to be dropped into our lap via trade either. That’s why I support Rambis’ approach of teaching the guys the system. I do think that they will steadily become more and more competitive as the year goes on, especially with the return of Love. Their third quarter run came with Battier, Ariza, Scola, and Brooks on the floor. That’s Houston’s starting lineup, folks, getting beat by our backup boys. Perhaps I’m in the minority, but I think that’s awesome and portends great things for us once our ‘starters’ begin to play within the offense as well.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
Can anyone think up a way that this team gets two top 10 picks next year? I can’t stop thinking of how much better this team would look with both Turner and Aldrich in the rotation..
When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.
My issue
is more why not develop Wayne Ellington than give minutes to Damien Wilkins? Especially considering this Offense can’t work until we improve shooting the ball.
wilkins got more minutes because...
…wilkins was hustling. going after loose balls, getting offensive boards (5!), being disruptive on defense.
we actually shot BETTER than houston—a team can win some games shooting .456 from the field if they protect the ball.
things will gel with this team…it might not be super soon, but they will gel.
by davechisholm on Nov 19, 2009 8:29 AM CST up reply actions
+1
Wilkens was very important last night as a facilitator, although none of it will show up in the box score. He was there making cuts and passes to keep everything moving. When Sasha subbed for him everything came to a grinding halt. Brewer tries, but plays a different offensive game than Wilkens. I think that if Ellington wants to see more PT he needs to learn how to be in intermediate cog in the offense-not the starting guy (the PG) and not necessarily the ending guy (the shooter), but the guy who keeps things happening in between those two. The irony is that once he learns how to do that he’ll get all the open looks he could ever want.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
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