It's really fun to watch the bench trio/pack play Finch's preferred system of motion offense + hard-nosed perimeter defense. For as much as Ant talks about moving without the ball, the iso-heavy starting line-up looks stagnant compared to what DDV + NAW & Naz are doing for each other. Their best line-up from the eye test is those 3 + Rudy, then either Ant as a small ball 3, or Julius helping play-make/score @ high efficiency. At least Jaden woke up for a quarter last night & Mike is looking more like a spacer in hitting some 3's. If the starting line-up looks flat/stagnant, isn't moving w/o the ball & not making crisp extra passes, I would hook them early to get the bench trio/pack off & running, as they're playing like they actually appreciate the minutes they're getting.
Great video on the technical aspects of how these 3 players have come together and make each other better. The caveat to this point is the second unit plays second units, possibly with a star mixed in, but still the 6-9th best players on the opposing team. The heavy minutes for the top 8 players is by design to create more synergy between all of them playing together in various lineups. A very savvy play by Finch who learned from his last big move when adding Rudy and trying to play a projected 9-10 man rotation. A strategy that took more than a year to come to fruition and become the Wolves of last year.
The bench unit is so much fluid compared to the starting lineup due to several reasons imo, 1. Mike and Jaden are non factors on offense. Mike lost his floater game which makes him impossible to finish around the basket and his shot is off. His lobs to Rudy are also gone and his turnovers have skyrocketed. Jaden can't seem to even get the ball and he just stands in a corner too often. His handle also isn't tight enough for him to be able to run constant actions on offense. His mid range game is money so I'd like the team to try and maximize that. 2. The amount of attention to detail DDV and NAW have is insane. Donte seems to already have a connection with Rudy, moves constantly on both ends causing defenses to panic and his shot is now starting to fall. NAW has been a godsend for this team plagued by turnovers and stagnant offense and his perimeter defense against guards is probably even better than last year. To me, he's a better point of attack defender than Jaden since he rarely gets wiped by screens and is agile enough to get through screens. I really think Jaden is being misused even on defense. 3. NAZ REID. I think if Jaden comes off the bench for NAW the team will look a lot more balanced. Jaden doesn't grab many rebounds anyways so idk if that will impact the starting unit's defense that much.
@@ulmyoc Tbf, Jaden has shown some improvement on offense, especially his ability to get to his spots in the mid range. The problem is he has no offensive freedom whatsoever to do what he's good at, and that seems to make him frustrated. His shot not going in also doesn't help. I think he will be better on offense as the season progresses, but we will see how it will turn out. Hopefully he figures it out.
@@ulmyoc how quickly we all forget how impactful McDaniels was in the playoffs. Let’s give him the full season before we write him off as a lost cause. He’s earned that much at least.
What really changed agaisnt charlotte is their rythm everyone was on the same pace and so turnovers lessened and defense was way better which thus improved the wolves tremendously. I would say Gobert is the one who really enabled this change because he finally adapted to the new defensive scheme Chris Finch implemented and he is finally on time to deter shots at the rim. As such everyone can focus more on the perimeter defense and because of its identity when Minnesota has a great defense then the offense becomes easier for everyone.
I think it’s very likely that one and maybe even two of these guys will be starters by the end of the season. DDV/Ant/Jaden/Naz/Rudy could very easily be the starting lineup in game one of the playoffs.
@nicko3896 he's not on the Pistons, there is no NEED for him to be out on the floor for the Wolves right now. He's still learning how they do things, even in 2 months he'll be a better player for them than he is now. It's not like he's a #1 overall pick.
he really hasnt been that bad. Nobody besides NAW has been good on the defensive end tho. Jaden and Conley have been real bad, and theyre not bringing it on the offensive end either which makes it worse
Dillingham has the jets to really push the pace and needs to be in the second team rotation for more minutes. He will make turnovers at times, but the offense has really slowed down by walking the ball up the court. I can't wait to see Rob and Ant blowing up the court and putting pressure on the transition defense.
The offense has actually sped up with Donte and Naz in the second unit vs last year. There’s no need for Rob minutes until Conley gets a day off. Right now turnovers are the problem keeping us from being a top 5 offense. We are 10th in offensive rating. That won’t go up necessarily by infusing speed and more chaos with Rob. I think it’s best to continue with the 8 rotation players we have going right now and Rob will get his minutes down the road.
Im really starting to think the wolves need to find an upgrade for Jaden, or just start Naz at this point. A lineup of Donte, Ant, Naz, Randle and Gobert could be interesting
Naz isn't a 3 and would be a downgrade on defense, which has already been weak this year. I think there's a better case for starting NAW over Jaden, but Jaden makes $25 million so he'll keep starting.
@@DustinHaning - yeah, my only concern is that we would be undersized with NAW. Maybe if we replace Conley with NAW and keep Jaden in the lineup. That could be a scary defense
Good bench but a bad starting offensive 5. Gobert plays like he has no fingers. Mcdaniels is an offensive liability as well and Conley is playing his age.
Who cares how deep you are when your so-called star players are underperforming. Julius Randle has been terrible with defense and Rudy Gobert isn't doing much on offense. Not looking good as last year IMO.
It's really fun to watch the bench trio/pack play Finch's preferred system of motion offense + hard-nosed perimeter defense. For as much as Ant talks about moving without the ball, the iso-heavy starting line-up looks stagnant compared to what DDV + NAW & Naz are doing for each other. Their best line-up from the eye test is those 3 + Rudy, then either Ant as a small ball 3, or Julius helping play-make/score @ high efficiency.
At least Jaden woke up for a quarter last night & Mike is looking more like a spacer in hitting some 3's.
If the starting line-up looks flat/stagnant, isn't moving w/o the ball & not making crisp extra passes, I would hook them early to get the bench trio/pack off & running, as they're playing like they actually appreciate the minutes they're getting.
I dont think the offense is the issue for the starters, its the defense. Absolutely no intensity, they cant get stops
Came over from Dane Moore’s pod. Happy to subscribe!
Great video on the technical aspects of how these 3 players have come together and make each other better. The caveat to this point is the second unit plays second units, possibly with a star mixed in, but still the 6-9th best players on the opposing team. The heavy minutes for the top 8 players is by design to create more synergy between all of them playing together in various lineups. A very savvy play by Finch who learned from his last big move when adding Rudy and trying to play a projected 9-10 man rotation. A strategy that took more than a year to come to fruition and become the Wolves of last year.
Lmao I literally saw Donte DiVencenzo today while I was voting. He’s way taller than I expected lol
That’s hilarious lol
That's not how you use the word literally, but okay numb nuts.
Randle has also been a great surprise on how he’s moving the ball, and scoring when it’s there. He works well with Ant.
Bae, wake up
New H&G just dropped
The bench unit is so much fluid compared to the starting lineup due to several reasons imo,
1. Mike and Jaden are non factors on offense. Mike lost his floater game which makes him impossible to finish around the basket and his shot is off. His lobs to Rudy are also gone and his turnovers have skyrocketed. Jaden can't seem to even get the ball and he just stands in a corner too often. His handle also isn't tight enough for him to be able to run constant actions on offense. His mid range game is money so I'd like the team to try and maximize that.
2. The amount of attention to detail DDV and NAW have is insane. Donte seems to already have a connection with Rudy, moves constantly on both ends causing defenses to panic and his shot is now starting to fall. NAW has been a godsend for this team plagued by turnovers and stagnant offense and his perimeter defense against guards is probably even better than last year. To me, he's a better point of attack defender than Jaden since he rarely gets wiped by screens and is agile enough to get through screens. I really think Jaden is being misused even on defense.
3. NAZ REID.
I think if Jaden comes off the bench for NAW the team will look a lot more balanced. Jaden doesn't grab many rebounds anyways so idk if that will impact the starting unit's defense that much.
Not worried about Conley, he will come around. We keep thinking Jaden will get better but he just does not improve, same old Jaden every year.
@@ulmyoc Tbf, Jaden has shown some improvement on offense, especially his ability to get to his spots in the mid range. The problem is he has no offensive freedom whatsoever to do what he's good at, and that seems to make him frustrated. His shot not going in also doesn't help. I think he will be better on offense as the season progresses, but we will see how it will turn out. Hopefully he figures it out.
@@kgtd2160 - Jaden makes bad decisions with the ball and costly turnovers. He's just not good enough or consistent enough on offense
@@ulmyoc how quickly we all forget how impactful McDaniels was in the playoffs. Let’s give him the full season before we write him off as a lost cause. He’s earned that much at least.
Agreed, Mike and Jaden have been terrible, unfortunately their defense and rebounding has been just as bad
What really changed agaisnt charlotte is their rythm everyone was on the same pace and so turnovers lessened and defense was way better which thus improved the wolves tremendously.
I would say Gobert is the one who really enabled this change because he finally adapted to the new defensive scheme Chris Finch implemented and he is finally on time to deter shots at the rim. As such everyone can focus more on the perimeter defense and because of its identity when Minnesota has a great defense then the offense becomes easier for everyone.
I think it’s very likely that one and maybe even two of these guys will be starters by the end of the season. DDV/Ant/Jaden/Naz/Rudy could very easily be the starting lineup in game one of the playoffs.
Minnesota needs more Dillingham minutes too
Any at this point 😂
Yes, they need to be putting teams away early so they can put him in the game. They don't NEED him in there.
@@nathaniellarson8 😂man he’s a lottery, he shouldn’t need teams put away early to play a few min at peas
Minott*
@nicko3896 he's not on the Pistons, there is no NEED for him to be out on the floor for the Wolves right now. He's still learning how they do things, even in 2 months he'll be a better player for them than he is now. It's not like he's a #1 overall pick.
Good vieo
Julius Randle being a defensive liability is not helping. He needs to pick it up
he really hasnt been that bad. Nobody besides NAW has been good on the defensive end tho. Jaden and Conley have been real bad, and theyre not bringing it on the offensive end either which makes it worse
We need to play Minott like 8 minutes per game or something. I don't like the 8 man rotation
Dillingham has the jets to really push the pace and needs to be in the second team rotation for more minutes. He will make turnovers at times, but the offense has really slowed down by walking the ball up the court. I can't wait to see Rob and Ant blowing up the court and putting pressure on the transition defense.
The offense has actually sped up with Donte and Naz in the second unit vs last year. There’s no need for Rob minutes until Conley gets a day off. Right now turnovers are the problem keeping us from being a top 5 offense. We are 10th in offensive rating. That won’t go up necessarily by infusing speed and more chaos with Rob. I think it’s best to continue with the 8 rotation players we have going right now and Rob will get his minutes down the road.
Im really starting to think the wolves need to find an upgrade for Jaden, or just start Naz at this point. A lineup of Donte, Ant, Naz, Randle and Gobert could be interesting
Naz isn't a 3 and would be a downgrade on defense, which has already been weak this year. I think there's a better case for starting NAW over Jaden, but Jaden makes $25 million so he'll keep starting.
@@DustinHaning - yeah, my only concern is that we would be undersized with NAW. Maybe if we replace Conley with NAW and keep Jaden in the lineup. That could be a scary defense
Good bench but a bad starting offensive 5. Gobert plays like he has no fingers. Mcdaniels is an offensive liability as well and Conley is playing his age.
Who cares how deep you are when your so-called star players are underperforming. Julius Randle has been terrible with defense and Rudy Gobert isn't doing much on offense. Not looking good as last year IMO.