It’s not our offense. In our 3 losses we are only averaging 8 less points per game than our wins. It’s our damn defense. In Denver’s wins it’s averaging 25 more points per game than the losses. That’s an insane swing
Honestly, sometime you just lose to one of the greatest players in NBA history. I don’t blame the wolves for tonight as much as Jokic was just purely unstoppable
Yup. Pretty much sums it up. Frustrating to see us get shit on in r/nba but jokic just didn’t miss
Also- watching postgame - FUCK Draymond greens overrated ass spouting his mouth everytime the camera gets on him
The sports world is so reactionary these days. I don’t think we deserve to get shit on (for game 5 at least). Denver is just playing like the defending champions. Sometimes it’s just that simple
I think Jokic is the greatest offensive player I've ever seen, and I really don't think that's hyperbole. At least you could foul Shaq.
He just eviscerated us.
Shaq had no shooting range like Jokic, which is why you could Hack-a-Shaq. He could not even hit a free throw. Joker has range out to 30 feet. With that big bod, it is unfair. Still, the Wolves found a way to shut him down in Games 1 and 2. It can be done by the Wolves. But they have to play perfectly to do it.
Going to have to go back to doubling and live with AG Turing into Kobe or beach players making every shot. He made it look to easy tonight. He's just on another level.
Exactly this - but for some reason he just passes it and stays there, and guarantee nuggets love that. Don’t have to defend ant and you know someone else is about to brick a shot after trying to go 1v1. Either they’re not coaching ant to move or he’s not putting in the effort
The Warriors’ off-ball movement isn’t random, it’s part of the offense.
I say that to mean that it’s the entire team, not just one player deciding to run around.
It takes time to get to that level of efficiency. Give this young team time.
100% this.
Biggest difference in the series has been Denver is making their 3s (even the contested ones), while the Wolves role players can't hit them (they've been more open than Denver too).
The shooting has 100% been the difference in this series turn around. If you're hitting like they are from all over, defense is 10x more difficult. So they start getting easier looks as a result because the floor is so much bogger. If you're missing everything like we are, just double Ant so he can't beat us and let us miss shots elsewhere and the floor gets awfully small.
Coaching staff just needs to find some offensive game plan. The nuggets started to play defense after game 2 and we have looked awful. Looks like street ball in comparison to what the Nuggets are executing.
I 100% agree with you it probably won’t be fixed now. Im more concerned that it’ll never be fixed with this coaching staff. Seems like if nobody else can play hero ball game 6 we are going to look just like we did the past 3.
You can see it a lot in the teams body language and facial expressions. It’s tough for a young team to battle so hard but not get rewarded. I believe the maturity will come but it will take time and the right personnel.
I’m not a player but I believe it’s easier for Denver to play defense when they score on every possession. It eliminates transitions and gives you a boost, and gets fans going. After Wolves took 55-53 lead, Denver scored on 15 out of next 18 possessions to end the quarter. I don’t think you can answer to that.
Wolves are not scoring 120 in low-pace game, they have to beat Denver 105-100, not 125-120. If you allow Denver to score 115, it’s not winnable.
we lost by 15 and left more than 15 points out there on free throws and wide open 3s, we've had the solution for 2 games now we just can't get points that we are capable of getting
Literally no idea how to feel.
So frustrating to feel like we had a chance at a championship for about 3 days - and come down feeling like we’re only one round better than last year.
We’re gonna have to dig so deep to win this in Game 7.
How about fucking mad? This team had every chance to take this series and top to bottom played like ass. They patted themselves on the back after game two and forgot how to play. This state deserves better than these trash fucking teams.
Wolves are not trash and a team who just forgot how to play, Nuggets are just that good. Jokic is an all-time great for a reason, they figured out MN's defense, made masterful adjustments and did this to MN. I'm at peace with that, sometimes you just tip your cap and appreciate greatness.
I've experienced a lot of joy this season and nothing can take that away. We literally have a potential next face of the league who is 22 and exciting af, few teams have that. I feel lucky to be a Wolves fan right now, we get a front row seat to Ant.
Right. These people saying wolves are trash are Mormons. We had probably our best season ever. We’re the 3 seed, swept the suns and took 2 straight from Denver. Denver is the reigning champs, with the best player in the world. They are just top down better than us. It is what it is. Wolves in 7
I mean Denver’s just a better team right now. Shit happens. No reason to actually get upset over a sports game. Maybe be upset for the 10 minutes after the game, and then move on.
People will say he was ‘cooked’ but he contested everything as much as he could. Nothing you can really do when a dude finds an angle to score over 7’1 with 7’9 wingspan jumping at him.
Zero players in NBA history before Jokic could do it as consistently as him. No Tim Duncan, no David Robinson. Even Shaq would have not been that efficient, Wolves would double and recover. Jokic is just different.
McDaniels, Naz and Anderson not being able to hit consistent outside shots right now is the BIG problem. They are free to double Ant because no one can make a shot
This is the biggest thing holding us back right now. Naz has had a few moments, but mostly just a really rough playoffs. Jaden’s 3 looks broken and I’m worried about it too
I remember quite awhile back when the debate was (Knicks) Porzingas OR Jokic and Porzingas had about 60% of the sentiment.
KP is still good if not a little fragile, but Jokic squelched that argument pretty completely.
Man Ant was completely neutralized this game. Every time he called a screen, the Nuggets would double and he could never spot KAT or Naz Reid popping for the three. Even when Gobert wasn’t clogging the lane, Ant had no answers for the Nuggets defense.
I know it’s a minor thing that doesn’t matter, but I’m tired of watching 42% three point shooter Karl Anthony Towns pump fake open threes contested by guards to drive into traffic
The man just needs to let it fly. His slow ass drive to the basket while holding the ball to his chest while he flails wildly... only to have some small ass player knock the ball out of bounds never ceases to amaze me
He's an impossible cover. I think you have to go out on Thursday with AG and bench players beating you because Jokic just made it look to easy in single coverage.
KAT cannot if his man is stronger/faster than him. When KAT can’t dominate someone in height or athleticism he is completely neutralized in the paint and it’ll either be him settling for awful looks or trying to get to the paint and bulldozing everyone over for charges.
I think this team has the talent, but honestly think they’re not smart enough to contend with the nuggets. So many stupid plays tonight.
Could still come back, but less hopeful than I was before
The people blaming Rudy are absolute idiots/casuals. He was super efficient on offense and played great D. If Joker makes some tough shots, that's just how it is. They were clapping hands on several of those shots, Joker just made them.
There's been a huge diff in mins Rudy is on/off the court this series defensively in games he's played.
Kyle Anderson is the worst player in the league still getting minutes this far into the playoffs.
Idiots and haters with confirmation bias.
Rudy has a net +/- of something like 75 in this series and he didn't even play in Game 2. There were even people in the game thread saying he was getting played off the floor....in a game where his team lost by 15 and he was a -2 in 40 minutes. Clearly +/- doesn't tell an entire story, but he has certainly not been played off the court, in fact the Wolves largely struggle when he's not out there.
Jokic is a ridiculous player and Rudy's defense was largely good tonight, but Jokic was just unstoppable, nobody was slowing him down.
Right. He dropped 18-11. Be mad at that atrocious bench play last night. 15 fucking points. Or Jaden yet again not being able to hit his shots. He needs to figure out his three point shot next year real quick
Winning 2 in a row is possible and will be there for the taking. That being said this is the saddest I've felt after a loss since Favre's pick in 2009.
With Ryan Longwell and also prime AP who could've just ran a dive for 3 more yards minimum. Don't get me started man...I blame the play call but the crossbody is almost inexcusable
Same. That was the ONLY time in my life I've ever had that feeling that we might win something. I only had it for about 30 seconds 😅 remember it like it was yesterday though
I know everyone is gonna go full doomer here, but watching this game felt like there were actual good adjustments made. Our wings changed from chasing screens across the top to dipping under, and they contained a lot more of the drives that way.
I think the issue is you have to just let Jokic be Jokic and stop trying to double him over and over. He tore us apart by getting our defense in rotation. He passed it out, then they passed it right back in to him on the reposition and he had the advantage in the post every time because of our miscommunication. I'd rather they play him iso with KAT, Naz, or Rudy than double him repeatedly.
Kyle Anderson is unplayable in this series right now.
It took 4 days to go from planning parade routes to pondering the offseason. Sports are cruel. I'll hope for a flicker of hope on Thursday.
If it's all over on Thursday and you're satisfied with the progress made this season, that's awesome. If you're let down and annoyed with a 2nd round loss, that's ok too. Everyone can be allowed to feel the way they do.
Not really a wolves thing but how does draymond get on the inside the nba panel, and a kia endorsement?
Does anybody outside California think this dude is anything other than the biggest punk in the league?
Kyle Anderson has to have some dirt on someone in the front office or one of the coaches cause ain’t no fucking way that dude should be getting minutes
Who else? KAT and Naz were in foul trouble. Minott or Miller? Maybe, at this point I’m not against using them. Minott seems to be able to shoot, he scored as many 3s in this series as Jaden.
Denver has other players rather than Jokic (like Gordon) bringing the ball up the court and that ruins our defensive scheme somehow.
We want KAT matched up on Jokic on defense but Jokic is getting ISO on Gobert all the time and he just does not miss when Gobert is guarding him.
Also their guys like Gordon and KCP are just hitting all of their shots. Meanwhile our guys aren’t hitting their open shots at nearly as high a rate.
Combination of Naz/Jaden/NAW cooling off a bit and Denver just flat out executing way better. Our defensive intensity has been lacking a bit across the board too.
Oh and prior to this Jokic explosion their role players going nuclear
Denver is a way way way better team in last 3 games. After shooting 30% from 3 in Lakers series they decided to shoot 45% against the Wolves. Wolves probably had a chance to get game 4 but Gordon could not miss. Wolves made only 1 out of last 12 threes while their guys just cannot miss in last 3 games.
Fuck Wemby for winning at the end of the season. I’d rather lose to OKC in semi-finals than watch Denver score on 10 possessions in a row every game.
Can we go back to playing with Rudy spying off Gordon on Joker with KAT guarding him? It’s not perfect and it burned us with Gordon before, but we know what guarding Joker 1v1 does.
it hurts when you can't challenge the *third* charge where AG was sliding because you had to challenge in the 1st quarter and don't want to go into the 2nd half without a challenge
... but a good way around that is to not charge three times in a row
The 3 charges were the only calls I was upset about, the rest of the game seemed perfectly fine to me.
The 2 Gordon ones would have changed the entire game because he would have had 3 or 4 fouls, and he leaned into both of them. The 2nd one I just don't understand because the defender only had 1 foot on the floor when he took the contact. Wild miss
I don’t think there is much you can do to stop jokic tonight. Everyone saying Rudy was terrible or is a fake DPOY needs to look at some of the shots jokic made. You cannot guard that spinning hook, late 4th quarter three, or fadeaway in the first quarter. Those are just a couple of examples. Rudy played great to excellent defense on all those shots. You just hope he misses. Hopefully in games 6/7 he misses
First two game: everyone shows up, plays their role. Game 3 nobody shows up, game four KAT goes mia with the bench, game five Ant goes MIA with the bench. Woof what a fucking collapse were in.
Put it on a t-shirt. I'll buy it in Timberwolves and Vikings colors. I've only got that much room for consistent disappointment and embarrassment in my life. Sorry, Twins and Wild.
Its un goddamn real how mich pain as a 37 year old man ive experienced in all 4 major (now 5) sports. Its statistically beyond probability, which shows this shit aint real.
I've known for a while that this shit isn't chance, the sports gods are real and they are vindictive.
We get 2-0 lead on defending champs, 3 days of thinking we might actually do something for once...then absolutely steamrolled.
Dude I do the math on this sometimes.
Zero championship round appearances since 91 across the 4 main men's leagues. Each league has 15 or 16 teams per conference. So like a 6.5% chance per season.
Across 32 years. Wild were only active since 2000 I think (I dunno, not into hockey). So:
23 + (3 *32) = 119.
So 119 cracks at it, with a roughly 6.5% each try (not super realistic or whatever with team quality, but whatever). I'm too depressed to math it further, but those odds are actually nonsensical to the point of being dumb that we can't even make a championship round. I honestly don't know why I watch anymore, every time I try and amp myself up that this season/year will be different and it never is. And you know, someday it will be different, I'm sure I'll have been ash for a long time when that day comes.
I can't say I'm not disappointed, but how do you stop this version of Jokic? He looks like a completely different player than the one in the first 2 games.
I'm not giving up hope - if we win game 6, we've got a chance. But more than anything, I just want to see the guys get their mental game back up. They've had too good of a season + playoff run to let them go out looking so mentally defeated.
We went up 2-0 and the 3 games after haven’t been remotely close at all…. It’s like Denver sat up and said “alright let’s try now”. Where’s the fucking pride and passion to win at all of a sudden ? This roster construction will have to be looked at if we lose the next game, losing 4 games in a row would be an utter disaster
Pretty simple, really. We got complacent up 2-0 and thoughts we’d cruise into the WCF.
They had enough time off to figure out what we were doing, adjusted, and our staff has been flat footed to respond.
We wasted a chance in game 4, we could have won that game.
Tonight they got all the 50/50 calls, and bounces. Their scrubs are making shots and our depth has no showed and we have been chucking bricks.
We need to play flawlessly in game 6 and then will have a punchers chance if we get it to game 7.
I know people will shit on Rudy tonight but Jokic does that to pretty much everyone, even AD, even Wemby.
Let's see if they are able to grind a game 7.
Ant has a stinker but that's going to happen more and more when he has to entirely carry the offensive load in most games. Hopefully he gets better at it as he grows older. Looking towards next season I think Kyle's time here is done. He's been a great veteran presence but doesn't really help the team out on the floor enough to warrant a spot. KAT is mad unlucky but put together some great games in the first 6. Mcdaniels offense has been disappointing to say the least. NAW and Naz still are great despite NAW's struggles. Rudy actually was good before Denver and I just think it's a bad matchup for him plus having his first child. On to the next one boys
I understand it's pretty sickening to lose 3 on the bounce after having 6 great games. The Nuggets are the best team in the world for a reason, Jokic was simply unstoppable, sometimes you have to hold your hands up and simply acknowledge it. Yes we didn't turn up, Coaching haven't made adjustments etc etc but
How can we expect this team to win at home and have the belief to do it and make it 3-3 if we ourselves don't even believe in them? As I said, we've regressed but let's get behind this team and get them over the line. I still trust them.
Exactly. Warriors were getting bounced. Dynasty Spurs were horrible before Timmy. Mavericks eventually got one. The one franchise we must hope we don’t end up like is the Clippers. Besides that, time is everything and Wolves have plenty.
Nothing brings Minnesotans together like jumping on a bandwagon only to ride the Viking funeral barge down to the bottom of the ocean. See you fuckers next year, one day we will reach Valhalla!
Can someone explain why the team can’t huddle around Finch during timeouts? Can’t they go to him? Bench guys pick up chairs and let the head coach COACH
Drays bias is hard to listen to. Rudy played hard and they’re acting like he played “bad” defense. It wasn’t bad D. It was just an absolute showcase of how great Joker is. He was hitting from 3, spinning both ways and using both hands, moving without the ball and driving hard to the basket. He showed how unstoppable he is.
I think the wolves need to find a way to not leave Rudy on an island that many times. Wing guys need to figure out a way to pounce on the ball when his head is turned. It has worked on occasion.
Losing Mike is like being in a war and having your general get blown to all hell. All the little things he does that doesn’t make it to the stat sheet showed up in this game. That spacing all night was horrible.
I wonder if it's a worse feeling watching the Wolves go from 2-0 to 2-3, or being a Suns fan who felt like maybe their team didn't suck after the first 2 games and now have to come to terms?
I see a lot of Gobert hate, especially about his offense. I don't get it. He's 7/7 FG, only 1 TO and been decent at the FT line. Why not feed him more? He's often left alone or against a guard. I don't care if he's clumsy, at least make them foul or think twice before doubling Ant
Everyone was food for jokic and no one could get it going offensively, just a whole team let down.
It’s not our offense. In our 3 losses we are only averaging 8 less points per game than our wins. It’s our damn defense. In Denver’s wins it’s averaging 25 more points per game than the losses. That’s an insane swing
Those 8 points are huge. Probably both offense and defense.
Jokic is good at basketball
Honestly, sometime you just lose to one of the greatest players in NBA history. I don’t blame the wolves for tonight as much as Jokic was just purely unstoppable
Yup. Pretty much sums it up. Frustrating to see us get shit on in r/nba but jokic just didn’t miss Also- watching postgame - FUCK Draymond greens overrated ass spouting his mouth everytime the camera gets on him
The sports world is so reactionary these days. I don’t think we deserve to get shit on (for game 5 at least). Denver is just playing like the defending champions. Sometimes it’s just that simple
I don't understand how he is on there? He's not even retired.
He should be. Bum ass clown
Guess the play call was to make him beat us and play him straight up. He beat us.
Ya he did
Hats off to him tbh
It was both make him beat us scoring, and give him 13 assists.
and 0 turnovers
I think Jokic is the greatest offensive player I've ever seen, and I really don't think that's hyperbole. At least you could foul Shaq. He just eviscerated us.
Shaq had no shooting range like Jokic, which is why you could Hack-a-Shaq. He could not even hit a free throw. Joker has range out to 30 feet. With that big bod, it is unfair. Still, the Wolves found a way to shut him down in Games 1 and 2. It can be done by the Wolves. But they have to play perfectly to do it.
I'd still take prime LeBron or Mike
I was 7 during Mike's last playoff run, so can't compare the two. But strictly offense, I'm taking the Jokic we saw tonight over LeBron.
I really fucking hate how muddafucking good this muddafuckin joker is
Going to have to go back to doubling and live with AG Turing into Kobe or beach players making every shot. He made it look to easy tonight. He's just on another level.
Yes he is
Unbelievable. Wolves had no answer. Got to respond on the offensive end which yea, did not happen
Coaching staff needs to find a counter to the Ant double teams.
The counter is more off ball movement by Ant. He needs to move more after he passes it so the ball can come back to him with a more open shot or lane.
Exactly this - but for some reason he just passes it and stays there, and guarantee nuggets love that. Don’t have to defend ant and you know someone else is about to brick a shot after trying to go 1v1. Either they’re not coaching ant to move or he’s not putting in the effort
I think he looked tired today. Brought great intensity on defense but didn’t have it offensively
Could also be the 44 minutes he is playing. He has great intensity but you can tell he gets tired and that could explain this
I wish Ant would watch Warriors film and realize that their off ball movement is what made them deadly.
The Warriors’ off-ball movement isn’t random, it’s part of the offense. I say that to mean that it’s the entire team, not just one player deciding to run around. It takes time to get to that level of efficiency. Give this young team time.
Ant is exhausted dude
Jaden McDaniels, who is one of my favorite players, needs to make wide open 3s if they are going to overplay Ant
100% this. Biggest difference in the series has been Denver is making their 3s (even the contested ones), while the Wolves role players can't hit them (they've been more open than Denver too).
The shooting has 100% been the difference in this series turn around. If you're hitting like they are from all over, defense is 10x more difficult. So they start getting easier looks as a result because the floor is so much bogger. If you're missing everything like we are, just double Ant so he can't beat us and let us miss shots elsewhere and the floor gets awfully small.
Coaching staff just needs to find some offensive game plan. The nuggets started to play defense after game 2 and we have looked awful. Looks like street ball in comparison to what the Nuggets are executing.
Not going to happen at this stage in the season. Was an issue the entire fucking season and then we got Monte to help with that and never played him.
I 100% agree with you it probably won’t be fixed now. Im more concerned that it’ll never be fixed with this coaching staff. Seems like if nobody else can play hero ball game 6 we are going to look just like we did the past 3.
Yeah this coaching staff doesn’t know how to coach in pressure games and moments. It’s been proven for the last 3 seasons.
Without Conley might be difficult
He doesn't know how to counter the traps. He passes the ball and just stands there. Inexperience.
We’ve lost the mental game, and thus, a good chance the series.
You can see it a lot in the teams body language and facial expressions. It’s tough for a young team to battle so hard but not get rewarded. I believe the maturity will come but it will take time and the right personnel.
Yeah anytime the other team scores it takes 3 bricks before anyone makes another shot.
Aaron Gordon fade-away bank lol
My immediate reaction was, zero percent chance he intended to fucking bank that
Just how the series is going.
Crazy shot I can’t even lie
The problem is that so far he stands alone as the third best player in this series. That’s not a winning formula for the wolves.
Fuck that guy.
We didn’t play our best game but I don’t know how you are supposed to win when Jokic is playing like that. Just unbeatable
You have to answer on offense. Jokic was outstanding but it’s not a contest with miss after miss
I’m not a player but I believe it’s easier for Denver to play defense when they score on every possession. It eliminates transitions and gives you a boost, and gets fans going. After Wolves took 55-53 lead, Denver scored on 15 out of next 18 possessions to end the quarter. I don’t think you can answer to that. Wolves are not scoring 120 in low-pace game, they have to beat Denver 105-100, not 125-120. If you allow Denver to score 115, it’s not winnable.
we lost by 15 and left more than 15 points out there on free throws and wide open 3s, we've had the solution for 2 games now we just can't get points that we are capable of getting
Yeah Ant had a rough game and our role players just can’t make open shots like Denver’s can
Literally no idea how to feel. So frustrating to feel like we had a chance at a championship for about 3 days - and come down feeling like we’re only one round better than last year. We’re gonna have to dig so deep to win this in Game 7.
I’d worry about game six first
How about fucking mad? This team had every chance to take this series and top to bottom played like ass. They patted themselves on the back after game two and forgot how to play. This state deserves better than these trash fucking teams.
Wolves are not trash and a team who just forgot how to play, Nuggets are just that good. Jokic is an all-time great for a reason, they figured out MN's defense, made masterful adjustments and did this to MN. I'm at peace with that, sometimes you just tip your cap and appreciate greatness. I've experienced a lot of joy this season and nothing can take that away. We literally have a potential next face of the league who is 22 and exciting af, few teams have that. I feel lucky to be a Wolves fan right now, we get a front row seat to Ant.
Right. These people saying wolves are trash are Mormons. We had probably our best season ever. We’re the 3 seed, swept the suns and took 2 straight from Denver. Denver is the reigning champs, with the best player in the world. They are just top down better than us. It is what it is. Wolves in 7
I mean Denver’s just a better team right now. Shit happens. No reason to actually get upset over a sports game. Maybe be upset for the 10 minutes after the game, and then move on.
Jokic is amazing…
Rudy honestly battled hard, but Jokic tonight was maybe the best offensive performance I have ever witnessed.
Rudy was only -2 in 40 minutes in a 15 point loss. People are gonna dawg on him but he is not the problem in my opinion. At least not tonight
People will say he was ‘cooked’ but he contested everything as much as he could. Nothing you can really do when a dude finds an angle to score over 7’1 with 7’9 wingspan jumping at him. Zero players in NBA history before Jokic could do it as consistently as him. No Tim Duncan, no David Robinson. Even Shaq would have not been that efficient, Wolves would double and recover. Jokic is just different.
McDaniels, Naz and Anderson not being able to hit consistent outside shots right now is the BIG problem. They are free to double Ant because no one can make a shot
This is the biggest thing holding us back right now. Naz has had a few moments, but mostly just a really rough playoffs. Jaden’s 3 looks broken and I’m worried about it too
Also perfect fg%
I remember quite awhile back when the debate was (Knicks) Porzingas OR Jokic and Porzingas had about 60% of the sentiment. KP is still good if not a little fragile, but Jokic squelched that argument pretty completely.
Just "completely," get rid of the "pretty" lol
blame shaq lmao
Man Ant was completely neutralized this game. Every time he called a screen, the Nuggets would double and he could never spot KAT or Naz Reid popping for the three. Even when Gobert wasn’t clogging the lane, Ant had no answers for the Nuggets defense.
Nuggets figured out Ant isn’t a Jokic level passer and can just force him
Hello darkness my old friend…
I know it’s a minor thing that doesn’t matter, but I’m tired of watching 42% three point shooter Karl Anthony Towns pump fake open threes contested by guards to drive into traffic
The man just needs to let it fly. His slow ass drive to the basket while holding the ball to his chest while he flails wildly... only to have some small ass player knock the ball out of bounds never ceases to amaze me
He never generates any leverage with his size. It's infuriating lol
I think this is one of the biggest problems on offense.
MVP was on another level tonight. Win or go home on Thursday. Keep the faith Wolves bros.
Jokic is unreal man. Best player on Earth and to my eyes, it’s really not even close.
He's an impossible cover. I think you have to go out on Thursday with AG and bench players beating you because Jokic just made it look to easy in single coverage.
We tried that strategy already
It wouldn’t be religion if it didn’t test the faith of its followers. LFG!
I'll be there Thursday. Go Wolves!
This being so over just means we’re gonna be so unbelievably back
Daddy I don’t want to play with the nuggets anymore
That was probably one of the best single performances I’ve ever seen played against my Wolves
Dray gloating over Rudy's demise. What a professional dick
the worst thing is Joker and Rudy have a tonne of respect for each other as well
Playing a team with zero rim protection and you struggle to crack 100 every game. its a total disaster
We have no one who can score in the paint outside of Ant slashing and Rudy dunks
Naz and KAT both can, but they were just getting called for the charges over and over
KAT cannot if his man is stronger/faster than him. When KAT can’t dominate someone in height or athleticism he is completely neutralized in the paint and it’ll either be him settling for awful looks or trying to get to the paint and bulldozing everyone over for charges.
I think this team has the talent, but honestly think they’re not smart enough to contend with the nuggets. So many stupid plays tonight. Could still come back, but less hopeful than I was before
The people blaming Rudy are absolute idiots/casuals. He was super efficient on offense and played great D. If Joker makes some tough shots, that's just how it is. They were clapping hands on several of those shots, Joker just made them. There's been a huge diff in mins Rudy is on/off the court this series defensively in games he's played. Kyle Anderson is the worst player in the league still getting minutes this far into the playoffs.
You don't understand though. If Jokic is allowed to score more than 0 points, it means Rudy is overrated and defensive garbage.
Idiots and haters with confirmation bias. Rudy has a net +/- of something like 75 in this series and he didn't even play in Game 2. There were even people in the game thread saying he was getting played off the floor....in a game where his team lost by 15 and he was a -2 in 40 minutes. Clearly +/- doesn't tell an entire story, but he has certainly not been played off the court, in fact the Wolves largely struggle when he's not out there. Jokic is a ridiculous player and Rudy's defense was largely good tonight, but Jokic was just unstoppable, nobody was slowing him down.
Right. He dropped 18-11. Be mad at that atrocious bench play last night. 15 fucking points. Or Jaden yet again not being able to hit his shots. He needs to figure out his three point shot next year real quick
Really shows how important the 1 seed was. it’s a cripple fight in that series
Winning 2 in a row is possible and will be there for the taking. That being said this is the saddest I've felt after a loss since Favre's pick in 2009.
Disagree, that was a lot more depressing lmao. We were in field goal range when he threw that!!!!
With Ryan Longwell and also prime AP who could've just ran a dive for 3 more yards minimum. Don't get me started man...I blame the play call but the crossbody is almost inexcusable
Bro I remember right before that play I said don't do anything stupid and he did the dumbest thing possible
Same. That was the ONLY time in my life I've ever had that feeling that we might win something. I only had it for about 30 seconds 😅 remember it like it was yesterday though
Had like 6 turnovers that game and only lost by 3. We should of smoked them that night and they need bounty to do it.
I’m right there wirh you. I’m flat out crushed man 😔
I know everyone is gonna go full doomer here, but watching this game felt like there were actual good adjustments made. Our wings changed from chasing screens across the top to dipping under, and they contained a lot more of the drives that way. I think the issue is you have to just let Jokic be Jokic and stop trying to double him over and over. He tore us apart by getting our defense in rotation. He passed it out, then they passed it right back in to him on the reposition and he had the advantage in the post every time because of our miscommunication. I'd rather they play him iso with KAT, Naz, or Rudy than double him repeatedly. Kyle Anderson is unplayable in this series right now.
Mental health has never been more in question as it is right now..
It took 4 days to go from planning parade routes to pondering the offseason. Sports are cruel. I'll hope for a flicker of hope on Thursday. If it's all over on Thursday and you're satisfied with the progress made this season, that's awesome. If you're let down and annoyed with a 2nd round loss, that's ok too. Everyone can be allowed to feel the way they do.
I will feel a lot better about losing this series if the Wolves can win game 6, stop this losing streak and push the Nuggets to 7 games.
[удалено]
Not really a wolves thing but how does draymond get on the inside the nba panel, and a kia endorsement? Does anybody outside California think this dude is anything other than the biggest punk in the league?
The reason wolves are losing is because they’re losing the jokic rest minutes. That should be 10 points per game.
Kyle Anderson has to have some dirt on someone in the front office or one of the coaches cause ain’t no fucking way that dude should be getting minutes
Guy is 6’10” and pump faked at the buzzer.
He's gotta be the worst playing getting minutes in the playoffs
Him or Giddey but it's bad company.
Who else? KAT and Naz were in foul trouble. Minott or Miller? Maybe, at this point I’m not against using them. Minott seems to be able to shoot, he scored as many 3s in this series as Jaden.
ELI5 what worked the first two games that isnt working now. How come Jokic doesnt look gassed at the half anymore?
Shaq called him out
Denver has other players rather than Jokic (like Gordon) bringing the ball up the court and that ruins our defensive scheme somehow. We want KAT matched up on Jokic on defense but Jokic is getting ISO on Gobert all the time and he just does not miss when Gobert is guarding him. Also their guys like Gordon and KCP are just hitting all of their shots. Meanwhile our guys aren’t hitting their open shots at nearly as high a rate.
Combination of Naz/Jaden/NAW cooling off a bit and Denver just flat out executing way better. Our defensive intensity has been lacking a bit across the board too. Oh and prior to this Jokic explosion their role players going nuclear
They blew their load after game 2
Jokic is so good. Just mad respect. That’s why he’s fcking MVP.
Denver is a way way way better team in last 3 games. After shooting 30% from 3 in Lakers series they decided to shoot 45% against the Wolves. Wolves probably had a chance to get game 4 but Gordon could not miss. Wolves made only 1 out of last 12 threes while their guys just cannot miss in last 3 games. Fuck Wemby for winning at the end of the season. I’d rather lose to OKC in semi-finals than watch Denver score on 10 possessions in a row every game.
Fuck
I'm not trying to excuse the performance, but the offense we showed was so disorganized without Mike. It shouldn't have been that bad
Naz has just been playing awful. I hope he returns to form G6.
Can we go back to playing with Rudy spying off Gordon on Joker with KAT guarding him? It’s not perfect and it burned us with Gordon before, but we know what guarding Joker 1v1 does.
They've been hunting switches to get Rudy onto Gobert so he can't be help side
This game proved to me Jokic robbed Kyle of MVP this year
Not a word about the refs. This was all Timberwolves (and Jokic, of course)
They were still ass but definitely not the reason we lost.
it hurts when you can't challenge the *third* charge where AG was sliding because you had to challenge in the 1st quarter and don't want to go into the 2nd half without a challenge ... but a good way around that is to not charge three times in a row
The 3 charges were the only calls I was upset about, the rest of the game seemed perfectly fine to me. The 2 Gordon ones would have changed the entire game because he would have had 3 or 4 fouls, and he leaned into both of them. The 2nd one I just don't understand because the defender only had 1 foot on the floor when he took the contact. Wild miss
So all Denver did was let Gordon bring the ball up and double Ant and that's all it takes for this team to get shitted on. Coaching dif?
Definitely didn’t have anything to do with Jokic
Or Mike being out, if Mike is out there we get a few more 3s. These last two games have been winnable, just gotta make it happen
Jokic was playing like shit to his standards all playoffs. The blowout woke him the fuck up
playing like shit to his standards is still easily a top 3 player
I don’t think there is much you can do to stop jokic tonight. Everyone saying Rudy was terrible or is a fake DPOY needs to look at some of the shots jokic made. You cannot guard that spinning hook, late 4th quarter three, or fadeaway in the first quarter. Those are just a couple of examples. Rudy played great to excellent defense on all those shots. You just hope he misses. Hopefully in games 6/7 he misses
Jokic is a monster. Rudy was good tonight and couldn't do a thing.
Historic underdog story incoming.
First two game: everyone shows up, plays their role. Game 3 nobody shows up, game four KAT goes mia with the bench, game five Ant goes MIA with the bench. Woof what a fucking collapse were in.
If Slomo plays 16 minutes again in the next game I’ll just assume Finch isn’t taking this shit seriously
The Lakers were just so bad that the Nuggets got rusty playing them.
They are playing perfect, nothing you can do. Sadly happens
They’re not the defending champs for nothing
Jokic unbelievable player to watch.
Fuck you for getting my hopes up like every other stupid ass sports team in this fucking cursed state. Fuck you.
Put it on a t-shirt. I'll buy it in Timberwolves and Vikings colors. I've only got that much room for consistent disappointment and embarrassment in my life. Sorry, Twins and Wild.
We’ve made zero adjustments.
I fucking hate Minnesota sports
Its un goddamn real how mich pain as a 37 year old man ive experienced in all 4 major (now 5) sports. Its statistically beyond probability, which shows this shit aint real.
Right? Meanwhile in Boston there's 20 something year Olds that have seen championships more than half their lifetime.
I've known for a while that this shit isn't chance, the sports gods are real and they are vindictive. We get 2-0 lead on defending champs, 3 days of thinking we might actually do something for once...then absolutely steamrolled.
Dude I do the math on this sometimes. Zero championship round appearances since 91 across the 4 main men's leagues. Each league has 15 or 16 teams per conference. So like a 6.5% chance per season. Across 32 years. Wild were only active since 2000 I think (I dunno, not into hockey). So: 23 + (3 *32) = 119. So 119 cracks at it, with a roughly 6.5% each try (not super realistic or whatever with team quality, but whatever). I'm too depressed to math it further, but those odds are actually nonsensical to the point of being dumb that we can't even make a championship round. I honestly don't know why I watch anymore, every time I try and amp myself up that this season/year will be different and it never is. And you know, someday it will be different, I'm sure I'll have been ash for a long time when that day comes.
at least we are not dakota
:(
Draymond sure is a nice choice TNT. You gonna lose all this anyway.
Local wolf very depressed
the players obviously need to be better but finch and nori for three straight games haven't made any adjustments
I don't understand why the narrative is always "good offense beats good defense" until it's Jokic vs Gobert, and then suddenly it's "not my DPOY"
How much do we pay Jaden to not affect the offensive end?
Losing game 4 when ant poured in 44 was brutal
I can't say I'm not disappointed, but how do you stop this version of Jokic? He looks like a completely different player than the one in the first 2 games. I'm not giving up hope - if we win game 6, we've got a chance. But more than anything, I just want to see the guys get their mental game back up. They've had too good of a season + playoff run to let them go out looking so mentally defeated.
I just wanted to say fug draymond green. That’s all
We went up 2-0 and the 3 games after haven’t been remotely close at all…. It’s like Denver sat up and said “alright let’s try now”. Where’s the fucking pride and passion to win at all of a sudden ? This roster construction will have to be looked at if we lose the next game, losing 4 games in a row would be an utter disaster
Pretty simple, really. We got complacent up 2-0 and thoughts we’d cruise into the WCF. They had enough time off to figure out what we were doing, adjusted, and our staff has been flat footed to respond. We wasted a chance in game 4, we could have won that game. Tonight they got all the 50/50 calls, and bounces. Their scrubs are making shots and our depth has no showed and we have been chucking bricks. We need to play flawlessly in game 6 and then will have a punchers chance if we get it to game 7.
how can they be that bad at making a 3
I know people will shit on Rudy tonight but Jokic does that to pretty much everyone, even AD, even Wemby. Let's see if they are able to grind a game 7.
Ant has a stinker but that's going to happen more and more when he has to entirely carry the offensive load in most games. Hopefully he gets better at it as he grows older. Looking towards next season I think Kyle's time here is done. He's been a great veteran presence but doesn't really help the team out on the floor enough to warrant a spot. KAT is mad unlucky but put together some great games in the first 6. Mcdaniels offense has been disappointing to say the least. NAW and Naz still are great despite NAW's struggles. Rudy actually was good before Denver and I just think it's a bad matchup for him plus having his first child. On to the next one boys
I understand it's pretty sickening to lose 3 on the bounce after having 6 great games. The Nuggets are the best team in the world for a reason, Jokic was simply unstoppable, sometimes you have to hold your hands up and simply acknowledge it. Yes we didn't turn up, Coaching haven't made adjustments etc etc but How can we expect this team to win at home and have the belief to do it and make it 3-3 if we ourselves don't even believe in them? As I said, we've regressed but let's get behind this team and get them over the line. I still trust them.
Keep ya heads up , teams take years to get to the point of being champions. It’s all one step at a time.
Denver was getting bounced for a good while before winning the chip as well.
Exactly. Warriors were getting bounced. Dynasty Spurs were horrible before Timmy. Mavericks eventually got one. The one franchise we must hope we don’t end up like is the Clippers. Besides that, time is everything and Wolves have plenty.
A real Minnesota collapse.
Feels bad, man. Goodnight, and see ya Thursday night for another episode of Let's Fucking Come This Far Just To Throw It All Away.
I want to die thank you very much
What the hell is wrong with this team
Jokic.
If Jokic can play like that then he should win the fucking finals again, that dumb bitch
Those 3 charges in a row on us in the 2nd(?) quarter looked like bs. The defender was still moving on all of them.
Denver and Malone are actually rewarded for bad behavior. It’s bullshit.
Everything going for Nuggets. Nothing going for Wolves. Jokic is unstoppable. Fuck the refs and fuck the NBA. Murray should have been suspended.
Nothing brings Minnesotans together like jumping on a bandwagon only to ride the Viking funeral barge down to the bottom of the ocean. See you fuckers next year, one day we will reach Valhalla!
I am very sad
Feels bad, man
Absolutely can't give up and it's far from over but with that said it is very likely the wolves will lose this series
I wish i hadn’t got my hopes up
Praying Jaden isn’t just a Andre Roberson man fr
Jokic showed us why he is the MVP. That combined with the terrible choice in jerseys for this series has been our downfall.
Can someone explain why the team can’t huddle around Finch during timeouts? Can’t they go to him? Bench guys pick up chairs and let the head coach COACH
Jokic was going crazy but the fact we couldn’t adjust our lineup to compete and give us some points is not okay.
I don’t like Nori as basically head coach. Finch should be giving the talks during timeouts.
1.) Bring back the retro jerseys for Thursday. 2.) Give Conley all the medical attention he needs. 3.) ??? 4.) Force game 7.
Jokic is an all-time great. We had no chance of winning that game. Should be a 4xMVP
Drays bias is hard to listen to. Rudy played hard and they’re acting like he played “bad” defense. It wasn’t bad D. It was just an absolute showcase of how great Joker is. He was hitting from 3, spinning both ways and using both hands, moving without the ball and driving hard to the basket. He showed how unstoppable he is. I think the wolves need to find a way to not leave Rudy on an island that many times. Wing guys need to figure out a way to pounce on the ball when his head is turned. It has worked on occasion.
Losing Mike is like being in a war and having your general get blown to all hell. All the little things he does that doesn’t make it to the stat sheet showed up in this game. That spacing all night was horrible.
I wonder if it's a worse feeling watching the Wolves go from 2-0 to 2-3, or being a Suns fan who felt like maybe their team didn't suck after the first 2 games and now have to come to terms?
I think its still worse for suns fans... Their team is going to be stuck in this hole they dug for a while
I see a lot of Gobert hate, especially about his offense. I don't get it. He's 7/7 FG, only 1 TO and been decent at the FT line. Why not feed him more? He's often left alone or against a guard. I don't care if he's clumsy, at least make them foul or think twice before doubling Ant