What a fun game. I loved watching Rubio run the offense. He is just what we have needed. And Jerome was great, too! I haven't had much of an expectation from him so far but wow. He seemed so poised for a rookie PG. I wanted to see more from Saric. Cam Johnson, eh, I want to root for the kid but I fear people will be making fun of that pick all year. Oh well. This is a much improved team and already way more fun to watch than last year's. Go Suns!
Cam was fine. He played pretty well overall, even on the defensive end. Let the haters hate, they will be eating crow soon and offering a mea culpa soon enough.
Re: Game Day (Preseason): Timberwolves (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Tues 10/8/19
I love those 13 big rebounds for Ayton. Okobo's 13 points in 13 minutes also really stands out. Kaminsky was more active than I thought he'd be. Glad Coach didn't play the starters big minutes in a meaningless game, but it was still good to see them out there playing a bit.
Re: Game Day (Preseason): Timberwolves (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Tues 10/8/19
Re: Game Day (Preseason): Timberwolves (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Tues 10/8/19
Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2019 1:45 pm
by Flagrant Fowl
Clearly we're better than the last few seasons. It should've been obvious since they've actually rostered a team of adults.
This is a positive start in the right direction, but I'm afraid that we're one Rubio injury away from crumbling. He's everything to this team from a chemistry standpoint.
Re: Game Day (Preseason): Timberwolves (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Tues 10/8/19
Clearly we're better than the last few seasons. It should've been obvious since they've actually rostered a team of adults.
This is a positive start in the right direction, but I'm afraid that we're one Rubio injury away from crumbling. He's everything to this team from a chemistry standpoint.
Not sure how you come to that conclusion. An injury to him wouldn’t be good, but how exactly is he everything to our team chemistry?
I think that sells a lot of players/coaches short. Monty, Oubre, Booker, Baynes, Tyler...these guys all bring good chemistry to the table. Young guys like Cam, Ty, and Mikal are also the right kind of basketball players. They do the right thing on and off the court.
I have to assume you mean on court chemistry? We’d take a bigger hit there, but I think you’d see Tyler slide into the starting pg role and that lineup last year, albeit in a very small sample size, had good chemistry and played well.
I hope Rubio doesn’t get hurt, but he’s not the only reason we’ll be better than last year.
Re: Game Day (Preseason): Timberwolves (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Tues 10/8/19
Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2019 2:09 pm
by Nodack
Just about every team is one injury away from going downhill. Take away a star player from any team and they most likely falter some. Even of Rubio gets injured I would say we are still better off than last year.
Re: Game Day (Preseason): Timberwolves (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Tues 10/8/19
Just about every team is one injury away from going downhill. Take away a star player from any team and they most likely falter some. Even of Rubio gets injured I would say we are still better off than last year.
I agree with this. We just got Rubio and have played one preseason game with him; it's hard to say that we are a fragile team one Rubio injury away from ruin. Even if Rubio did go down, we would have other guys step up, such as Ty Jerome and Okobo and Booker and Tyler Johnson. We'd get by.
Re: Game Day (Preseason): Timberwolves (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Tues 10/8/19
Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2019 3:24 pm
by Flagrant Fowl
Interesting responses. Not really how I see it at all.
From my couch, Rubio is the most important player on this team right now. Booker is the highest paid and most talented, but Rubio is the only guy who has at least as much authority as him, and probably more in a lot of on-court scenarios. If Rubio were to miss, say 4 weeks, I think this team would really struggle and we'd see flashbacks of recent seasons. More so than if they lost Booker or Ayton for the same amount of time.
Ty Jerome, Okobo, Tyler Johnson, Booker; none of them the brain of a PG. (Maybe Jerome, but we're way too early to make a call on him.) None of them know how to consistently run a team well. That's what I'm talking about with Rubio and chemistry. He's the only guy on the roster who can fill that role night in and out. We'll get by on load management nights, but I'm terrified to see the outcome of a prolonged absence.
Re: Game Day (Preseason): Timberwolves (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Tues 10/8/19
Interesting responses. Not really how I see it at all.
From my couch, Rubio is the most important player on this team right now. Booker is the highest paid and most talented, but Rubio is the only guy who has at least as much authority as him, and probably more in a lot of on-court scenarios. If Rubio were to miss, say 4 weeks, I think this team would really struggle and we'd see flashbacks of recent seasons. More so than if they lost Booker or Ayton for the same amount of time.
Ty Jerome, Okobo, Tyler Johnson, Booker; none of them the brain of a PG. (Maybe Jerome, but we're way too early to make a call on him.) None of them know how to consistently run a team well. That's what I'm talking about with Rubio and chemistry. He's the only guy on the roster who can fill that role night in and out. We'll get by on load management nights, but I'm terrified to see the outcome of a prolonged absence.
Maybe you are right, but we could see a flashback like that stretch last year where they won 6 of 12 when Tyler was the PG beating the Heat in Miami, Bucks, GSW in Oakland and the Lakers.
I think Jerome wins the backup spot and has the pedigree and vision to be that PG. Also, I just don't see us doing "load management nights", trying to win each game.
Re: Game Day (Preseason): Timberwolves (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Tues 10/8/19
Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2019 6:31 pm
by Superbone
For Cap:
Re: Game Day (Preseason): Timberwolves (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Tues 10/8/19