Game Day: TWolves (24-24) @ Suns (38-9), Fri 1/28/22

[Split T]

CP3 is averaging his highest minutes since 2014-15. I think Monty needs to start prioritizing health over wins.

We’ve had a lot of injuries…only 9 guys suiting up right now. Not much we can do

[Split T]

Book is legitimately a good defensive player now

[Split T]

Also I’m a big Skylar Diggins-Smith fan…I would like her to be the primary backup to Eddie Johnson in the broadcast

[LazarusLong]

Also I’m a big Skylar Diggins-Smith fan…I would like her to be the primary backup to Eddie Johnson in the broadcast

I thought the three broadcasters last night was not a great idea.
At first, they were echoing each other.
As the game progressed, Diggins-Smith found her footing.
She has a great feel for the game and gave a number of solid insights.

Ann Meyers-Drysdale is a very nice person, but I've never been a big fan of her commentary.
I'll leave it at that ...

[ShelC]

Good competitive win. TWolves play hard and are physical, they remind me of the Clips last year and they're obviously tougher with DAR and Bev playing. They could be a tough out in the playoffs if everyone's healthy.

I like that we're starting games faster, looking to push the ball for early transition points with guys releasing downcourt and sealing deep in the paint. That gets us some easy scores and fouls which gives some cushion for later on when we're playing the clock/possession game down the stretch.

I think Cam Johnson was the only starter not in double digit scoring at halftime but he broke out in the 3rd and ended up the 2nd leading scorer for the Suns. If/when he ends up starting, he'll get us to another level offensively because of his (still improving) versatility.

Really liked seeing Shamet on the ball and looking to create/pass. I think we've underutilized that part of his game so far by having him be just a shooter. Being on the ball a bit might actually help take some pressure off of him feeing like he has to make every shot he takes because he only gets so many a game.

I've wanted to see Ish as a small ball 5 and we saw it for a bit out of necessity. I like the idea of it more than the execution last night, but Ish did what he could in a pinch. Unfortunately Stix and Biyombo got into foul trouble. Stix especially needs to be smarter, he picked up his 4th and 5th fouls in a span of like 7 seconds. Both guys held it down tho in the middle and for all the talk about having too many bigs just a couple weeks ago, here we are. Gotta get some bodies back soon because the minutes are adding up.

[Split T]

Also I’m a big Skylar Diggins-Smith fan…I would like her to be the primary backup to Eddie Johnson in the broadcast

I thought the three broadcasters last night was not a great idea.
At first, they were echoing each other.
As the game progressed, Diggins-Smith found her footing.
She has a great feel for the game and gave a number of solid insights.

Ann Meyers-Drysdale is a very nice person, but I've never been a big fan of her commentary.
I'll leave it at that ...

I never really dislike commentators, I just think Drysdale is forgettable. She rarely says anything that adds insight for me. Diggins-Smith as a current player has a stronger grasp on how basketball is played today and she does add to my experience.

[Superbone]

Best start in franchise history. Shame it's on Bally's which has caused viewership numbers to be near their lowest the past decade, per BSoTS podcast. Especially with Covid. People could use some sunshine.

I think a ton of people are still watching, just not in a way they count (streaming other than ballys).

I watch on League Pass, so I don't know whether that counts in their numbers.

Same. LP on DTV. Does that count?

[Superbone]

CP3 is averaging his highest minutes since 2014-15. I think Monty needs to start prioritizing health over wins.

We’ve had a lot of injuries…only 9 guys suiting up right now. Not much we can do

We could just play EP a ton and lose. That's something we could do.

[Split T]

CP3 is averaging his highest minutes since 2014-15. I think Monty needs to start prioritizing health over wins.

We’ve had a lot of injuries…only 9 guys suiting up right now. Not much we can do

We could just play EP a ton and lose. That's something we could do.

True…I’ve given up on the idea that we might rest CP3 a bit. He wants no part of that and it goes completely against his nature. He’s honestly been very healthy the last few years and wearing down does not actually seem to be a problem. In fact I think he gets better as the season goes on. Just gotta avoid the annoying little injuries he got last postseason.

CP3 is quietly putting up 15/11 on 51/43/83 shooting in January…ok maybe not so quietly.

He is putting together a real 1st Team All-NBA campaign imo. If he keeps trending up and finishes around 15/11/5/2 with 50/37/85 splits on a 66 win team(our current pace), then I’d put him on and also give him like a 3rd or 4th place mvp vote.

I think he’s essentially even with Curry now and Curry is trending the opposite direction.

If I was voting today

1st Team:
CP3 and Ja at G
Giannis and Jokic at F(pretty sure they’d allow it)
Embiid at C

KD would have a spot if healthy.

My MVP ballot would be:

1. Embiid
2. Giannis
3. Jokic
4. Paul
5. Morant

[Superbone]

Good stuff, Split. I watched the TWolves broadcast last night and these guys were a trip. It seemed like they spent the whole 2nd quarter debating Paul as an MVP candidate. One guy had him high up there and the other didn't. The other guy thought Jokic was more impressive because his surrounding cast isn't as good. But come on, how can you not have Paul up there on the best team in the Association and the biggest difference maker on said team?

[Indy]

CP3 is averaging his highest minutes since 2014-15. I think Monty needs to start prioritizing health over wins.

We’ve had a lot of injuries…only 9 guys suiting up right now. Not much we can do

And for a lot of the game, he is just there managing it a bit. He is playing the most minutes since he turned 30, but he is also taking the fewest shots ever. And it isn't because he is getting fouled a ton and those don't count as FGAs--His FTAs are at the 2nd lowest of his career.

He is finding ways to be out there but not be high usage. This is also his lowest usage year, by far. Next closest was 11 years ago and he is 1.4% below that.

[Indy]

Also I’m a big Skylar Diggins-Smith fan…I would like her to be the primary backup to Eddie Johnson in the broadcast

I thought the three broadcasters last night was not a great idea.
At first, they were echoing each other.
As the game progressed, Diggins-Smith found her footing.
She has a great feel for the game and gave a number of solid insights.

Ann Meyers-Drysdale is a very nice person, but I've never been a big fan of her commentary.
I'll leave it at that ...

I never really dislike commentators, I just think Drysdale is forgettable. She rarely says anything that adds insight for me. Diggins-Smith as a current player has a stronger grasp on how basketball is played today and she does add to my experience.

Skylar is fantastic. I wish I could listen to her every game. She actually analyzes the game, and doesn't just say things like "great shot there" or "nice screen." She says "look for a high pick and roll with McGee as Cam and Mikal slide into the corners and Book lifts on the weak side to pull the defender even further out of the paint."

I think Eddie does a great job as a color commentator, but is weak as an analyst.

[Split T]

Also I’m a big Skylar Diggins-Smith fan…I would like her to be the primary backup to Eddie Johnson in the broadcast

I thought the three broadcasters last night was not a great idea.
At first, they were echoing each other.
As the game progressed, Diggins-Smith found her footing.
She has a great feel for the game and gave a number of solid insights.

Ann Meyers-Drysdale is a very nice person, but I've never been a big fan of her commentary.
I'll leave it at that ...

I never really dislike commentators, I just think Drysdale is forgettable. She rarely says anything that adds insight for me. Diggins-Smith as a current player has a stronger grasp on how basketball is played today and she does add to my experience.

Skylar is fantastic. I wish I could listen to her every game. She actually analyzes the game, and doesn't just say things like "great shot there" or "nice screen." She says "look for a high pick and roll with McGee as Cam and Mikal slide into the corners and Book lifts on the weak side to pull the defender even further out of the paint."

I think Eddie does a great job as a color commentator, but is weak as an analyst.

Ya I’d agree, that insight into what the players are thinking or planning is just so rare. I think casual fans probably don’t care too much for it, but us die-hards love it!

It’s like the TNT crew, I think Shaq, Kenny, and Chuck are hilarious, but they rarely offer any good insight into the modern game. It’s much better when Candace Parker is there. Draymond too. JJ Reddick is another guy that just understands the game at a way higher level than the group he discusses basketball with on ESPN. Give me all of those guys and girls all day over what we usually get.

[Indy]

Yeah I think the entire national broadcast teams are geared to casual fans that are flipping channels and then stumble across TNT or ESPN and stop to listen to the commentary. But I can't tell you the last time I learned anything besides obscure facts from the standard TNT crew.

It is like listening to science from Neil deGrasse Tyson. You hear/see him and think, wow, that was really interesting. Then you read from people doing actual science and find out how often he is wrong and how little he knows about what is going on today. I prefer substance over pomp.

[Split T]

That one TNT broadcast where Candace was trying to explain modern pick and roll defensive coverages to Shaq and he was clueless was hilarious. You see her looking around for someone who knew what she was talking about and luckily Wade was there to back her up.

[JeremyG]

CP3 is averaging his highest minutes since 2014-15. I think Monty needs to start prioritizing health over wins.

We’ve had a lot of injuries…only 9 guys suiting up right now. Not much we can do

We could just play EP a ton and lose. That's something we could do.

It doesn't even mean we would necessarily lose. Payton had a positive +/- last night. I'm just not sure that prioritizing regular season wins is the way to go right now.

[Nodack]

I don’t know what the minutes looked like all season. Payne is out and I think Book and CP3 are just putting in a few extra minutes to compensate for a little while. It would be nice if we could depend on EP for those minutes but I guess they are prioritizing winning. This team hates losing. Hopefully they can cut their minutes down some when Payne no longer has any pain. CP3 seems to be switching into another gear lately too.