Game Thread GAME# 62: TIMBERWOLVES @ BLAZERS - MARCH 1, 2018 - THURSDAY, 7:30 PM (PST), TNT

Great win

 

Maybe Stotts will finally move Aminu to the 3 and start Collins at the 4?

 

how i love this player...Go Blazers!

 

Yet he led the team in assists in just 22 minutes and played solid D on Wiggins....

 

Too much swag.

 

Were you afraid of his boomstick?

 

Stotts being Stotts, he would likely start Dame, CJ and Bazz before he would do that.

 

I was really pissed at Terry Stotts cause he didnt put Nurk back in!

he pulled him out with 6:27 to go in the 3rd quarter, after he made his 3rd foul... I get that and he made the right move, but as everyone, I expected him to put him back in with like 7:00 min to go in the 4th quarter! he didnt, cause Ed Davis played well and obviously he tought Ed Davis is doing better job on defense than Nurk, but heres how they played against KAT

NURK & ED DAVIS AGAINST KAT

Nurkic 1/4 (7:45, 9 pts)
KAT 1/4 (7:45, 2 pts)

Nurkic 2/4 (5:50, 2 pts)
KAT 2/4 (5:50, 7 pts)

Nurkic 3/4 (5:33, 6 pts)
KAT 3/4 (5:33, 5 pts)

NURK TOTAL: 19:08, 16 pts
KAT TOTAL: 19:08, 14 pts

NURK +2 pts

Ed Davis 1/4 (2.3 sec 0 pts)
KAT 1/4 (2.3 sec 0 pts)

Ed Davis 2/4 (6:10, 4 pts)
KAT 2/4 (6:10, 12 pts)

Ed Davis 3/4 (6:27, 2 pts)
KAT 3/4 (6:27, 4 pts)

Ed Davis 4/4 (12:00, 4 pts)
KAT 4/4 (12:00, 4 pts)

ED DAVIS TOTAL: 24:37, 10 pts
KAT TOTAL: 24:37, 20 pts

ED DAVIS -10 pts

so Nurk played better against KAT, both on the offensive and defensive side of the floor, so I literally cant find the logic behind his decision to play Ed Davis whole 4th quarter! yes, KAT scored only 4 pts in the 4th quarter, but surprisingly he took just a couple of shots in the 4th quarter, even though he was their best player and scored 16 pts with Ed Davis on the floor before the 4th quarter

this is not the first time hes doing this shit and wont be the last for sure... if Nurk plays bad, Im ok with pulling him out, but we all now Nurk plays great, great defense when the game is on the line... not to mention he can score offensively, so thats the second reason you keep him on the floor

 

Yeah you would not want to over play that lineup, but you can't deny that it was effective when he did last night.

Aminu played will last night with his hustle and 12 boards. But nothing he did well IMO translates to SF on offense. On defense sure... but I doubt he would get 12 boards out on the wing AND he the thought of him handling the ball more makes me cringe.

 

about the game, well, it was very, very ugly 1st half for Dame & CJ, but we all knew they will find their rhythm in the 2nd half... also KAT alone couldnt win this game for them, if they had Jimmy Buckets, well, this game would likely be done in the 1st half

good and important win, lets keep em coming !!!!!!!!!!

 

It seems to me that Aminu deserves some credit on KAT in the 4th as well. (That and he finally got tired and was a little bandged up late) But Having Aminu on him out top and doubling him when he drove to the basket with Davis worked a lot better than even thinking about having Nurk cover him away from the basket. Looks like Terry finally figured that out. He needs to do that with DMC in the future too...and every other center who burns us from deep.

 

so if Im not mistaken, youre saying were better with Ed Davis playing against KAT...

 

Napier does a lot on defense; he is all over the place, quick enough to help a little and still get back to his man if necessary.

 

Well not the whole game, but yes in crunch time. I don't worry about Davis thinking he can score when the game is on the line, or try to make a tough pass. He rebounds and passes it right away unless he is at the basket.

Nurk is a bigger guy and bigger guys are not as mobile. You have to be mobile to cover KAT as he often starts out on the perimeter. You need two types of centers (and PF's) on your team. Nurk can bang down low better than Davis but Davis is versatile enough to play physical and quick enough to get out on his man. Davis is a very good big to have on your bench.

 

As long we're winning, don't care.

 

I have to give Nurk some credit. He doesn't pout when he gets pulled. He cheers as hard as anybody on the team. Portland Nurkic > Denver Nurkic.

I thought Stotts made the right call leaving Davis/Collins in and then running with the 3 guard lineup late in the game. If we would have lost... Stotts would have been roasted for it though.

 

One overlooked factor in the Nurk/Davis discussion is that Davis ended up playing 18 minutes of game time without coming out. Most bigs, especially high energy ones like Davis, are more effective in shorter stints.

We won the game so obviously it didn't matter but Davis was gassed during crunch time of that game. It's a lot to ask of him to come in halfway through the 3rd and play the rest of the game.

 

man. it got loud last night. i think that was one of the very few times my hearing got muffled after the game. hell of a 4th quarter.

 

Wolves are in trouble when game is on the line. They don’t have that closer guy like Butler.

 

I’ve seen pics of you bro......that was a mistake.