Good Morning It’s Basketball - The Timberwolves are not a footnote
This is a preview of today’s full, robust newsletter. Want the whole thing, plus every full newsletter five times a week? This glorious prize is within your grasp for just $5 per month or $50 per year! The Timberwolves are not a footnotePLUS: Luka wins basketball games and the Knicks finally fall down.Good morning. What a weekend. Let’s basketball. Cloud in Romanel; Felix Vallotton; 1900 We Have Our AnswerTwo weeks ago, on the cusp of Game 1 of Wolves vs. Nuggets in Denver, I wrote this:
Question answered decisively. Initially it looked like the Wolves were going to lay a smackdown for the ages on the Nuggets. But things flipped and a week later it looked like the Nuggets were on track to compete for their second straight championship, having gone up 3-2 in the series and then having gone up by 20 points in Game 7. That the Wolves went down 20, looked widely awful in the first half, watched Jamal Murray hit every flavor of crazy shot … and stayed composed enough to slowly walk the Nuggets down in the second half, and then take total control down the stretch of the fourth in Denver and win the game is so remarkable. The Minnesota offense was totally dead at halftime, and the Nuggets were largely getting the looks they wanted out of the Nikola Jokic-Jamal Murray pick-and-roll, the most deadly play in the modern NBA. The Nuggets were doing it pretty high, and the Wolves eventually decided to sag and dare Jokic to shoot. The three-time MVP went 2/10 from deep. It never felt like the Wolves got totally comfortable on offense, despite really good second-half marks. Their efficiency late is totally tied to their defense, though. They were able to get in transition more as Murray and Jokic went cold and got sloppier with the ball, and even outside of transition they were able to find cross matches and force the help on Anthony Edwards to sell out even harder, getting other Wolves clean looks. Ant ended up with 7 assists and 1 turnover. He was getting rid of the ball quickly often (despite still taking 24 shots). Heroes are always plentiful in these moments. Naz Reid had an all-timer sequence. Towns not only kept the Wolves in touch early, but had perhaps the biggest single basket in franchise history with his putback dunk late to seal the game. McDaniels cranked up the individual defense in the second half and smothered Murray. Rudy Gobert, who Charles Barkley said should have been benched at halftime, played some remarkable defense as the Wolves fought back and hit the craziest Rudy Gobert shot of all time. Speaking of which, in an all-time great press conference, Ant and KAT talking about Gobert’s turnaround was the best moment. ... Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Good Morning It's Basketball to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. A subscription gets you:
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Wolves back
Friday, May 17, 2024
A resounding Game 6 performance. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
We just witnessed *the* seminal Jokic masterpiece (until the next one)
Friday, May 17, 2024
This is Nikola's era of NBA history until further notice. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The new NBA rivalries
Monday, May 13, 2024
The league has a rising class of stars on the big stage. But almost as important are the new and renewed rivalries in the spotlight. PLUS: NBA Draft lottery reaction. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
On Rick Carlisle's small market screwjob stolen valor
Thursday, May 9, 2024
Blaming your garbage defense on a league conspiracy to uplift New York is unfair to small market teams that have actually been screwed. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The Wolves are really like that
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
If the Knicks stole a win against the Pacers, the Wolves are pulling off a grand heist against the Nuggets. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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