The Moonball Blog

Monday, January 11, 2010

Wolves fans: Weigh In

Johnny vs Randy















Ellington vs McCants














Break it down for us.

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posted by The Green at 3:56 AM

2 Comments:

  • Any Wolves fans left out there?

    By Blogger TVDave, at 11:59 AM  

  • It’s very good question – and one that causes some consternation. I’m curious to hear what others think, but let me weigh in.

    Foye and McCants were both very smooth 3-point shooters, and both liked to drive, and neither liked to pass much.

    McCants made no apologies for not passing. He either took it and blew you away, or took it and got his heel caught on the curtain, bringing the whole works crashing down with him. Then he’d get benched and pout.

    Foye was never a natural point, and when he brought it up and passed it, you could read it on his face that he wished he could keep it. That’s no way to start a possession. He was much more effective off the ball, but at Foye was too short at SG, and it caused other problems. Defensively he was a liability, and I was fine when he was traded.

    Like Randy Foye, Jonny Flynn is being asked to learn a new game. For Foye, it was to play point guard. For Flynn, it’s to abandon his proclivity as a pick and roll scorer, and work the Rambis offense, which includes more triangle. He can definitely dribble and drive to the hole. He’s great at getting to the line. His jumper’s decent if he has room, and he’ll nail a few wide open 3s. But if he’s not creating his own offense, he struggles to create it for his teammates.

    Rambis has pushed Flynn to learn, and to his credit, Flynn has taken it on. But you can feel the tension in his game, and sometimes he implodes. My problem with Flynn is much like my problem with Foye. He’ll bring up the ball, pass it, then fail to become part of the offense. Though he has a great handle, he’ll sometimes dribble too much and waste the possession. He’s good at getting to the line, and is most effective when he stops trying to run an offense and takes it to the hole.

    We’re told Flynn’s learning a lot. You can see the frustration on his face when he fails, but he always seems ready to bounce back and try again. And the Wolves seem content and determined to give Jonny the benefit of the season.

    Corey Brewer has received the lion’s share of SG minutes this year. Brewer is the antithesis of McCants – a shooting guard who can’t quite shoot, and is like Wally Szcerbiak dribbling the ball. But his hustle on D and his team play seem to have earned him the starting spot. And when his shots fall, it’s a big bonus. Between Brewer, Ellington and Pavlovic, SG is the Wolves weakest position. Acquiring a good SG should be the Wolves’ primary free agency objective this summer.

    As for Ellington, expectations were lower, and he didn’t seem as NBA ready when the season started. Ellington is coming on lately however, and he’s been getting the nod more regularly, has surpassed Pavlovic, and is even eating a few of Brewer’s minutes. Ellington seems to have more of an all-around offensive game than Brewer. But he needs to continue to develop it. I hope to get a better sense of his game, now that he’s getting more minutes. As a 3-point shooter, he fortunately seems to know when to pass the ball. McCants had a shooting stroke that was beautiful to behold. But Rashard had no such editing skills.

    The thing that bothers me the most about the comparison between Foye and Flynn is that despite Flynn’s obvious skills, the Wolves seem to be stuck with ill-fitting personnel yet again. They lack a skilled offensive shooting guard who can take the pressure off and score. They’re piled high with decent young points, but somehow the future won’t be bright unless they can adjust their games to Rambis, who has a 4-year deal and isn’t going anywhere. (Too bad he wasn’t around when the Wolves drafted….watching Curry play last week, I wonder if he’d have been a better fit for the Rambis system.) Unless the Wolves can find some personnel to excel under this coach, I fear they’ll continue to swim upstream. Now it’s time for Khan to show his stuff and not only get ‘assets’, but find the ones that fit.

    By Blogger TVDave, at 4:54 PM  

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