Dammit, if Kyrie made that last shot my teams would be 3-3 today. Dude still dropped 50.
On 33 shots though... sure, I understand he is the only star on the team, but still... meanwhile, Wiggins also attempted 27 shots... geez...
Hmm. Wolves had a big lead at the half, and the whole team, aside from Wiggins, was playing incredibly well. They let Kyrie do Kyrie, and stopped everyone else. Second half, the Nets made better adjustments and grabbed a lead, as the Wolves fell back to their old tendencies. Then at the end of the 4th, and OT, they played like they did in the first half, and went out and won that game.
YOu can talk all you want about Kyrie Irving's 50 points on 33 shots.
HOw about this stat line:
36 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, and 7-11 from 3 pt range (11-22 overall).
Yeah, that's called Karl-Anthony Towns. And he is the most unguardable center/pf in the league, and yes, is better than Anthony Davis. And I'll stand by that. He started this season like he finished the last 20 games last season - dominating anyone he plays. Jordan and Allen, who are strong guys, couldn't contain him at all. and in years past, Jordan had. And Towns shrug him off.
The Timberwolves are on the same level as the Nets...without Durant. Sure, Irving was the best player on the floor last night. But not by much. Not at all. The Wolves crushed the Nets last year, and they beat them last night with a similarly overhauled roster and a new system. I have no doubt the Nets will be an Eastern Conference playoff team with 45-48 wins or so. But the Wolves would be too in the East. And unfortunately, probably will only muster 36-41 wins in a much tougher Western Conference.
As for Wiggins, there's no denying he struggled. But if you watched the game from beginning to end as I did, you would have seen he started cold, shooting threes. Then he continued to shoot, but fell back to midrange, which is what the team had gotten away from. And then in OT, Wiggins manhandled people, driving to the rim, taking off near the foul line and started scoring a ton. Wolves would not have won without Wiggins in OT. No one could guard him going to the rim. And that's the secret to unlocking Wiggins. He has to drive, and drive a lot, because almost no one can stop him getting to the cup. He needs to go inside-out, instead of outside-in. And I think he will as the season progresses. Well, I HOPE he does. 10-27 is ugly. No denying that. And I was not fond of his defense. His lateral foot speed is slow. Which is why Okogie is a better fit in this system. But the Wolves do not win without Wiggins in OT.
Okogie's defense was great, and the pressure he put on Irving was a key factor in Irving cracking on that last play Irving had a great game, but the team that won didn't get lucky -- they played a better game overall. And lets not forget Treveon Graham. I had no idea who he was until the Wolves signed him this offseason. He played HARD last night. 9 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts in 35 minutes may not seem like a lot. But it was the way he played. He was really aggressive, and not afraid to shoot. He and Layman (who also had a nice game) will be an effective role pair.
As for the Nets, Caris LeVert is one of my favorite players in the league. Glad he looked good last night. He quietly put up a hell of a game with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and three steals. And I love Dinwiddie and Allen. I think the Nets will be almost unstoppable once Durant is back next year. I mean...Durant/Irving/LeVert/Dinwiddie/Allen...that is dangerous. Not to mention Harris.
But the bottom line is -- the league has no answer for Karl-Anthony Towns. Particularly when he quarterbacks the offense. A 7 foot center playing point forward at the top of the key for most of the game, sliding from the perimeter to down low based on matchups. He scores from anywhere, and his defense is noticeably improved.
I'm not saying the Wolves will make the playoffs this year. I hope they do. But they don't have enough firepower to do that in the West. At best, they'll be a .500 team. I have them pegged for 36-46, unfortunately. I had them losing to the Nets last night. But they got one I didn't think they would. But what I saw last night was a team that really plays together, and a system that will be very successful.