Is Anthony Edwards Officiated Unfairly?? | The Minnesota Basketball Party

Is Anthony Edwards Officiated Unfairly?? | The Minnesota Basketball Party

Welcome to the basketball party I’m Sam extrom here at lockon sports Minnesota a massive Wolves win Anthony Edwards is furious and Luca donic is avoiding Minneapolis this is locked on Sports Minnesota podcast it’s endless Minnesota Timberwolves talk with the diverse voices of your local experts it’s time for the Minnesota basketball party on

The locked on podcast Network your team every day it’s Wolves talk every Wednesday welcome in the Minnesota basketball party I’m Sam meom you’ll meet the crew in a second we’re so glad you’re watching us here on the lockdown Sports Minnesota YouTube channel also catch us on the 247 YouTube live stream Please

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Listen on today’s show where we’ll be getting into plenty on the number one seed in the west the Minnesota Timberwolves but first our opening tip I’m Ron Johnson former goer former NFL wide receiver and I’m an avid basketball fan I’m also from Detroit so I want to talk about are the Minnesota

Timberwolves kind of like the Detroit Lions this year I’m Reggie Wilson Sports director at Carol 11 and contrary to what Sam thinks the wolves are a fourth quarter team I’m Jack bman editor and chief at kace hoopus and co-host of the lockdown wolves postcast with my man Luke Inman

Uh I’m gonna talk to you a little bit why I think it’s encouraging that the Timberwolves Stars didn’t feel the need to go win that game uh in the fourth quarter in Oklahoma City and again I’m Sam xtram here at lockon sports Minnesota and the Maverick stars are

Allergic to Target Center show Show Yourself Luca Show Yourself Kyrie I’ll rip you later in the show but let’s get into this big wolves win from Monday our guy Ben Beacon regrettably not here today but he was at the game he texted me his thoughts so I will relay those

During the conversation but Ron Johnson wolves go into OKC the team that just knocked him off at Target Center they even the season series two a piece with a big fourth quarter finish uh that made the road trip Ron look whole lot better three and one versus two- two with a

Nice win to stay number one in the west not too bad yeah and I think we all not all of us I think some of us picked three in one I don’t remember what show uh whether it was this show or whether it was the the round table but I know we

Were all kind of saying three and one we just weren’t sure where that three in one was going to come from um and so this is a team that’s kind of been that they they’ve beat the teams they’re supposed to beat sometimes they they could be 4-0 honestly I mean if you

Think about who they lost to um they should be 4-0 but the Timberwolves the one thing I like most about that win is the fact that they’re getting it from different places one Mike connley um not being able to play they were able to still find a way to win and I think

Everybody was nervous when Mike Conley went out and I think the cat 70 or 60-point game put a a sour taste in our mouth so Mike Connelly’s absence jumped to the top of the charts well now he’s still absent and they’re still finding ways to beat the best teams and so I

Think this is going to be a good stretch for them as well without Mike connley to figure out how they can get through this you know it’s almost like the Vikings without Justin Jefferson um they were able to find ways to win find ways to get you know some production and I think

This is the same thing now when you look at the Timberwolves without Mike connley now the other side of it though Shay uh Shay he he gets calls Anthony Edwards is dead right you can’t touch him you can’t bump them you can’t even breathe on them heavily because they’re gonna blow the

Whistle and then vice versa Anthony Edwards now in the game he played through a lot of the BS he played through a lot of the hit the bumps but after the game he lost his mind we’ll talk about that but I’m just glad to see he kept it together knowing that the

Refs were not giving him the calls he probably deserves and so that just shows a little bit of maturity there that everybody thought they lacked R yeah I mean that was a that was quite the huge win and I think um what really kind of sold me on the performance was

How they played in the fourth quarter and you know it it’s seem to be going like a game like oh man well they they they hung around a little bit and then you know the the Thunder just went ahead and did their thing but it’s it’s interesting because looking at this

Thunder team contrary to what Jack believes they are um a very talented very talented team they got hoopers all over the court but I think I saw a tweet that was just like the Thunder is just nothing but filled with with a like it’s just like a a older AA team and

Sometimes that’s just kind of what it feels like they got a bunch of talent all across the floor even on the bench and sometimes it just feels like they’re really young like they need that that Chris Paul you know to to kind of keep them on track a little bit they need a

Little bit more of an adult in the room but I think what’s interesting is Shay always gets what Shay gets like you got 37 it was like all right you know he’s going to do what he does but we got some guys I I think I I mentioned yesterday C

Rudy and they combined for 60 points in that in that win and it it was it was impressive to me the clutch shot making that they had down the stretch but also the good defense that they had down the stretch to kind of keep the Thunder at

Bay when they were you know trying to to Surge back and and try to make a game of it late they just kind of shut the door on him and so it was a it was a really impressive win it just kind of shows I feel like week to week there’s some

Blips because this is still a young team and and they’re still figuring out how to win consistently but I think the talent of this team continues to show and week to week they just seem to to have a little bit more Improvement to just show like

That they’re for real this year and as Ron said like winning without Mike connley like every time he’s out I kind of wise a little I’m like oh here we go I don’t know I’m just not sure but connley is out and they close down the stretch in the fourth quarter because

That was a that was kind of a a talking point around the team as well is when Conley is out they seem to kind of implode a little bit in the fourth quarter and they did what they were supposed to do it was just a really impressive win against the team Jack

Borman has no respect for it Jack if you had no respect for the Thunder was was it a good win uh yeah I think it’s a good win I mean I I have no respect for what they’re saying on Instagram after they beat the Timberwolves last week when

Chad holgren saying this is what movies is made of and then scores four points and plays like absolute trash so I mean l Dort was talking like he was you know more than a horrible offensive player and a pretty good defensive player I mean he was talking a lot okay at any

Rate you you can miss me with all the IG stuff but uh unlike Reggie’s Lakers this this isn’t a really encouraging week uh for this Timberwolves Squad um I you know I think that you know I I completely agree with with just about everything Reggie said though in terms

Of the thing that stuck out to me here was was that fourth quarter um just because when you when you do look at Oklahoma City you know you could be in a place like me and still think that Oklahoma City you know as it stands right now isn’t going to be a super

Viable playoff team and that Sam prey their general manager should really push some chips in and send a message to those guys that he believes in them and can get them some help so they can be viable in the playoffs but they’re fifth this season in the fourth quarter net

Rating plus five they’re 17 and five at home uh and before this game they’re 28- one uh when leading going into the fourth quarter um and that was a a great stat put out there by by Marque enner on on wolves live after the game and and

They’re now 28-2 uh when leading going into the fourth quarter and both of those losses are now against the Timberwolves but the Wolves scored 34 points in that that fourth quarter and only 12 of them came from Carl Anthony towns and Anthony Edwards who shot a combined three of seven uh everyone else

Shot eight of 12 uh they were four of seven from three and had zero turnovers um you know when you think about what jadeen McDaniels did uh you know he had he picked up his fifth foul early that fourth quarter and had to come out uh

And then you know sat for five six minutes comes back in hits that huge go-ahead three-pointer to pretty much swing the entire you know momentum and and outcome of the game and then has that huge tip in to go up I believe it was six with about 45 seconds left you

Get seven points from nikel Alexander Walker you get five big ones from Jordan mcclaflin uh early in the quarter and then Nas Reed had that that huge go-ahead three um you know in that middle part of the quarter as well and what I really you know liked is that

With so many different guys on the floor um they did a really good job of moving the ball and initiating actions uh in different ways with different players from all over the floor it wasn’t just Anthony Edwards walking into a Rudy go bear pick and roll dancing with the ball

For 15 seconds uh not even really looking at any of his teammates and just trying to do it all himself or Carl Anthony towns doing the same thing it was guys getting off the ball early in the shot clock getting into the offense early trusting that the ball would come

Back to them uh and that’s really really important I I think that the more that these guys just trust their teammates and trust that you know the Timberwolves uh besides them are going to be able to come up Come Away make big shots uh you know take care of the basketball most

Important importantly um is is really important and I think if if they can continue to sustain that moving forward and and play unselfishly uh and try to you know really find a rhythm with some of these lineups I know that everyone kind of rightly killed Chris Finch on Saturday

Night for some of the lineups that he put out there um but to start that fourth quarter I I think you have to give uh him a lot of credit for for the group that they put out there with Jordan mcclin n Alexander Walker Jane McDaniels Carl Anthony towns and Rudy

Goar they were a plus uh in in a little less than three minutes played so the hope is that you can kind of continue some of that uh you know continuity maybe with that lineup at the start of the fourth quarter given how well they played and and hope that

That can kind of at least get fourth Quarters off on a little bit of a better start so you have some more confidence um rolling once Anthony Edwards gets back into the game and and who knows maybe you can win some of those uh non Anthony Edwards minutes at the start of

The fourth quarter um to just kind of make it feel a little bit like a an avalanche like the snowball keeps getting bigger and bigger um you know as the fourth quarter fourth quarter drags on yeah I mean it looks a whole lot better when na Nas the two jmax are

Hitting occasional shots I mean you’ve needed a bench lift all year and when you’re getting that it just helps tremendously mlin hit some had some huge shots the three-point shooting frankly in the second half was outstanding for the wolves in that game and the offense in the fourth quarter did execute I

Would still like to see it a few more games in a row just to prove that the pattern has switched but the defense continues to be the driving force uh Oklahoma City gets a a junk dunk in the final second to go over the 100 Mark they basically held the West’s top

Offense under a 100 points in that game tremendous defensive effort against a good offensive Thunder team Chad disappears scared of Rudy Shay was good but uh they didn’t get killed by the complimentary pieces there in Oklahoma City but coming out of that game I think

The big story was ant I mean I think antt being furious with the officiating he ripped them on a hot mic said they were a cheating uh cheating bleep refs we we won’t say the word on this family show uh ripped them to Bal Sports North ripped them to ESPN said they were

Playing eight on five uh Reggie is Edwards justified in his anger toward officials not just in this game but overall yeah it was interesting too because they had a discuss on this on PTI yesterday as well so he really just kind of made the rounds I think it’s uh

It’s indicative of where Anthony Edwards is in his Superstar status right now that you know he’s making national news for uh some of the things that he’s saying and so I think that is something that is probably strategic by ant yes he’s gonna get slapped with the fine you

Can’t just go across all platforms like that just trashing the refs and and expect not to get that fine like it’s coming it’s coming hope you know hopefully we’ll we’ll kind of see some type of resolution to that here um within the next day or so that would be

Nice but um I I think it’s it’s uh I think it’s I think it’s Justified you know when you’re when you’re a superstar and or you know Rising Superstar depending on how you want to look at ant and you aren’t getting the cause what’s going on there like we see

Cat each and every game he’s going up and down the floor like foul that was a foul you know he’s crying about foul CS every game we don’t really see that from Ant And I think it was interesting I think that was um it was a little

Jarring for me kind of seeing that ant was kind of you know howling so much about the foul calls and lack thereof but also if you’re seeing on the other side Shay getting all these fou calls and you’re like like okay uh I know Shay’s a superstar you know starting in

The the allstar game whatever whatever Shay had 16 free throw attempts and he made 15 of them and he’s like whoa like if if Shay’s getting a call can I get a call like ant ant had four free throw attempts and I think that last one

Really kind of made him upset on that that dunk he’s just like yo like they legit grabed me y’all are we just blinded now like are we not even paying attention to the game and that’s when you know we got the the cheating refs that he said after that but like he was

Going all the way up the court and they were trying to like stop like slow-mo was like all right all right okay okay come on in come on in that’s okay that’s all you all good that’s all good he’s like no no that was a foul so that was that was

A lot that uh that he did and and I haven’t been used to seeing that from Ant but I think it’s Justified and I also think that it’s a little bit of uh playing the game a little bit as well just kind of you know like hey start

Paying attention when I’m out there on the floor I I’m I’m I’m gonna need I’m gonna need to start getting some of these calls too Jack yeah I wonder if an’s going to get fined I think normally we see these fins come out the next day but he hasn’t

Been fined yet it’s been you know a day and a half now since that game um but yeah I mean I just think that it’s it’s kind of like the case of LeBron here where LeBron is just a cyborg he’s six foot eight he’s 255 pounds he’s all

Muscle and LeBron doesn’t really flop you know I mean relative to what some of his peers do um you know when you see Joel embiid at 7 feet 71 290 300 lb whatever he is is just flopping around out there like a fish um and someone like LeBron or someone like Anthony

Edwards uh who are just you know physical Freaks and how strong and and uh you know athletic they are uh not flopping around I think that because they don’t embellish that contact and they don’t try to fall down and try to flail their arms and all this other

Stuff that they aren’t getting these foul calls and um and I think that it probably makes those guys harder to officiate and that you know because they aren’t reacting to contact in the same way that some of these smaller guards are um you know it’s just I guess

Tougher for them to uh for them to get whistles and I think it’s really unfortunate that you have that that being such an insanely strong and uh quick and explosive athlete is at your detriment when it comes to drawing fouls when those are the types of players that

Should be drawing fouls at the highest rate because they’re the ones that are more likely driving into the paint drawing contact posting guys up earning uh earning trips to the free throw R line rather than um you know like what R you said playing the game and uh you

Know it’s really unfortunate that you know playing the game and embellishing and grifting and all this stuff is is now being rewarded and so you hope that um you know the NBA Works to kind of enact some of that playoff officiating um in the regular season I mean it’s

It’s no surprise that Joel embiid’s play off numbers are significantly worse than his numbers in the regular season because ref stopped rewarding all that stuff uh at the same level that they do in the regular season and there’s zero reason to me why the game can’t be

Officiated uh you know more closely to how it’s officiated in the playoffs U during the regular season and so you know Chris Finch talked about it a little bit in some pregame uh you know discussions he had with media members uh earlier in the season saying that he he

Thought that the league for the most part in the first you know four or six weeks of the season did a good job of kind of getting rid of some of that but that they’ve totally backslid it on that now and it’s it’s starting to get out of

Control again and um yeah I I good on Anthony Edwards for saying what he said especially after a win um he’s got every right to be frustrated and and you know Reggie nailed it he sh has 16 free throws that is the difference between Anthony Edwards being in this kind of

Second class of Superstar scores in this 25 26 27 points per game range versus being in that Shay or Luca range where he’s scoring 32 33 34 points per game um you know five six free throw that could be the difference right there and and so it it’ll be really interesting to see

How that changes um with these comments if if ref’s kind of you know now just kind of blackball him even more with getting calls or or what the deal is but he he certainly has earned more trips to the line than what he’s gotten in the last really the whole season Ron your

Thoughts yeah I was gonna say I I I like the way Jack finished that that’s the the dangerous line you play with grown men that have emotions in these referees they can literally just come together and say you know what screw Anthony Edwards like you want to call us out all

Right good luck with the rest of the season and so he has to be very careful in how he words it um the next time he gets interviewed maybe apologize and say hey my emotions were running High um I just felt like you know the last couple

Of games against OKC like he has to come up with a a narrative that doesn’t make these refs these men have to go home to their wives and say and their wives are like babe look at this how did you not see this his hands are all over his arms

Um Everybody posted the pictures everybody saw it uh I think the LeBron James reference is is dead on Anthony Edwards on that dunk on Shay Al gilders Alexander he absolutely did not move an inch he ran through that arm like he was a little kid trying to tackle his big

Brother that plays in the NFL I mean it’s like a seven-year-old trying to tackle Christian mcaffrey he just ran through no problem dunked it didn’t change when got get calls and that’s the thing in the NBA they do they flop one arm maybe and still dunk it they kind of

Throw their head back and they do all this crap to like make you think they got hit so the ref’s just automat oh foul he’s not doing that he’s playing through contact because he’s like look you can foul me but I still want the bucket and that’s why he has to be

Careful at the end of the day we’re right we haven’t seen a f maybe the NBA realizes like all right like all right y’all did miss this one he did call y’all out let’s let’s let’s call it even and break I think that’s going to be key

For this down the stretch the fact that it was only 19 fouls to the Timberwolves and and 17 fouls for the uh Thunder there were at least five or six calls that got missed uh Mike connley maybe on pick when they try to hedge it maybe he

Gets some of the calls because he does do the like headback thing when the guy tries to hedge him um but a lot of the other guys don’t do one they’re not Savvy enough to do it they don’t do it great Steph Curry is one of the best of

That when he gets the pick he automatically throws his head back and keeps trying to dribble through and they blow the whistle LeBron doesn’t do it Anthony Edwards doesn’t do it uh uh Paul George he wasn’t doing it he’s kind of doing it now but that’s the thing like

James Harden he’s going to throw that head back every time and get that extra call that’s why he gets so many free throws not saying Anthony Edwards needs to change his game but he has to be careful because these refs can be very Petty down the stretch yeah no doubt

About that um Ben beon was texting me I wanted to share his thoughts he called it sha syndrome the the having too much strength where the bumps don’t affect you as much like Shay for instance he’s a lot slighter of frame than Edwards got the 16 free throws in that game and Ben

Pointed out to me they had the same number of shots in the paint and Edwards got four times fewer free throws in the game than than Shay guildas Alexander so that’s that’s a pretty bad discrepancy I do look at the overall numbers for the year free throw attempts per game

Edwards is 15th so it’s not like he’s never getting a call what I would really like to see maybe Jack or somebody knows where this data is located I want to see free throw attempts per drive or fouls drawn per drive that would be the really

Telling number for me to see like how much he’s getting free throw attempts per slashes to the rim because when he is Relentless he gets to the rim very easily and there are so many times where he gets in a crowd and turns the ball

Over and in a lot of those moments you know you’re it’s kind of like the last play against the Hornets last week where cat goes into a crowd is he hacked he bumped probably was it a a a well advised Drive no it maybe wasn’t there was probably an open man on the

Perimeter so I think there’s a little bit of give and take there with ant uh we’ll see tonight we’ll see if he gets 20 whistles against the Mavericks or not do you want him now do you want those Drive numbers now I’ve got them I would

Love them thank you give them to me so Shay gildas Alexander leads the NBA in drives per game at 23.2 he leads the NBA in free throw attempts as a result of those drives at 4.5 meanwhile Anthony Edwards uh drives 14 times per game which is about 20th in the NBA but does

Does draw 3.4 fouls a game which I believe here is is sixth in the NBA but I mean if if you’re looking at at sherle the the rate at which they’re draw he’s drawing fouls shooting fouls on the drive it is higher than SGA it’s just I

Think that number should still be a lot higher considering uh you know how much how much he does get hacked interesting numbers though um you got to let me know where you get these numbers I am still learning my NBA data n stats NBA stats n

NBA does a good job with that um let’s talk about Mike Conley’s absence have the Wolves figured out how to win without him next on the Minnesota basketball party Today’s Show brought to you by eBay Motors our partners there have teamed up with locked on Fantasy Basketball host Josh Lloyd to bring you

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Available to us customers eligible items only exclusions apply Mike connley has missed a number of games of late I don’t think we’ve gotten a for sure indication on whether he plays against Dallas tonight Dallas is resting everybody it wouldn’t surprise me if Conley takes tonight off

As well but uh let’s go to Jack first have the Wolves figured out what to do when Mike Conley’s not on the floor because there’s been a lot of memes like I posted the John Travolta meme of him like looking around that’s the wolves in the fourth quarter when Mike Conley’s

Not on the floor at least of late and some of the onoff numbers like Conley versus naah I think the offense is something like seven points worse and the defense is two points worse so like there there are tangible numbers that reflect that the wolves are worse without Mike connley did Monday’s

Performance Jack change that a little bit in your opinion yeah I think it did but it didn’t really have a whole lot to do necessarily with with either of those two players in the sense that I I think when your two stars just move the basketball more it makes uh the need to

Have a point guard that gets everyone organized uh you know less apparent I guess or you know less glaring of a of a need or oh my God we really need this guy out there I think uh but but that I mean I I still think Nik Alexander

Walker and Mike Conley have been ter terrific I mean you could make a real argument that nil Alexander Walker has been this team’s most important Defender not named rudic go be this season uh was a big part in the Wolves giving up just 81 points in the last 41 and a half

Minutes of that game in OKC but but nil’s been awesome as a spot starter especially in the last four games that he started he’s scored 12 uh points per game on 50% shooting 50% from three as an assist to turnover ratio north of five and and is averaging almost two

Stocks a game and so so when you’re getting that from your starting point guard I I think you’ll take that you know all day long especially when you consider what um you know what numbers Mike Conley is giving you is somewhat similar to that um but Jordan mcclaflin

Too has been really good in this elevated role is is kind of that backup point guard that nikil Alexander Walker has been playing for the majority of the season I think for him to be shooting five of 11 from three since really entering the rotation you know nine or

10 games ago um while maintaining an assist turn over ratio of two uh which is which is really bad for mcclaflin but is really good for anybody else in the Wolves uh has been you know an overwhelming positive um and the and the thing that I’ve really appreciated about

Jordan mcclaflin is um you know key bench lineups the last 10 games have have all been really good with mcclaflin out there I mean you look at lineups that are kind of end of the first quarter end of the third quarter lineups with j m Anon Nas is plus 27 in 24

Minutes JM n slmo is plus 16 in 29 minutes at of the beginning of the second quarter and then that bridge first quarter second quarter and third quarter fourth quarter lineup that they’ve they’ve had now this nucleus of three guys of jmck nille and Carl is

Plus 15 in 40 minutes and so when you get um you know kind of those those three- man lineup combos that you’re going to see of these similar parts of the game and Jordan mclin is really doing a great job of uh of getting the ball moving while also being really

Competitive uh on the ball defensively it’s exactly what you want from uh from a backup point guard who’s made a ton of energy plays for them this season and so I I I don’t expect to see Mike Conley play tonight um and I think the good

News is that with the play that they’ve gotten from these two guys um I don’t necessarily think that they have to rush Mike Conley back um which is which is uh you know obviously a huge luxury and then we’ll see what happens at the trade deadline if the Timberwolves do decide

To uh address uh you know the back cour guard rotation even further with a bio guy or making a trade for someone that will uh hopefully allow Mike Conley to take as many games off as he needs in between now in the playoffs Ron yeah I mean so with Mike Conley when

You think about what you’re seeing now I think these are going to be the games that matter the most like being able to get this I I wish Kyrie would play because I would like to see Dallas at full strength vers a wolves team at full strength without Mike connley just to

See again where they stack up how can they handle Kyrie how can they facilitate the ball when you have a guy like Luca who could drop 60 on your head at any moment moment um I I do like what they’re doing I I would honestly and

This is maybe just I don’t know thinking too much into it I would rather see Anthony Edwards be the point guard I would rather see Anthony Edwards bring the ball up at least get it started kind of like the Warriors use Draymond Green have your most confident consistent

Person bring the ball up that you know is not going to throw a long ball for no reason he’s not going to come up and get the wrong set started Anthony Edwards can still play off the ball but bring it up bring bring it up see what if it’s

There you go now right away you be you be The Driver be the Creator if it’s not there then get into the offensive set whether it’s you running the Twan with Carlin dtwn you running the Twan with Rudy goar I would really like to see Anthony Edwards become a little ball

Dominant in this offense while Mike Cony is out I think the other guards are fine I also wouldn’t mind seeing a truly gigantic lineup where you put slowmo at the two you put Anthony Edwards at the one now you have Nas Rudy go Baron car

The towns on the floor and just go big and see how teams handle that because somewhere in that group of five there’s got to be a mismatch and I think slow-mo is a really good decision maker like he doesn’t make well he’s thinking too slow to make bad decisions but he’s not

Making bad decisions and so I would also like to see that happen I do like the team I think they were fine against OKC without connley um again to get that sour taste out of our mouth with that 70o attempt um that that to me and I and

I and I think I bought this up to Sam I just wondered even in that grouping of all these guys scoring 70 cuz every publication is now talking about it there’s no defense in the NBA anymore this is this is gross how many guys are

Able to score 70 is it that or all these guys trying to do it because that was the week Kobe scored 81 and I think that’s what we’re all forgetting that was the week where Kobe scored 81 I think it was a tribute to Kobe for a lot

Of these guys it was like an unspoken word of I’mma go for mine and give a shout out to Kobe I’mma go for mine and I think a lot of media members missed that some people bought it up but a lot of people they bought up like oh this is

The last time time somebody’s did it since Kobe scored 81 in whatever 2006 I think people forgot I think a lot of guys were really just doing it to pay tribute to Kobe as well and you know I think that kind of fell by the wayside but maybe in the All-Star Game maybe

Some of these interviews we’ll get to hear more about that but at the end of the day I’d love to see Anthony Edwards be a ball dominant guy while Conley’s out I think it’s encouraging especially with a big win like that against the Thunder and look I got nothing but love

For n i I think you know slow Mo has kind of taken a step back from the slow-mo that we have you know been accustomed to seeing like he’s an even slower slowmo I don’t know if that’s like a a thing like but it feels like

It’s a thing um and and like God love him like all the the commentary on Twitter is like Finch is just you know he has to be saved from himself when it comes to playing slow-mo because like he’s not as efficient of a player as he’s been in years past but like finchy

Loves him for for what he can do on the court he’s just not doing those things that he loves about him um on a consistent basis and so I I love when they put n in the the starting lineup 35 minutes he’s four 12 from the field 12

Points nothing to really sneeze at but like you got you got two boards from him three assists two steals like just a a solid solid guy they’re they were plus 10 uh when he was on the court and so I just think that he’s not gonna give you what Mike

Connley gives obviously but I think he got that extension for a reason because he is a an effective player out there and I like what he brings and I think you know it’s not what Mike conly does but it it does allow the the Wolves to

Just still kind of get into their stuff and do it they have to do in Conley’s absence um I’ll just add that if you think back a year ago when the Wolves acquired Conley and remember the the first few Conley games were really lacad isical it didn’t seem like there was a

Lot of meat on the bone there aging point guard and the team wasn’t very very exciting and we were having the conversations legitimately we were saying ah that that Conley contract that’s a nice expiring deal that you could flip at the deadline next year can you IM imagine trading Mike Conley at

This point he’s like one of the most you know valuable Timberwolves we’re talking about extending Mike Conley instead of trading Mike connley um I can’t wait to get him back uh the wolves have a soft stretch here hopefully he gets all the rest he needs to get right because those

Hamstrings can be tricky uh when we return Ron Johnson’s going to tell us why the Timberwolves are the Detroit Lions that’s next on the Minnesota basketball party today we are brought to you by LinkedIn jobs it’s the New Year still January you might be hiring because it’s

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LinkedIn / lockon NBA to post your job for free terms and conditions apply the Detroit Lions are in the sports news cycle they lose a heartbreaker in NFC Championship game their first big big big big football game in 33 years are the Lions the Timberwolves like are the Timberwolves Ron and I

Talked about this I’m already worried are the Timberwolves going to live the Lion’s experience only to get their hearts broken in the conference Championship like trit did Ron talk me off the ledge or or maybe you you think that’s exactly how it’s going to go down

Yeah so I was telling you Sam I woke up after that Lion’s loss you know I lick my wounds I moved on and I say you know what it’s time for Christian mcaffry now to end this whole Taylor Swift Fairy Tale and but as I thought about the

Timberwolves I was like you know what I feel like they’re giving the city hope and so when I say are the the Timberwolves the Lions one the Lions gave Detroit hope they gave the fans hope you saw social media buzzing normally it was buzzing because they hated Matthew Stafford they hated how

The Lions did Barry Sanders or Calvin Johnson where the Timberwolves people hated how they did kg they used to hate how they didn’t draft Curry that’s all we hear about this every time curry went off we could have had him every time Klay dids up we could have had him every

Time Draymond punched somebody in the face we could have had that here in Minnesota we could have had a absolute Thug in inota and we and we didn’t want that we didn’t draft that we didn’t go after that type of team because allegedly Steph Curry couldn’t golf in

Minnesota and so when you think about all of that now they’re winning now they’re the number one seed now they’re I mean the lowest I think they’ll be is four I I don’t see them dropping like having an absolute meltdown unless all kinds of injuries happen I don’t see it

Happening so if they’re going to be in seeds one through four because it’s a one game stretch right now for those four teams they’re going to host a playoff series they most likely they beat OKC they beat the Nuggets they they you know they they played the Celtics

Close they are one of the best teams in the NBA not just the west but I just wonder are they going to get to the Western Conference Finals everybody’s going to be excited that they’re going to the NBA finals finally and is the Timberwolves GNA bring us a championship

Because if they make it I feel like they win it like I feel like in seven games I don’t think the Celtics or the Sixers can beat them in seven but are they going to let us down in the Western Conference finals and have like four fourth quarter meltdowns where they go

To the fourth quarter and we’re all like super excited and then they melt down and you know what that reminds me of OKC Kevin Durant James Harden and Westbrook they had they had the Warriors by the neck and they folded in the end and then Kevin Durant leaves and goes to the

Warriors so I just hope that doesn’t happen where all of a sudden that happens here and then Carl D towns goes and joins the Nuggets or something but I just wonder like the the Timberwolves felt a little bit detroitish to me but right now it’s the Hope phase I’m not

Going to jump ahead to the west but they are giving the city hope I wonder if there’s like a coaching decision Finch can make that would be equal to Dan Campbell going for it on Fourth bounds like is there an equival leaving Anthony Edwards in the game with

With five fouls in like the third quarter or something there there you go there you go R your thoughts yeah I I I don’t want to compare the two teams because it ends in heartbreak it ends to it ends in in losing a multiple uh touchdown lead in the NFC Championship

Game and so it’s like is that the Wolves future like are they gonna are they going to be up like three games to one in the Western Conference finals and then somehow lose it and end up going home like I I don’t want that for for timber wolves fans I think Minnesota

Sports fans are scarred enough so I’ll stay away from the the Lions and wolves comparisons but I will say um I I think it it it’s tough to to compare because you know the the Lions went nine and eight last year they didn’t make the playoffs the wolves have been a playoff

Team the last couple seasons and so you know if they are the Lions like you would think that they’re the Lions a couple years ago or last year like and this is the year that people are expecting the Lions to have next season I don’t know it’s all confusing I don’t know

Jack I I’ll let these two guys cook with the with the lines comparison um I I you know I I think that the the best way I can compare them is that you know the NFC was wide open this year the Western Conference in the NBA is wide open this

Year um the pathway is certainly there for you know a team that was projected to be kind of middle of the pack in the conference uh middle of the pack uh in the NFC Western Conference at the NBA to kind of make a run and and be one of the

Be one of the last two teams in the conference standing so I certainly think in in that uh in that capacity that the two certainly have some similarities and and obviously you know the wolves have something that or have a chance to do something that has been done here for

For a long time kind of like the the Lions did so there there are certainly some parallels there would Aisha Curry be like Taylor Swift I mean I don’t see Taylor Swift saying that NFL games are rigged and that she saw it live in person with her own two eyes

I was trying to find like an NBA girlfriend and wife that would be you know there’s nobody like there’s nobody in the NBA that has a Taylor Swift like a Kelly Stafford or something yeah she could be this is this is this is where the comparison is Eerie so the Timberwolves began in

1989 um since then winning percentage of 407 they have one Series win in those 30 Four Seasons the lions in the same amount of time winning percentage 40801 better than the Timberwolves and they too have one playoff win uh so there’s there’s your similarity right there I have always

Felt like the Detroit Lions fans kind of kept kept the passion kept the faith about their team I think there’s just a lot of fervor for football in Detroit I would say that the Timberwolves fans may or may not have given up on this franchise a time or two along the way

They haven’t always been there they’ve been hibernating they’ve been as sleep this is a sleeping giant of a fan base now you see them you get the slightest glimpse of success and they all come out of the woodwork like I think that’s very there’s a lot of passion here it just

Wasn’t always on display um but I think there are more similarities than differences for sure um in those fan bases Detroit’s just got a lot of history right the Timberwolves don’t have a lot of history going back 90 years um but in in closing today we do

What we always do we predict the week here’s what the Timberwolves have ahead Mavs at home with no Luca and no Kyrie let’s go guys come on give the Target Center fans just a glimpse of you that’s twice this year that you’ve ditched and uh I don’t think you’re coming back this

Year so that stinks and people are paying Luca price to get in the building to not see LCA that is just a gigantic bummer why am I is it am I upset because I’m going to the game tonight maybe perhaps um you should hold up a sign and say like I

Drove 25,000 miles to see LCA you probably end up on ESPN I just have like tear stains like makeup on my well there’s a kid have you seen that one kid they found out he was a fraud he’s going to like three different games with the same sign yeah

He keeps saying he’s traveled a distance to see a certain player and then they keep giving him stuff and then somebody called him out on social media like how’s this keep coming from Italy every month smart kid smart kid what a racket um so it’s Mavs tonight Mavs aren’t

Playing anybody magic at home who are fading fast the Rockets are fading uh and then they go on the road to face the the haphazard Chicago Bulls so that there there is not really a daunting game in that stretch uh Reggie is this a 4-0 week for the wolves

H I hesitate to say because it feels like a kiss of death but you know yeah I’m G to give it to him I’m G to give it to him four and0 I think uh ant is finally gonna get some foul calls and you know they’re gonna play inspired

Really try to take the Reigns here in the west and uh they’ll go four and0 Jack yeah I think they’re going to go 40 as well um obviously we touched on who the M or who the Mavs don’t have tonight um the the wolves have done really really well against teams that don’t

Space the floor don’t shoot very well U the magic certainly fall in that category uh the Bulls also fall in that category I think that those will be two pretty easy wins and then against the Rockets right I mean they won by 27 earlier this year in Houston they scored

60 points in the paint held them to 40% shooting and the rockets just don’t have any any type of interior defense whatsoever so um I think this should be a pretty easy breezy um 4 and0 um you know knock on wood yeah I I tend to agree I don’t see

The loss but the wolves have also given us a little reason to doubt them um in some of these these games against lesser opponents they had a streak of 15 or 16 in a row beating the lottery teams and now they’ve lost several um I did have

One other note though they have they’re nine and seven now against the top eight in the west which is a pretty good Mark um I’m going to go three and one I think there’s one slip up don’t know which one I was told Last Time by you guys the

Magic are actually pretty good so maybe it’s the magic at home but uh I’m going four and0 but the reason that it’s weird all these teams are at 22 to 26 wins like every single team they’re playing so it’s just a weird week of like being

Lulled to sleep by the Mavs and then having to play these other teams um but this should be a 4 and0 week like do it without without connley even if he doesn’t play the whole week do it without Connelly show that you guys are the best in the west put some dist or

Not distance but at least hold on to one because I don’t think the Nuggets or OKC are going to have a bad week and one other note too if the Timberwolves go two and0 in their first two games um Chris Finch and his staff will Coach um

The NBA western Allstars at the All-Star Game in Indianapolis and you you didn’t uh you you strategically didn’t bring up that that at Milwaukee uh in that in that uh next week stretch that’s next that’s next week’s show Reggie that’s next week okay I just thought it was interesting

You’re like 4 and0 but you know they play they play another game two days later after that fourth game against Doc Rivers and the Giannis an tmos they’re gonna be over tired from playing defense he’s gonna have them so tired from playing defense so much that that’s that’s a great tease

Reggie because next week on this show we will talk Timberwolves bucks and Timberwolves Clippers um big week ahead next week see if the Wolves can build some momentum maybe get on a little five-game winning streak going rest conle for that week this stretch you rest them even more get them back

Healthy for the Bucks game I like that idea um it’s the Minnesota basketball party wolves talk every Wednesday hear us on audio locked on wolves feed or subscribe here on lock on Sports Minnesota get us on video find Ron here in lockdown Sports Minnesota he does the Ron Johnson show on Tuesdays Minnesota

Football party Mondays and Thursdays round table on Fridays Reggie Wilson k 11 Sports director and anchor Jack Borman cace hoopus I’m Sam extrom thanks a lot for watching and listening talk to you next week

The Minnesota Timberwolves knocked off the Oklahoma City Thunder to stay #1 in the Western Conference, and they did it without Mike Conley. Plus, Anthony Edwards rips officials for swallowing the whistle on his drives to the basket — is Edwards justified? Plus, are the Minnesota Timberwolves the Detroit Lions of the NBA? That’s all on the latest Minnesota Basketball Party.

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