Wolves 107, Rockets 101: Unstoppable Rockets Meet Still Wolves

Phew.

I had a scathing recap scheduled for tonight. I really did. You were about to be subjected to reading quotes about fake unicorns, pissing basketballs, being C3 since day 93, and many other uncreative dissents. However I have Stephen silas, Rafael’s Stone, and especially, John wall, to thank for saving my position here at Canis Hoopus.

As Kyle Theige pointed out, this game was going to be a battle of the two worst teams in the NBA and boy did it live up to that hype! What seemed like a brisk offensive showcase The flea market of the first half quickly turned into perhaps the worst basketball ever played on planet Earth in the second half.

By the third quarter, Wolves’ “defense” had turned into rocket fuel for the team who had lost 20 of their last 21 games. Minnesota fell behind by 19 points thanks to Houston draining 15 of 31 three points. Karl-Anthony Towns, who had spent most of the first half complaining to the referees, kind of pushed his moans to 11 in the 3rd. He was frustrated and the rest of his teammates didn’t seem able to bail him out either. Towns’ team looked set to fold and drop 20 points to the second-worst team in the NBA. I also looked like I was about to put my fist through the TV.

Then came the 4th trimester.

In the first 4 minutes, although the deficit never really increased to 20, it still didn’t look like Wolves were going to fight. Then at 7:47 the game switched. Anthony edwards was excluded from the game for Jaden “Big Mac”McDaniels and the Rockets never scored again.

Not really. This is not hyperbole. At 7:47 am, the Rockets were at 101 points. When the clock struck 0:00, they were still at 101 points. Meanwhile, Wolves went on a 20-0 run to end the game. How did it happen? John Wall has caught and missed 6 of the team’s last 11 field goal attempts, while also contributing to 2 of 3 teams during that span.

I really feel that on the wolf side, the credit really goes to 3 key players: KAT, Jaden McDaniels and … Juancho Hernangomez. That is true. The only player wanted by Washington in a trade Bradley Beal (%). KAT and Juancho combined for 20 points in the 4th quarter as Big Mac blocked things defensively. It was a sight to see. According to Dave Benz, the Wolves were unofficially 32-770 (3.99%) in games where they trailed 10 points in the 4th quarter.

There were a few hilarious games to complete the game I want to mention. After John Wall missed his 6th straight shot in the last minute of play, McDaniels found himself hurtling down the court in a quick 1-on-1 opportunity against Sterling Brown. Just as he was trying to squirm around Brown, he fell to the ground and looked at the ref for a bad call. However, during this chaos, Coach Finch had cleverly (and hilarious) called a mid-break timeout to save Jaden from himself. Why was that a good call? Wolves were up 2 with 34.7 seconds left and 20 on the shot clock.

In the possession that followed, KAT found Ricky rubio who absolutely smoked a large typical open layup. I mean on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being Ricky Rubio’s worst layup he’s ever missed, it was probably a 9.5. Either way, it gave the Rockets a transition opportunity to level the game. Wall, who do I just remind you missed 6 shots in a row, would grope the ball and kick it out of bounds.

Game: wolves.

Lottery Odds: Oh oh …

Highlights of the full game:

Play Notes

• Before the 4th quarter, the only three players who really seemed to have a winning impact on the game were Jaylen nowell (15/5/5 & 3 interceptions), Naz reid (16/2/2 & 2 interceptions), and Jaden mcdaniels (14/4 & 2 blocks, 100% FG). What won’t be lost in this season-long washout are the gems that Gersson Rosas continues to unearth out of nowhere.

• Today was finally the return of Jordan mclaughlin. Unfortunately, although understandable, it looked extremely rusty there. He finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 airball and 20% shooting. Happy to see you again!
• Jake layman and Jarrett culver were both off the rotation today. I haven’t heard why, but they haven’t left the bench today. Meanwhile, Malik Beasley is expected to return to the court tomorrow!

• It was a little concerning sad to see Anthony edwards completely unable to start over. He seemed shy to attack the paint and picked up a bad shot after a bad shot. He was deservedly benched at the end of the game, although Finch mentioned he was just going with what worked. After the last buzzer sounded, I saw Ant heading for the tunnel looking very low as Juancho gave him some advice. I didn’t interpret this as being upset with the win or a bench, but even more upset with his own performance again. The 19-year-old will rebound, however.

• The MPE goes back to the old Pizza Guy, Ben mclemore. He made 6 of 6 three points to start the game and looked like Steph Curry there. He finished 7/14 and fair 21 points.
• I’m no casual and I know how Christian wood was before today’s game. I even remember conversations about him here at Canis Hoopus when he was not drafted in 2015. However, he still managed to surprise me with his performance tonight. KAT and Wood were going tit for tat at the start of the match, but it wasn’t long before Wood looked completely dominant over him in the third. KAT is still amazing and was able to regain control in the 4th, even though Wood finished with a formidable 24 points on 16 shots. I’m sorry he has to play with John Wall.
• I finally had the opportunity to ask KAT about the increase in violence against the AAPI community. He had a sincere and thoughtful response, as usual. It’s a timely reminder that we really have a good one in our squad, no matter what happens on the pitch. I am so proud to cover this young man.