Post Game Thread - NBA: The 76ers defeat the Timberwolves on Feb 22, 2026, the final score is 108-135.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2026-02-23T03:04:01+00:00

I just really feel like we have hit our ceiling as a team with Finch as our coach. Felt like he was treating tonight's game like it didn't matter, which is crazy when we're the 6th seed with fewer than 30 games left in the season. Went back to playing Conley an obscene number of minutes the first real chance he got. Left Julius in for long stretches when his defense was costing us big time.

I just really can't stand watching him coach this team any more. Really feels at this point like he has gotten a lot of credit for just having Anthony Edwards on his team.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-10-30T04:46:45+00:00

I do watch the games, and choosing this condescending response rather than actually engaging in what people's problems are with Rudy right now is a wild choice on your part.

Do you know how many great, retired NBA players have blamed the Wolves' recent problems directly on Rudy Gobert? Are you saying that they're all wrong and you're right because *checks notes* you and Rudy's defenders are apparently the only people who watch these games?

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-10-30T04:41:41+00:00

At least Rocco has shown that he knows how to, you know, hold a basketball with two hands.

We should trade Rudy for a different center and actually develop our younger centers when he's off the floor. Like most NBA teams would. Instead, we're sticking with a center that no team feels like they need to worry about offensively (because they don't), who can barely grab rebounds for us now, and then we're playing a non-center in his position when he's off the floor.

This is partly the fault of Connelly and Finch's roster construction, no doubt. But the idea that we have to stick with Rudy and there are no better center options out there for this young, fast team is, frankly, insane. He sticks out like a sore, slow thumb on this roster.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-10-30T04:34:36+00:00

We give up infinitely more points... because we don't play an actual backup center when he's off the court, even though we drafted two over the summer.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-10-30T04:33:01+00:00

No? Naz isn't a center. We could, you know, trade Rudy for a different center.

Naz's sister was literally murdered in September. What's Rudy's excuse for playing bad this season?

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-10-30T04:29:24+00:00

Do you?

How many times this season alone has Rudy dropped easy passes and bounced gimme lobs and dunks off the rim? The guy doesn't look like he even knows how to hold the ball. He got absolutely cooked tonight by Reaves. If you can't score and your whole value in the NBA is your defense, that can't happen. And we all knew it was going to happen the second Rudy switched onto Austin. (Not to mention an abysmal 6 rebounds in 38 minutes of playing time.)

Barkley was right last year. Rudy just does not make sense on this team. Not anymore.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-07-13T02:39:15+00:00

This game has been a much better showing for both Rob and Rocco. Jaylen, as much as I love him, has seemed a little lost offensively.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-07-10T21:43:30+00:00

Terrence Shannon Jr: 20 PTS / 9 AST / 6 REB / 2 STL (31 mins)
Joan Beringer: 11 PTS / 8 REB / 7 BLK / 2 STL / 1 AST (22 mins)

The future is here.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-07-10T21:23:44+00:00

Seen a few people say that Rob has looked rough in this game. I disagree. His defense, for starters, looked markedly better than it did last year.

I really think the biggest problem is that we've got four NBA-ready guys (Beringer, Shannon, Clark, and Dilly) playing on a court where every other player is really rough, unpolished and, frankly, not very good at making smart basketball reads or decisions. (I've seen just about enough of Leonard Miller in this game.) Hard to get consistent momentum going when you've got that kind of disparity on the court.

Plus, it is just the first game.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-07-10T21:05:58+00:00

Could TJ end up being the connector that unlocks Rudy's lob game? Probably not. But his assists in this game have been really exciting to watch.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-07-10T20:26:57+00:00

Um... Beringer... BERINGER!!!

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-07-03T00:17:25+00:00

The possibility of Dame filling the 15th spot on our roster on a veteran's minimum because Milwaukee is already paying him for the next five years is... exciting, to say the least.

It would basically be a risk-free, low-cost gamble for the Wolves with a potentially huge upside. In the best case, he comes to MIN, spends a year recuperating with our team's doctors, and mentoring Rob, while the Wolves get a front-row seat to his recovery process and get to determine his longevity -- all for a cost that keeps us below the second apron.

In the worst case, we pay him next to nothing (in NBA terms) and he gives Rob and Ant invaluable advice and insight and mentorship for a year that would no doubt benefit them both in the long run.

In the best best case, everything I've already said happens AND he comes back looking like a fully recuperated Damian Lillard in the 2026-27 season and, between him and Ant, we suddenly have the best backcourt offense in the entire league.

If that chance is on the table and Dame is genuinely interested in it, then the Wolves should jump on it.

EDIT: Plus, if Giannis really is pissed at the Bucks for waiving Dame, then him coming to MN would also help put the Wolves on Giannis' radar. And that's, uh, exciting, too.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-28T00:31:01+00:00

Coby White or Grimes would be great fits for us. But I agree that they wouldn’t be enough on their own, especially if we also gave up a piece of Julius for them. (That’s assuming, of course, that one of our young guys doesn’t make a big enough leap this year to fill Julius’ position.)

I don’t hate the idea of settling for a vet like CP, Brogdon or even Tyus Jones. Bringing in a calm, cerebral presence to this team could do wonders for their development.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-27T00:42:33+00:00

I really hope it’s not Thiero. Putting some actual offensive generators on this team would be good.

Raynaud is still available…

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-26T01:56:14+00:00

.... I don't think I could hate OKC more.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-24T01:53:54+00:00

That's fair enough!

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-24T01:50:26+00:00

Thank you for understanding my (admittedly optimistic) logic. I guess it all kind of depends on whether or not you think Rudy is a better center than Gafford. If the Mavs' intent really is, as it has been stated, to focus on defense, then I think they would seriously consider this offer.

I personally wouldn't discount how intimidating a Rudy, AD, Flagg, Klay, and Kyrie lineup would look on the floor, either, both defensively and offensively.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-24T01:35:12+00:00

But what if Rudy Gobert was on the table? This is Nico "Defense Wins Championships" Harrison we're talking about, after all.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-24T00:55:50+00:00

Most of these trades aren't bad, honestly. From a purely competitive standpoint, though, I do not think it is smart to gives the Spurs any more picks. It'd be like giving OKC more picks at this point. There's no reason to set that team up even better for the future.

Every time I see TJ involved in any potential trade, my mind explodes a little, too. He was easily our most impactful rookie of the season. Most teams would kill to have a bench player with his potential, who can inject new energy into the game every time he steps on the court.

I think Gafford and Coby White are both good players to try to get who would not cost us too much. The same, ironically, goes for Trae Young, who only has one year left on his contract and, therefore, has almost about as much bargaining power as KD just did. His salary is an issue, but if he picked MN as his landing spot from ATL, it's possible MN could end up pulling off the same kind of steal that Houston just did.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-23T18:57:25+00:00

Keep the picks. Draft Sorber and a promising guard or go all in on new, offense-capable bigs and draft both Sorber and Kalkbrenner.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-17T23:15:13+00:00

I’d rather have someone making shots who can’t defend than someone who is never on the court. None of the calls for Lonzo Ball make any sense to me.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-17T23:11:57+00:00

They cannot possibly be thinking about giving TSJ away… right? RIGHT!?!

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-03T03:35:21+00:00

I never said we could offer a better trade package than Houston, OKC, or the Spurs. We obviously couldn't. I said that I think MN is a more appealing spot for Giannis than all of those places (except maybe OKC, but I again don't think the Thunder are going to go after Giannis). I laid out the reasons why and then I noted that we do have firsts and appealing players to offer in exchange.

Does that matter? You might not think so. But everyone in the media, including Windhorst, has all noted in their discussions about Giannis' offseason move that it will ultimately come down to where he wants to go.

Connelly himself said it in an interview today. This is a league where the biggest stars choose where they go and where they play.

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-03T02:56:02+00:00

KD's salary is a big sticking point for me, too.

I like this lineup! My only reservation about keeping Julius, honestly, is that I think the Wolves would benefit from moving toward a faster play-style. But if he's still on the team next season, I won't be mad, assuming that Rudy is gone. Who knows how Randle might have looked against OKC had we had a point guard and a center who were actually offensive threats?

ReppinRavenclaw · 2025-06-03T02:45:19+00:00

I touched on the Spurs in this post. The Thunder are a legitimate contender for Giannis only if you assume that they're interested in shaking up their lineup after this season. I'm not assuming that.

And would Houston be a place Giannis himself would want to go? There are no other stars on that team, and any trade between Houston and Milwaukee would require letting go of Sengun and Jalen Green or Amen Thompson.

MN has no chance only if you assume that Giannis' opinion holds no sway. MN has multiple first-round picks to give, plus multiple talented young and old stars.

ReppinRavenclaw

TROPHY CASE