Game Preview #9: Wolves At Rockets Game Thread

So… how are we doing folks?

We at Canis Hoopus usually try to get game recaps out a full day before the games so everyone can get their jokes and thoughts going in the comments. It’s what makes this community so fun for so many of us, myself included. From GIFs to shitposts to real analysis and everything in between, this is where to find it.

However, some of us were a little busy tracking some election day results. We were watching a blue wave instead of watching a wave of blue at Target Center. We were celebrating the left wing, not analyzing the wings left with Anthony Edwards out. We were… You get the point, but I have a ton of these.

Now, with the Minnesota Timberwolves heading down to Texas to face the 7-1, conference-leading Houston Rockets, it’s time to flip red to blue, just as the state just did.

It’s a pretty great day to wake up and rep the Wolves, and to completely destroy now-jobless Greg Abott’s favorite team.

Let’s get into it.

Game Info

• Who:Minnesota Timberwolves (5-3) vs Houston Rockets (7-1)
• When: Monday, November 4th at 7:30 PM CT
• Where: Toyota Center, Houston
• Local TV: DAZN-MN, DAZN-SAS
• Radio: 830 WCCO

Offense to Defense

So far this season, the Houston Rockets have played fast. After being a team largely defined by defense, Houston is now winning their games the way people have been doing for decades: by simply scoring more points than their opponents.

Getting Fred VanVleet back after his season-ending injury has done a lot to organize the Rockets, but it is their ability to turn defense into offense that ultimately has turned them from a Kevin Durant shooting clinic into a well-balanced, well-oiled machine.

To their credit, the Timberwolves have been aiming to do a similar thing in the absence of Anthony Edwards. Without Ant, the Wolves have been relying on the talent and speed of LaMelo Ball. 

“I like to play fast, and he’s faster than no other,” Ball said earlier this week.

While his driving (not the on-court kind) has gotten most of the focus in regard to his speed, Ball has been the fulcrum Minnesota needs to stay in games without their superstar wing and primary half-court shot creator.

However, it has also been Ayo Dosunmu’s incredible play filling in for Edwards that really should get more attention. So much of the conversation around Ayo was about this feigned outrage over a perceived overpay, but the Illinois guard is more valuable for the Wolves than any other team. He can fill in for either Ball or Edwards when needed, and can certainly fit with anyone else in the rotation.

And when he’s in the game, he’s moving.

The Twin Turbos of Dosunmu and Bones Hyland have been the two main beneficiaries of Edwards’ absence, and it’s their pursuit of transition opportunities that has kept Minnesota alive.

The team is coming off a win against the Milwaukee Bucks that showed both of them off, and will now hopefully carry that momentum into Houston.

Kevin Durant’s Gravity

I want all of you to take a look at this clip for a moment. While on the surface it looks like Kevin Durant is once again getting irritated with what seems like a relatively innocuous question, there’s a moment when Durant shifts from being annoyed to actually respecting the reporter’s questions and thoughts.

That’s because this is a really good goddamn question.

For years, the balance for stars has been all about involving teammates while also not shrinking under the lights. Many years ago, 538 put out an article about not just ball dominance but emotional dominance within a team structure. That piece determined that Durant was not an alpha.

It’s been the same argument for much of LeBron James’ career, and it is an argument that continues to be completely asinine.

The best players use their gravity to create for others as they do for themselves. How often they pull off those different things is what we use to define players as scorers or creators.

Maybe it’s not that simple.

Durant has been an underrated playmaker for the entire duration of his career because of how good he is as a scorer. Just a few games ago, Jabari Smith Jr. had a 30-point game largely off of attacking closeouts that Durant put him in position to beat.

The Wolves will have to do a good job of not just defending Durant but also minimizing the ways he can enable everyone around him. That’s so much easier said than done, and may not even be possible in general.

With Alperun Sengun at center, the Wolves can’t move Rudy Gobert to guard Durant, so they will have to ask Jaden McDaniels and Jonathan Kuminga to guard him while not sacrificing their rebounding that has been so vital recently. 

Answers, however, are easy to think of and hard to implement, so watch out for a big Durant game, even if the box score doesn’t necessarily show it.