Chrysalis 123, Wolves 104: Monday Case

If you adjust and believe tonight will be better than what Minnesota played in the first season, you will be disappointed. However, this is a premature game, let’s try to enjoy ourselves here, let’s highlight the good things from tonight, between the bad game and the failed final scores, there were some good things. I wasn’t a big box score guy during the season, but there were a few guys in general Saw Playing with a different level and focus on detail than others.

First and foremost, what I saw through two games from Jared Calvary is incredibly inspiring. Yes, it’s only in advance, but I do not care. If you are wondering how big I suck, after Culver leaves the office, I’ll be back.

Culver seems to be their best defender legally. It didn’t say much, but he was the only hope the wolves had for Ja Morant in the distance, and he was aggressive and confident in the crime. This may be an exaggeration, but looking at the last few nights of Ryan Sanders, it is hard for me to believe that he can give Josh Okoki more minutes than Calvary. He’s going to play a lot and he looks like he’s progressed a lot. The future vision of wolves changes a lot.

The other player who actually stood out was Ronde Hollis-Jefferson. He gets off his donkey and brings a boat load. He is more than everyone on the court. Minnesota needs him, and he needs to play a lot next to the Carl-Anthony cities. I don’t know if he should start, but he certainly seems to be one of those who deserves proper minutes.

My favorite thing about RHJ is that he never stops moving. His legs are always going, he is always ready for the next volume, cut, reproduction or screen. He is going to play an important role.

The only reason I don’t think Hollis-Jefferson starts (though that’s the best way) is because of how Jake Lehmann looked. He’s not the perfect player by any means, but he’s proven to be a good cutter and off-ball defender again. He brings more versatility to the table than a Juanzo Hernangomas. I was inspired by what Lehman has shown so far, and if I had it, the cycle at 4 would have been entirely Lehman / RHJ minutes. It’s hard to watch these two games and it’s hard to present any argument in the way that Hollywood Hernangomas takes minutes from any player.

Do you know who else knew better tonight? Anthony Edwards, who it is. Again, it wasn’t perfect, there were still some difficult moments, but it was better. He’s going to be fine. His playing ability was everywhere, and he engaged himself with a nice cut on the edge of an easy bucket in the first quarter. If Edwards wants to initially create a good character for himself, increasing his playing ability in transitions and cuts from the ball will be key.

That was a good thing, but yes, it was a lot worse. Crime is going to be worse than we thought, at least initially. They didn’t plan buckets easy enough for their comrades. The cities of D’Angelo Russell and Carl-Anthony will do a lot at the right time, but they are not yet. They turned the ball 25 times. Security is once again … involved, and there are some guys who have to play key roles who are not ready yet.

I choose not to regret a pre-season game, but it’s hard not to get a little tired. If things don’t go fast, the wolves may be subjected to a quick realistic test of where they really stand at the conference.