Rubio VS Bayless - GDT

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

We need to pause for a moment and recognize what an extraordinary effort that was last night. The Wolves were playing on the road back to back and their 3rd game in 4 nights, and they arrived at 3 in the morning to play a hot team in a town where visitors always struggle with the altitude. And to top it off, after Taj was ejected and G was hurt, they were playing without SIX of the top 10 guys in their rotation, while Utah was only missing a reserve who plays 16 MPG. This should have been a 40-point loss with Utah emptying their bench in the 3rd quarter. But instead we forced them to play only 9 guys, and we were a late missed three away from leaving town with a W! Did Utah coast because they knew we were disadvantaged? I don't think anyone who watched Gobert, Ingles, Mitchell et al would say there was any coasting. Instead, it was heated from the start...almost a playoff atmosphere.

I'm intrigued by this team and wondering if we are on the cusp of something very good. We aren't going to really know until we get key players back, but it certainly seems like something very un-Wolves like might be going on. I'm going to the game tomorrow and excited to see what happens after last night. I'd be a lot more excited if 2 or 3 of our injured guys were able to play.

[Lipoli390]

Just finished watching the game. Great effort from everyone coming back in the 4th. KAT in particular exerted his will. His dunk over Gobert was a powerful statement. Obviously, Wiggins shooting was atrocious. But I loved his hustle throughout the 4th quarter. I'll reiterate that if you have a player who takes 26 shots - mainly twos - in a game and hits only 32% of them while also missing 3 of 7 free throws you're probably going to lose that game. That said, I'm not blaming Wiggins for the loss. The team as a whole dug itself that 3rd quarter hole and the team as a whole almost climbed out of it. I'll take the hustle and 11 rebounds we got from Wiggins last night any day and just hope he improves his otherwise terrible shooting efficiency.

Monster - I think you nailed it with your point about Wiggins' hands not his ball-handling skill being the problem. In either case, I don't expect that to improve much at this point in his career. But the hustle and effort have been there lately on a consistent basis. The key for him as I see it now is fixing his shooting from the line and the field while also taking fewer long twos.

[Coolbreeze44]

On Wiggins the guy was everywhere for a lot of the 4th quarter. Honestly I don't think it's his handle that's a problem it's just his hands. Some people have sticky and or strong hands. Wiggins just doesn't. He just doesn't have that. I have no idea if you can improve on that but it's not as much a skill or even effort thing it's just something he lacks. It's kinda weird and unexpected how much it effects a player.

I've said this before Monster and I think you're right.

[Coolbreeze44]

A common refain on this board has been that you can put up with a poor shooting performance from Wig as long as he brings the intensity and does other things to help the team win. Well that's exactly what you got last night.

The maddening thing is all the missed shots at the rim. And I'm thinking half could have been makes if he just powered up toward the basket with the idea he was going to dunk. I don't know if he just doesn't want to hurt his hands or what else could possibly cause this. But we can't be the only ones that see this, can we?

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

A common refain on this board has been that you can put up with a poor shooting performance from Wig as long as he brings the intensity and does other things to help the team win. Well that's exactly what you got last night.

The maddening thing is all the missed shots at the rim. And I'm thinking half could have been makes if he just powered up toward the basket with the idea he was going to dunk. I don't know if he just doesn't want to hurt his hands or what else could possibly cause this. But we can't be the only ones that see this, can we?

No, I think we would all like to see a more aggressive approach around the basket from Wig. But I give him a good grade last night not only because of his consistent intensity in all aspects of the game all night, but also because of the Gobert factor. That 7-9 wingspan is just so damn intimidating ( I noticed last night for the first time that he dunks without jumping!)... it has to be in your head whenever you are around the basket.

[Lipoli390]

A common refain on this board has been that you can put up with a poor shooting performance from Wig as long as he brings the intensity and does other things to help the team win. Well that's exactly what you got last night.

The maddening thing is all the missed shots at the rim. And I'm thinking half could have been makes if he just powered up toward the basket with the idea he was going to dunk. I don't know if he just doesn't want to hurt his hands or what else could possibly cause this. But we can't be the only ones that see this, can we?

I agree with both your points, Cool. As I said, I'll take last night's effort and rebounding from Andrew any day and be content. I also agree that Andrew needs to be more aggressive at the rim, which would include more dunks. Like you, I don't know why he doesn't dunk more.

He has to improve his shooting. I have to believe it will improve as long as the effort continues. Better shot selection and more aggressiveness going to the rim should help.

[Monster]

A common refain on this board has been that you can put up with a poor shooting performance from Wig as long as he brings the intensity and does other things to help the team win. Well that's exactly what you got last night.

The maddening thing is all the missed shots at the rim. And I'm thinking half could have been makes if he just powered up toward the basket with the idea he was going to dunk. I don't know if he just doesn't want to hurt his hands or what else could possibly cause this. But we can't be the only ones that see this, can we?

I agree with both your points, Cool. As I said, I'll take last night's effort and rebounding from Andrew any day and be content. I also agree that Andrew needs to be more aggressive at the rim, which would include more dunks. Like you, I don't know why he doesn't dunk more.

He has to improve his shooting. I have to believe it will improve as long as the effort continues. Better shot selection and more aggressiveness going to the rim should help.

Wiggins needs to dunk more but some of his finishes that aren't dunks are fine he just needs to make them. He is down to under 58% around the rim which is bad for him. I'd guess a few of the shots bringing that number down are a bunch of shots off misses but still that percentage is something I've been monitoring and that's a big drop in just a few games.

To me Wiggins shooting can go up (I'm thinking more long term) if he stays AGGRESSIVE. There was a long 2 he took last game where he had his guy beat if he just drove it was a bad shot. There are other times he is taking a 19' shot where there are probably other defenders in the painted area and he used his ball handling wizardry and got plenty of separation and he let it fly. Is that a good shot? Maybe not the best but he stepped into a wide open shot of which he created and took what the defense gave him. He isn't Jamal Crawford "efficient" taking those 2's but I'm fine with him taking some of those. I just don't want the dribble inside the 3point line and pull up in a guy's face shots when it's kot a late clock situation. I'm also fine with some of his shimmy and fade post ups. I don't want him settling at want him AGGRESSIVE doing something to actually bend his will on the defender or defense not settling for a contested shot. Contested in the paint jumper? Fine. I want Wiggins to think (he needs to cut back on those long 2's) and also not think. He needs to just play. I've always throught the thinks too much. He needs to play with some wild confidence. You can see it when he played against Paul George. Somewhere I think despite all of Wiggins bad hands and other flaws there is a guy that can be a pretty good basketball player. I'm in the minority and I will probably look like an idiot (I look like one as I type this) but ai think it's there. Chances it happens? Somewhere between 5% and 15%.

[Coolbreeze44]

A common refain on this board has been that you can put up with a poor shooting performance from Wig as long as he brings the intensity and does other things to help the team win. Well that's exactly what you got last night.

The maddening thing is all the missed shots at the rim. And I'm thinking half could have been makes if he just powered up toward the basket with the idea he was going to dunk. I don't know if he just doesn't want to hurt his hands or what else could possibly cause this. But we can't be the only ones that see this, can we?

I agree with both your points, Cool. As I said, I'll take last night's effort and rebounding from Andrew any day and be content. I also agree that Andrew needs to be more aggressive at the rim, which would include more dunks. Like you, I don't know why he doesn't dunk more.

He has to improve his shooting. I have to believe it will improve as long as the effort continues. Better shot selection and more aggressiveness going to the rim should help.

Yes, he must improve his effective FG%, and his overall percentage can't wallow around 40%. It shouldn't be that hard for him to do. Dunking would help.

[Duke13]

The Gobert excuse can't be used for Wig. He misses shots inside 5 ft constantly. It's nothing new. Pete was disgusted with it, it's totally his hands. Worst hands I've ive seen on an NBA court. The close shots around the rim, he doesn't seem to have total control of the ball off his hands. The release and rotation on his jumper are so inconsistent also.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

I'm convinced he has sweaty hands.