longstrangetrip wrote:Excellent analysis, Q...I don't think I disagree with any of it. I also don't hold much hope for Wig to become a versatile "do shit" kind of player, but I still think he can become a perennial all-star based on his scoring alone. His strong scoring performance his first 2 years leads me to believe he's a guy who can be a career 24-5 PPG scorer, while using his athleticism to also provide very good defense. His poor shooting start in his first two games concerns me a little, but his ability to draw fouls has led to very efficient scoring...28 points on only 24 shots. His efficiency should improve with experience and as defenses realize they have to concentrate on Kat and Zach too.
To answer Abe's question...I think Wig can be player 2A or 2B on a very good team...and perhaps even on a championship team.
Does it really? We have a large enough sample size to know that's not how he's going to shoot over the long haul.
longstrangetrip wrote:Excellent analysis, Q...I don't think I disagree with any of it. I also don't hold much hope for Wig to become a versatile "do shit" kind of player, but I still think he can become a perennial all-star based on his scoring alone. His strong scoring performance his first 2 years leads me to believe he's a guy who can be a career 24-5 PPG scorer, while using his athleticism to also provide very good defense. His poor shooting start in his first two games concerns me a little, but his ability to draw fouls has led to very efficient scoring...28 points on only 24 shots. His efficiency should improve with experience and as defenses realize they have to concentrate on Kat and Zach too.
To answer Abe's question...I think Wig can be player 2A or 2B on a very good team...and perhaps even on a championship team.
Does it really? We have a large enough sample size to know that's not how he's going to shoot over the long haul.
One of my flaws as a loyal fan, cool, is I tend to easily fall for "hyped" improvement reports about players I like. This offseason I heard many reports about how Wig had been working on, and greatly improved, his outside shot...heck, even Thibs mentioned it a couple times. So it's disappointing to have him come out 11-37 in his first three games. I agree with your contention that we have a big enough sample size to know how he's going to shoot over the long run, but I was hoping for immediate evidence of the alleged improvement. I'm not saying it's not going to happen, but the first three games have been worse than his previous shooting.
longstrangetrip wrote:Excellent analysis, Q...I don't think I disagree with any of it. I also don't hold much hope for Wig to become a versatile "do shit" kind of player, but I still think he can become a perennial all-star based on his scoring alone. His strong scoring performance his first 2 years leads me to believe he's a guy who can be a career 24-5 PPG scorer, while using his athleticism to also provide very good defense. His poor shooting start in his first two games concerns me a little, but his ability to draw fouls has led to very efficient scoring...28 points on only 24 shots. His efficiency should improve with experience and as defenses realize they have to concentrate on Kat and Zach too.
To answer Abe's question...I think Wig can be player 2A or 2B on a very good team...and perhaps even on a championship team.
Does it really? We have a large enough sample size to know that's not how he's going to shoot over the long haul.
One of my flaws as a loyal fan, cool, is I tend to easily fall for "hyped" improvement reports about players I like. This offseason I heard many reports about how Wig had been working on, and greatly improved, his outside shot...heck, even Thibs mentioned it a couple times. So it's disappointing to have him come out 11-37 in his first three games. I agree with your contention that we have a big enough sample size to know how he's going to shoot over the long run, but I was hoping for immediate evidence of the alleged improvement. I'm not saying it's not going to happen, but the first three games have been worse than his previous shooting.
Not too worried. But remember... Wiggins is NOT a good shooter yet. Being as good as last season is not good enough.
That being said, these games are next to meaningless for me.
I don't think Wig is ever going to become a pure shooter. He can certainly get better and he probably will. His living is going to be made going to the tin and mixing in both a mid and long range game. No matter what he is going to be one of the toughest guys to check in the league. My biggest hope for him is that he figures out a way to get more easy baskets. Get out in transition, anticipate passes and get some steals, and hit the offensive boards. His athleticism would seem to be tailor made for these aspects of the game.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:I don't think Wig is ever going to become a pure shooter. He can certainly get better and he probably will. His living is going to be made going to the tin and mixing in both a mid and long range game. No matter what he is going to be one of the toughest guys to check in the league. My biggest hope for him is that he figures out a way to get more easy baskets. Get out in transition, anticipate passes and get some steals, and hit the offensive boards. His athleticism would seem to be tailor made for these aspects of the game.
Agreed. He labors a lot for the points he gets. He did seem to run harder in the back half of last season when we picked up the pace and got some easier looks in transition.
The ability to make tough, contested shots comes in handy in crunch time. Oftentimes that's all the defense gives you - especially a really good defense, like the ones we'd see in a deep playoff run. But over the course of the game, he definitely needs to find ways to work off the ball to get easier looks and pick up some loose change.
I agree that Wiggins will never become anything close to a pure shooter. But he will be a big-time scorer with an assortment of post-ups, drives, fouls shots, mid-range jumpers and an occasional three. I'm now convinced he'll remain a subpar rebounder for his position who doesn't do much other than score. However, his one saving grace is what I still consider his ability to become a lock-down defender. If he can do that then, coupled with his volume scoring, he can definitely be the second best guy on a championship caliber team. I actually see Wiggins and Zach as a 2A and 2B combo. Zach looks like he'll become a good rebounder for his position and he's also showing the ability as a ball-their. The key, of course, is Towns developing into a superstar.
lipoli390 wrote:I agree that Wiggins will never become anything close to a pure shooter. But he will be a big-time scorer with an assortment of post-ups, drives, fouls shots, mid-range jumpers and an occasional three. I'm now convinced he'll remain a subpar rebounder for his position who doesn't do much other than score. However, his one saving grace is what I still consider his ability to become a lock-down defender. If he can do that then, coupled with his volume scoring, he can definitely be the second best guy on a championship caliber team. I actually see Wiggins and Zach as a 2A and 2B combo. Zach looks like he'll become a good rebounder for his position and he's also showing the ability as a ball-their. The key, of course, is Towns developing into a superstar.
Agree Lip. I think as long as KAT stays healthy, he'll be a franchise player. The key is the development of these other guys. It's funny, because KAT was so good his rookie year, we already assume him to be the superstar and focal point of this team. Meanwhile, we've still got some questions hanging over former ROY and 3rd year player Wiggins.
lipoli390 wrote:I agree that Wiggins will never become anything close to a pure shooter. But he will be a big-time scorer with an assortment of post-ups, drives, fouls shots, mid-range jumpers and an occasional three. I'm now convinced he'll remain a subpar rebounder for his position who doesn't do much other than score. However, his one saving grace is what I still consider his ability to become a lock-down defender. If he can do that then, coupled with his volume scoring, he can definitely be the second best guy on a championship caliber team. I actually see Wiggins and Zach as a 2A and 2B combo. Zach looks like he'll become a good rebounder for his position and he's also showing the ability as a ball-their. The key, of course, is Towns developing into a superstar.
Agree Lip. I think as long as KAT stays healthy, he'll be a franchise player. The key is the development of these other guys. It's funny, because KAT was so good his rookie year, we already assume him to be the superstar and focal point of this team. Meanwhile, we've still got some questions hanging over former ROY and 3rd year player Wiggins.
Let's give Wiggins some credit for us having high expectations of him. He has shown plenty for us wanting more. He isn't some scrub that we have seen a flash here or there and because we are homers we are holding out hope that he "gets it". I'm not saying the guy has no flaws but he is clearly going to be a pretty good player it's pretty much a question of how good. Sure that's expected of number 1 overall picks but Wiggins does some special thinks and has some special skills.
