AbeVigodaLive wrote:http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/andrew-wiggins-and-the-problem-with-scorers/
Interesting... or bloody terrible (how dare they!) article about advanced stats and Andrew Wiggins.
I don't think his season was nearly as bleak (no way did 60 other rookies provide more value to their teams this season, throw whatever metric they used for that away... it's ridiculous). But I don't think it was a slam-dunk awesome season either. It was a season of promise amid turmoil and ineptitude. So I think the truth is probably somewhere in-between super duper awful and oh my gawd awe-inspiring.
The only thing that truly matters, however, is where does he go from here? Wiggins certainly LOOKS like he has all-star potential. And he did grow in certain areas throughout the season. Those count for something in this day and age of formulas, metrics, sundial readings, abacus countings and other math stuff, right?
Please overlook the blurbs about LaVine... some heads will explode at that point. My question is... do these stats have ANY merit at all?
Damn, I saw this article 4 hours ago and was going to post it, but I was at work at our computer system wouldn't let me log into this site. You beat me to it!
I think it's an interesting, and fair article, and the Wolves record certainly back up the advanced stats of these heavy minute players being poor.
The take away I have for Wiggins is that he did NOT raise the level of the team this year as a whole, but that his skill set certainly makes it apparent that as he grows into his body and learns the NBA game better he'll have an upward trajectory. Their list of age-adjusted stats show him right behind Durant's rookie year. Additionally, like the article mentions, his heavy usage/reliance help lead to his lower efficiency.
LaVine was terrible to start the season, and was still terrible halfway through the season. At the end of the season he wasn't a net positive yet, but he was starting to learn the game and get more comfortable. He's young, has a thin frame, and is still learning how to fit in an NBA game, but not so worried about him.
Payne and Anthony Bennett....Not surprising on them, and I wish I could say I had optimism there.