Is it ok to like this team?

[thedoper]

I know we all need to be pissed off and upset with the state of the Wolves, but upon some reflection I'm pretty impressed. I still want Glen to sell the team and am not thrilled about our long term prospects. That being said, when Butler asked for a trade I was pretty down about it. The we got Covington and Saric and I was pumped. Thibs got fired, Covington got injured, enter usual Wolves panic reality of tanking for the best draft pick possible. Instead we're still hanging around .500 and playing some competitive games in spite of wide spread injury issues. Many issues abound. Yes Wiggins still can't hit a shot. In fact, he may be even worse than some of the shooting disappointments we've seen in the past. Beyond that most of our team shoots below their career averages, and we've still got a positive point differential. Man we've got flaws but I really like rooting for this team. The rest of our schedule is brutal, and I really think it would be a miracle if we ended up in the playoffs. But it's fun to still cheer for having a puncher's chance. At least I prefer that over draft analysis.

[AbeVigodaLive]

It's one of the weird things about sports... many of us cheer for provincialism or tradition.

So when your favorite team actually has players who you feel good rooting for... it's a lot more fun.

That being said, this phenomenon is also why we tend to overvalue some of those guys. We almost have to just to justify why we dig the team.




[Note: Needless to say, I seriously had some questions about my Wolves fandom during the Rashad McCants years. McCants, Ricky Davis, Eddie Griffin, Mark Blount, Marko Jaric and Mike James on the same team? It's a minor miracle any of us got out of that season...]

[thedoper]

It's one of the weird things about sports... many of us cheer for provincialism or tradition.

So when your favorite team actually has players who you feel good rooting for... it's a lot more fun.

That being said, this phenomenon is also why we tend to overvalue some of those guys. We almost have to just to justify why we dig the team.

Yeah it's funny living outside of Minnesota and telling people you cheer for the Wolves. Most people are confused.

[Monster]

I know we all need to be pissed off and upset with the state of the Wolves, but upon some reflection I'm pretty impressed. I still want Glen to sell the team and am not thrilled about our long term prospects. That being said, when Butler asked for a trade I was pretty down about it. The we got Covington and Saric and I was pumped. Thibs got fired, Covington got injured, enter usual Wolves panic reality of tanking for the best draft pick possible. Instead we're still hanging around .500 and playing some competitive games in spite of wide spread injury issues. Many issues abound. Yes Wiggins still can't hit a shot. In fact, he may be even worse than some of the shooting disappointments we've seen in the past. Beyond that most of our team shoots below their career averages, and we've still got a positive point differential. Man we've got flaws but I really like rooting for this team. The rest of our schedule is brutal, and I really think it would be a miracle if we ended up in the playoffs. But it's fun to still cheer for having a puncher's chance. At least I prefer that over draft analysis.

Sort of a side note on something you said in your postabput Wiggins shooting. Yes his bad hands and handle are a problem BUT if Wiggins was actually a good shooter he would be a pretty good player. I'm not saying Durant or Klay Thompson but you know like good or League average or something. Instead he struggled as a FT shooter last year while not being terrible shooting the 3. This year he is less of a train wreck at the line but can't hit shots from a bunch of spots but especially at the rim. Shot selection and settling is a problem for him along with other flaws but really not progressing as a shooter as you said is probably something that doesn't really get brought up that much.

Meanwhile why is Towns so good? Ok he is legitimately very skilled but damn he is a good shooter. His longer 2 percentages are down (also taking fewer percentage of his shots from there) but shooting is a bigtime part of his game. We need some guys to progress as shooters. That deep straight on 3 by Tyus in the Kings game was something we need out of someone other than Towns and a healthy Covington. How long have we been talking about this with supposedly promising young players? Brewer? Wes Johnson? Rubio?

As for the actual spirit of your post yeah it's reallykimda something this team has hung in there. Why? Oddly it's depth kinda sorta. I mean Deng and Bayless have had a hand in keeping this thing sorta afloat. Weird. After the Kings game Deng talked about the team didn't have an identity to start the year they were just playing games. He said he thinks this team is playing for each other and at least playing hard. I think that's a fair assessment. I think the last few games the team has played hard. Execution maybe not so much but I think the effort has mostly been there. That win at Home against the Kings who have been kinda sorta good most of the year seemed a bit worthwhile.

[thedoper]

I know we all need to be pissed off and upset with the state of the Wolves, but upon some reflection I'm pretty impressed. I still want Glen to sell the team and am not thrilled about our long term prospects. That being said, when Butler asked for a trade I was pretty down about it. The we got Covington and Saric and I was pumped. Thibs got fired, Covington got injured, enter usual Wolves panic reality of tanking for the best draft pick possible. Instead we're still hanging around .500 and playing some competitive games in spite of wide spread injury issues. Many issues abound. Yes Wiggins still can't hit a shot. In fact, he may be even worse than some of the shooting disappointments we've seen in the past. Beyond that most of our team shoots below their career averages, and we've still got a positive point differential. Man we've got flaws but I really like rooting for this team. The rest of our schedule is brutal, and I really think it would be a miracle if we ended up in the playoffs. But it's fun to still cheer for having a puncher's chance. At least I prefer that over draft analysis.

Sort of a side note on something you said in your postabput Wiggins shooting. Yes his bad hands and handle are a problem BUT if Wiggins was actually a good shooter he would be a pretty good player. I'm not saying Durant or Klay Thompson but you know like good or League average or something. Instead he struggled as a FT shooter last year while not being terrible shooting the 3. This year he is less of a train wreck at the line but can't hit shots from a bunch of spots but especially at the rim. Shot selection and settling is a problem for him along with other flaws but really not progressing as a shooter as you said is probably something that doesn't really get brought up that much.

Meanwhile why is Towns so good? Ok he is legitimately very skilled but damn he is a good shooter. His longer 2 percentages are down (also taking fewer percentage of his shots from there) but shooting is a bigtime part of his game. We need some guys to progress as shooters. That deep straight on 3 by Tyus in the Kings game was something we need out of someone other than Towns and a healthy Covington. How long have we been talking about this with supposedly promising young players? Brewer? Wes Johnson? Rubio?

As for the actual spirit of your post yeah it's reallykimda something this team has hung in there. Why? Oddly it's depth kinda sorta. I mean Deng and Bayless have had a hand in keeping this thing sorta afloat. Weird. After the Kings game Deng talked about the team didn't have an identity to start the year they were just playing games. He said he thinks this team is playing for each other and at least playing hard. I think that's a fair assessment. I think the last few games the team has played hard. Execution maybe not so much but I think the effort has mostly been there. That win at Home against the Kings who have been kinda sorta good most of the year seemed a bit worthwhile.

I've always maintained that the shots need to start going in with Wiggins, if the critics are going to be silenced. If you're going to be at or near the top of the team in attempts every night, you better have a justification for why. The habit is clearly to shoot a lot, and it doesn't seem like any of his coaches have tried to change that habit. I think it's the most unsettling of all the issues with his game. I like the subtle uptick in assists and rebounds with Saunders. Now just the ball just needs to fall. I've never seen someone have such random releases, sometimes his shot is beautiful, then he can put up real dogs too. It's so frustrating, and I don't think it's due to a lack of practice on his shot.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I know we all need to be pissed off and upset with the state of the Wolves, but upon some reflection I'm pretty impressed. I still want Glen to sell the team and am not thrilled about our long term prospects. That being said, when Butler asked for a trade I was pretty down about it. The we got Covington and Saric and I was pumped. Thibs got fired, Covington got injured, enter usual Wolves panic reality of tanking for the best draft pick possible. Instead we're still hanging around .500 and playing some competitive games in spite of wide spread injury issues. Many issues abound. Yes Wiggins still can't hit a shot. In fact, he may be even worse than some of the shooting disappointments we've seen in the past. Beyond that most of our team shoots below their career averages, and we've still got a positive point differential. Man we've got flaws but I really like rooting for this team. The rest of our schedule is brutal, and I really think it would be a miracle if we ended up in the playoffs. But it's fun to still cheer for having a puncher's chance. At least I prefer that over draft analysis.

Sort of a side note on something you said in your postabput Wiggins shooting. Yes his bad hands and handle are a problem BUT if Wiggins was actually a good shooter he would be a pretty good player. I'm not saying Durant or Klay Thompson but you know like good or League average or something. Instead he struggled as a FT shooter last year while not being terrible shooting the 3. This year he is less of a train wreck at the line but can't hit shots from a bunch of spots but especially at the rim. Shot selection and settling is a problem for him along with other flaws but really not progressing as a shooter as you said is probably something that doesn't really get brought up that much.

Meanwhile why is Towns so good? Ok he is legitimately very skilled but damn he is a good shooter. His longer 2 percentages are down (also taking fewer percentage of his shots from there) but shooting is a bigtime part of his game. We need some guys to progress as shooters. That deep straight on 3 by Tyus in the Kings game was something we need out of someone other than Towns and a healthy Covington. How long have we been talking about this with supposedly promising young players? Brewer? Wes Johnson? Rubio?

As for the actual spirit of your post yeah it's reallykimda something this team has hung in there. Why? Oddly it's depth kinda sorta. I mean Deng and Bayless have had a hand in keeping this thing sorta afloat. Weird. After the Kings game Deng talked about the team didn't have an identity to start the year they were just playing games. He said he thinks this team is playing for each other and at least playing hard. I think that's a fair assessment. I think the last few games the team has played hard. Execution maybe not so much but I think the effort has mostly been there. That win at Home against the Kings who have been kinda sorta good most of the year seemed a bit worthwhile.

I've always maintained that the shots need to start going in with Wiggins, if the critics are going to be silenced. If you're going to be at or near the top of the team in attempts every night, you better have a justification for why. The habit is clearly to shoot a lot, and it doesn't seem like any of his coaches have tried to change that habit. I think it's the most unsettling of all the issues with his game. I like the subtle uptick in assists and rebounds with Saunders. Now just the ball just needs to fall. I've never seen someone have such random releases, sometimes his shot is beautiful, then he can put up real dogs too. It's so frustrating, and I don't think it's due to a lack of practice on his shot.

It's shot selection with Wiggins. It's always been one of the main issues and it will likely continue to be a main issue because I don't see him changing any time soon. Most of the premier perimeter scorers in the league have their spots. As long as they can get to their spots, they're fine. Wiggins not only doesn't have a real spot that he's a good shooter from, but his weak handle and poor basketball intellect restrict him from getting there in the first place.

A secondary main issue is that Wiggins just doesn't attack like he should. He'd rather pull-up or step back from 19-feet for a contested jumper than consistently put his head down, absorb contact and get to the rim. That latter of which is why the DeRozan comparisons were unfortunately never going to fall true.

[TAFKASP]

It's okay to like this team, it's just not always easy.

[worldK]

Main problem with wig is he needs to seriously work on his body this off season. 194 pounds is too light at 6'8. Paul george, rudy gay, ben simmons. Guys that are in wiggins height and length out weight him by 25-30 pounds easily. At the very least, added weight and strength helps him in absorbing and finishing tru contact. It helps in defense as well as he play good man to man d, but is too thin to really bother his man. We saw bembry abused him tonight. He played good man to man but is too weak to really bother him. I dont care if he jumps a few inch shorter or run slower if he add weight, he doesn't use his full athletic ability anyway. B he needs to work on is body and reinvent his game.

[Coolbreeze44]

Main problem with wig is he needs to seriously work on his body this off season. 194 pounds is too light at 6'8. Paul george, rudy gay, ben simmons. Guys that are in wiggins height and length out weight him by 25-30 pounds easily. At the very least, added weight and strength helps him in absorbing and finishing tru contact. It helps in defense as well as he play good man to man d, but is too thin to really bother his man. We saw bembry abused him tonight. He played good man to man but is too weak to really bother him. I dont care if he jumps a few inch shorter or run slower if he add weight, he doesn't use his full athletic ability anyway. B he needs to work on is body and reinvent his game.

I agree with this World. He just can't get to the rim with enough strength to do anything once he gets there. He gets pushed around on both ends of the court. I just can't see him getting a lot bigger though. He doesn't have the frame.

[AbeVigodaLive]

It's telling that Wiggins is in Year 5 and it's obvious that he hasn't put in the work to get stronger and bigger.

But as I've said for years... why bother?

He's made $200M doing things his way. There's probably about 1% of people in their early 20s who aren't going to coast under those conditions. He MUST be moved. That's not to say he'll suck forever... but he won't realize his potential here.

It would be unprecedented at this point.