longstrangetrip wrote:monsterpile wrote:No. Wiggins should still be attacking the rim. He is struggling and still hitting 60% there. Last season he shot almost 70% at the rim. Dane moore has been making a case for him to play more 2 man game with Towns.
I agree with this take. Wig came out of college as a freakishly athletic guy with an abiility to score over people, but also had the reputation as a below average 3-point shooter, so I don't see him as fitting a 3&D profile. He needs to find a way to use his athleticism to score more inside. Three things I think could help him become a more prolific inside scorer:
1) Thibs deciding to start Tyus Jones and play him 32+ minutes. I think the reason Wig doesn't cut to the basket often is because Teague and Rose don't reward him...why work hard when you are not rewarded? Tyus could change Wig's attitude.
2) Coaches need to help him improve his handle. Our assistant coaches need to have Wig watch how KAT drives to the basket, and work on it with him over and over. KAT has learned how to hide the ball on his hip on his drives to prevent turnovers, while Wig leaves the ball very vulnerable on his drives...it's no wonder he turns it over so often. This is a skill that isn't necessarily instinctive, and can be learned through repetition.
3)Coaching. Thibs needs to be intolerant of the long turnaround jumper, and tell Wig he will be yanked out of the game if he tries one.
Wig still needs to let the 3 fly if he is wide open, but he will never get close to maximizing his potential until he improves his inside game.
Some good points, LST. I agree with you on points 1 and 3. I'd amplify your points as follows. First, starting Tyus as PG would benefit Wiggins well beyond the psychology of rewarding him for cutting to the basket. Tyus does a much better job overall of getting the most out of the players around him. He sees the floor better, looking to pass first and shoot second. He makes better use of the shot clock and does a much better job of generating ball movement. He doesn't clog the middle by constantly looking for his own shot inside. In sum, Tyus opens up the lane much better for an athletic cutting player like Wiggins. Second, Thibodeau needs to do more than punish Wiggins for taking turnaround (I'll add fade-away) two-point jumpers. He needs to stop giving Wiggins the ball to close out quarters and stop Wiggins generally from putting the ball on the floor for more than a couple dribbles.
That leads me to my disagreement with your second point. I just don't see Andrew improving his handle. He's in his 5th NBA season, playing nearly every game at almost 40 minutes a game. With all those game minutes and all the practices in between games as well as 4 off seasons with no improvement whatsoever in his ballhandling to date, the odds of any meaningful improvement at this point are close to zero.
I agree with Duke that the Wolves should be looking hard to trade Wiggins. But I don't see a realistic trade that would be a net plus for the Wolves. So at this point, the Wolves need to figure out how to get the best out of him. As I see it, that means using Wiggins as a "3&D Plus" player. That means the following: (1) defend, (2) spot up for catch-and-shoot threes, and (3) cut to the bucket off the ball and post up. This last component requires a head coach who designs and offense to use Wiggins in this way and a PG able to effectively execute the design. Wiggins will never earn his max contract, but if he can consistently play as the 3&DPlus player I've described, it will help the team a lot.
