Cavs Vs Wolves the booooo is coming early

[Coolbreeze44]

A couple positive observations on Wiggins:

- I don't think I've ever seen him work so hard on defense as he did tonight. Not saying he's a great defender, but he really expended some effort. Good to see.
- I commented last year a couple times that he was too square to the basket on his shooting, especially foul shooting. That has totally changed, at least from the line. In fact he's lining up exactly as i would teach it. Right foot slightly staggered ahead. Everything works off the vertical line running from your big toe, through your hip, through your elbow and to the ball. Elbow stays in directly below the ball and the motion continues through that same vertical plane. So far the results are good.

[Monster]

A couple positive observations on Wiggins:

- I don't think I've ever seen him work so hard on defense as he did tonight. Not saying he's a great defender, but he really expended some effort. Good to see.
- I commented last year a couple times that he was too square to the basket on his shooting, especially foul shooting. That has totally changed, at least from the line. In fact he's lining up exactly as i would teach it. Right foot slightly staggered ahead. Everything works off the vertical line running from your big toe, through your hip, through your elbow and to the ball. Elbow stays in directly below the ball and the motion continues through that same vertical plane. So far the results are good.

Agreed with the first observation and I like your analysis of the 2nd one.

I'll add I was noticing he was down more in a stance a lot in this game really working hardespcilt when it came to the screen game.

Another thing I liked the last 2 games was some basic pick and roll with Towns that ended up with Towns with an easy look at a 3 on a pass from wiggins.

[TheGrey08]

I'm definitely liking the intensity and hustle we've seen so far. The rotations he's going with as others have referenced seem a lot better and I hope he continues it.

I'm also starting to really like Rose on this team and I'm ready to watch them let it ride with Butler unless they get a great offer. KAT also reportedly said his focus this year is defense. So far so good.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

A couple positive observations on Wiggins:

- I don't think I've ever seen him work so hard on defense as he did tonight. Not saying he's a great defender, but he really expended some effort. Good to see.
- I commented last year a couple times that he was too square to the basket on his shooting, especially foul shooting. That has totally changed, at least from the line. In fact he's lining up exactly as i would teach it. Right foot slightly staggered ahead. Everything works off the vertical line running from your big toe, through your hip, through your elbow and to the ball. Elbow stays in directly below the ball and the motion continues through that same vertical plane. So far the results are good.

Agreed with the first observation and I like your analysis of the 2nd one.

I'll add I was noticing he was down more in a stance a lot in this game really working hardespcilt when it came to the screen game.

Another thing I liked the last 2 games was some basic pick and roll with Towns that ended up with Towns with an easy look at a 3 on a pass from wiggins.

They've run that kat and wiggins 2 man game 3 times this season. 2 times wiggs set up kat for the made 3 (1 today and 1 last game). Ther other time, kat gave it back to wiggs for the lay up.

I think they try it a little more than once a game.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Is it me or does Wiggins look skinnier this year. Boy that was a bad 5 minutes for him.

Ya, I think he missed his last 9 shots. What kinda sucks because he played well until that point. Wish he would dunk again.

I apologize for being a broken record on this topic, but Wig more than anyone on the roster just can't play so many minutes...37 is too many for him (Butler can do it, even being out of shape...but not Wig). He was terrific on both sides of the court in the first half, but his game changes as he tires. He starts reaching on defense and settling for floaters on offense rather than dunking. There are a lot of things I have liked about Thibs' rotations in the first two games (as some have suggested, maybe out of neccessity becasue of Butler's lack of conditioning), but not his overuse of Andrew. Okogie is a rookie and not ready for big minutes, but Wig would be much more effective late in games if Thibs would give him just 5 of those excess minutes.

[Lipoli390]

Is it me or does Wiggins look skinnier this year. Boy that was a bad 5 minutes for him.

Ya, I think he missed his last 9 shots. What kinda sucks because he played well until that point. Wish he would dunk again.

I apologize for being a broken record on this topic, but Wig more than anyone on the roster just can't play so many minutes...37 is too many for him (Butler can do it, even being out of shape...but not Wig). He was terrific on both sides of the court in the first half, but his game changes as he tires. He starts reaching on defense and settling for floaters on offense rather than dunking. There are a lot of things I have liked about Thibs' rotations in the first two games (as some have suggested, maybe out of neccessity becasue of Butler's lack of conditioning), but not his overuse of Andrew. Okogie is a rookie and not ready for big minutes, but Wig would be much more effective late in games if Thibs would give him just 5 of those excess minutes.

I'm glad you raised this issue again. I was thinking the same thing. I love the way Wiggins has played these first two games. And to the extent he has faltered, I think it's been fatigue. My wife actually noticed it last season, saying that she thought what I was interpreting as laziness was actually fatigue. Since she made that comment, I've been watching for it and have come to the same conclusion. Fatigue affects his shooting and his defensive effort. His minutes need to ramp down to get the most out of him. But this is Thibodeau we're talking about, so I won't hold my breath. Heck, I'd give Okogie 10 minutes.

[Lipoli390]

A couple positive observations on Wiggins:

- I don't think I've ever seen him work so hard on defense as he did tonight. Not saying he's a great defender, but he really expended some effort. Good to see.
- I commented last year a couple times that he was too square to the basket on his shooting, especially foul shooting. That has totally changed, at least from the line. In fact he's lining up exactly as i would teach it. Right foot slightly staggered ahead. Everything works off the vertical line running from your big toe, through your hip, through your elbow and to the ball. Elbow stays in directly below the ball and the motion continues through that same vertical plane. So far the results are good.

Cool - Great observation on Andrew's shooting form. I hadn't noticed it, but I did notice the results. One of the great things about this message board are the great expertise and observations we get from guys like you. Wiggins must have worked with a good shooting coach over the summer. He may lose his form from time to time this season until the muscle memory takes hold, but he's definitely on the right track.

Continuing to improve as a shooter and defender strike me as the two keys to Wiggins. So far, we've seen defensive improvement from him that dates back to last season and is continuing so far this season. Now we're seeing shooting improvement that's rooted in better mechanics. Further, his efforts has been terrific and consistent thoughout these first two games. He's still not a good rebounder, but I noticed last night it wasn't for lack of effort. A big part of his issue rebounding is that he has pretty bad hands. So I actually saw him battling for rebounds but not pulling them in because of his hands. The main point is that he was in there battling. Otherwise, his Achilles heel continues to be his poor handle. At this stage, that's not going to improve. That simply means it's unlikely he'll ever become a star. He'll just have to develop other facets of his game to be a really good possibly borderline allstar player. Fortunately, he's already proven he can score and he's starting to prove he can defend. As long as his shooting and defense continue to improve and the effort continues on a consistent basis, he'll be fine. Overpaid? Yes, but he's not alone among the overpaid in the NBA. :)

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

The 4th quarter collapse is troubling to me...it simply cannot happen against a team like the Cavs.

I'm wondering if Thibs could help with this continuing negative phenomenon by using more situational substitution when we build big leads like last night? Luol Deng is not the offensive player he used to be, but I still remember how effective he was on defense in the playoffs just 18 months ago. It seems that he and Okogie would be great 4th quarter substitutions when we build a big lead. I would think a team of Deng, Gibson, Butler, Okogie and Jones would be terrific at holding leads against a team without a scoring center like the Cavs...especially since three of those guys would have very fresh legs. Not likely to happen because it's Thibs, but I think it would be a welcome change.

[Coolbreeze44]

A couple positive observations on Wiggins:

- I don't think I've ever seen him work so hard on defense as he did tonight. Not saying he's a great defender, but he really expended some effort. Good to see.
- I commented last year a couple times that he was too square to the basket on his shooting, especially foul shooting. That has totally changed, at least from the line. In fact he's lining up exactly as i would teach it. Right foot slightly staggered ahead. Everything works off the vertical line running from your big toe, through your hip, through your elbow and to the ball. Elbow stays in directly below the ball and the motion continues through that same vertical plane. So far the results are good.

Cool - Great observation on Andrew's shooting form. I hadn't noticed it, but I did notice the results. One of the great things about this message board are the great expertise and observations we get from guys like you. Wiggins must have worked with a good shooting coach over the summer. He may lose his form from time to time this season until the muscle memory takes hold, but he's definitely on the right track.

Continuing to improve as a shooter and defender strike me as the two keys to Wiggins. So far, we've seen defensive improvement from him that dates back to last season and is continuing so far this season. Now we're seeing shooting improvement that's rooted in better mechanics. Further, his efforts has been terrific and consistent thoughout these first two games. He's still not a good rebounder, but I noticed last night it wasn't for lack of effort. A big part of his issue rebounding is that he has pretty bad hands. So I actually saw him battling for rebounds but not pulling them in because of his hands. The main point is that he was in there battling. Otherwise, his Achilles heel continues to be his poor handle. At this stage, that's not going to improve. That simply means it's unlikely he'll ever become a star. He'll just have to develop other facets of his game to be a really good possibly borderline allstar player. Fortunately, he's already proven he can score and he's starting to prove he can defend. As long as his shooting and defense continue to improve and the effort continues on a consistent basis, he'll be fine. Overpaid? Yes, but he's not alone among the overpaid in the NBA. :)

Thanks Lip, appreciate your observations as well.

[Duke13]

A couple positive observations on Wiggins:

- I don't think I've ever seen him work so hard on defense as he did tonight. Not saying he's a great defender, but he really expended some effort. Good to see.
- I commented last year a couple times that he was too square to the basket on his shooting, especially foul shooting. That has totally changed, at least from the line. In fact he's lining up exactly as i would teach it. Right foot slightly staggered ahead. Everything works off the vertical line running from your big toe, through your hip, through your elbow and to the ball. Elbow stays in directly below the ball and the motion continues through that same vertical plane. So far the results are good.

Cool - Great observation on Andrew's shooting form. I hadn't noticed it, but I did notice the results. One of the great things about this message board are the great expertise and observations we get from guys like you. Wiggins must have worked with a good shooting coach over the summer. He may lose his form from time to time this season until the muscle memory takes hold, but he's definitely on the right track.

Continuing to improve as a shooter and defender strike me as the two keys to Wiggins. So far, we've seen defensive improvement from him that dates back to last season and is continuing so far this season. Now we're seeing shooting improvement that's rooted in better mechanics. Further, his efforts has been terrific and consistent thoughout these first two games. He's still not a good rebounder, but I noticed last night it wasn't for lack of effort. A big part of his issue rebounding is that he has pretty bad hands. So I actually saw him battling for rebounds but not pulling them in because of his hands. The main point is that he was in there battling. Otherwise, his Achilles heel continues to be his poor handle. At this stage, that's not going to improve. That simply means it's unlikely he'll ever become a star. He'll just have to develop other facets of his game to be a really good possibly borderline allstar player. Fortunately, he's already proven he can score and he's starting to prove he can defend. As long as his shooting and defense continue to improve and the effort continues on a consistent basis, he'll be fine. Overpaid? Yes, but he's not alone among the overpaid in the NBA. :)

He's overall strength is a weakness also. He gets manhandled and push off his spot so easily rebounding and going to the rim.