Thibs has done a masterful job mixing development and winning now

[BloopOracle]

We are improving defensively while he forces our best players into making plays furthering their development instead of blowing our load on an 8 that isn't accompanied by any improvement by the players who will still be here when he make our deep playoff runs, he didn't tie up any cap space instead he played the shit out of who we already have in order to see who he should keep around with plenty of flexibility this offseason.

Thibs for coach of the year!

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I'm certainly not opposed to the off-season restraint shown by Thibs/Layden, but let's face it, they came out of the starting gate way too slow. We can make all sorts of excuses, but those games count as much as the games we play now.

[BloopOracle]

I respectfully disagree, we could have had Rubio run everything from the very start and locked in the 8 seed but what would that accomplish? You'd get blown out AND your core players (especially Wiggins) would be further behind, sacrificing development for a auto 8 seed is not a good idea to me. I much prefer his strategy of forcing our best players to initiate and if they improve enough to get the 8 seed this year, all the better.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

But one of the reasons we have improved is because he started going away from Wiggins (and LaVine when he was healthy) so much to initiate and went back to Rubio taking on a larger share of ball-handling. There was an imbalance at the beginning of the year and it effectively put Rubio in a corner, which dis-engaged him on both ends of the floor.

I certainly don't object to Wiggins initiating some sets, especially when the matchups are favorable. I thought Thibs took it too far early on and it really didn't help anyone, especially the team. It's been a much better balance recently.

[mjs34]

I would disagree with the statement of not tying up cap space. I think the Gorgi signing was a huge mistake, and significant overpay. Why sign a role player to a huge contract before he becomes a RFA? I know several on here think it is a good deal based on the increasing cap, but they may be failing to include the increase that guys like KAT and Wig are going to get.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Oooh, a rare SJM sighting!

I think the Gorgui contract was perfectly reasonable given the "going rate" for folks at his position and skill-set. His defense has improved over the past two seasons too. He's a great big man glue guy and those types of players just aren't very cheap. Plus he's durable as hell - another rarity among bigs.

[BloopOracle]

But one of the reasons we have improved is because he started going away from Wiggins (and LaVine when he was healthy) so much to initiate and went back to Rubio taking on a larger share of ball-handling. There was an imbalance at the beginning of the year and it effectively put Rubio in a corner, which dis-engaged him on both ends of the floor.

I certainly don't object to Wiggins initiating some sets, especially when the matchups are favorable. I thought Thibs took it too far early on and it really didn't help anyone, especially the team. It's been a much better balance recently.

I think our defensive improvement is why we are trending upwards, we've always been able to score. There also has been more recent games where Wiggins has dominated when he initiates hence with 20 point streak. It sucks for Rubio but he isn't important enough to sacrifice our franchise players development just so he can be effective when I don't think anyone is confident he will even be here next year. I would rather have Wiggins take his lumps at the expense of Rubio, it's like taking the training wheels off it needed to be done.

As far as Gorgui I thought it was fair value at the time of signing, the deal will only look better and better each season.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

But one of the reasons we have improved is because he started going away from Wiggins (and LaVine when he was healthy) so much to initiate and went back to Rubio taking on a larger share of ball-handling. There was an imbalance at the beginning of the year and it effectively put Rubio in a corner, which dis-engaged him on both ends of the floor.

I certainly don't object to Wiggins initiating some sets, especially when the matchups are favorable. I thought Thibs took it too far early on and it really didn't help anyone, especially the team. It's been a much better balance recently.

I think our defensive improvement is why we are trending upwards, we've always been able to score. There also has been more recent games where Wiggins has dominated when he initiates hence with 20 point streak. It sucks for Rubio but he isn't important enough to sacrifice our franchise players development just so he can be effective when I don't think anyone is confident he will even be here next year. I would rather have Wiggins take his lumps at the expense of Rubio, it's like taking the training wheels off it needed to be done.

As far as Gorgui I thought it was fair value at the time of signing, the deal will only look better and better each season.

Agree on the defense, but I think an engaged Ricky offensively translates to the other side of the ball.

As for Wiggins development, the idea that somehow this is a binary choice, i.e "Ricky stands in corner or Wiggins doesn't develop" seems silly to me. There is a balance there and it is possible for Wiggins to still get plenty of reps handling the ball even if Ricky is still the main play maker. Also, isn't part of Wiggins' development learning how to get some easier baskets for himself? That means learning how to move off the ball and become a better target for Rubio. We have seen a lot more open court head man passes to Wiggins and ally-oops. Part of being a great scorer is learning how to work off the ball, not just on it.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I give POBO Thibs a B, and Coach Thibs a C. I also admired the restraint he showed during the crazy offseason, and admired the guys he picked up at bargain prices. (I just didn't think he picked them up to have them languish on the bench). But I have disagreed with so many of his coaching decisions, and also think that some of his poor decisions were instrumental in the horrible start that tanked this season early. And I still think his most brilliant coaching moves have come when injuries or something else have forced his hand...he seldom seems to do something that makes me say "OK, that was brilliant".

Even though he is putting Wig at the point (and Ricky in the corner) less frequently than he was when we were losing 2 of every three games, he still does it more than I would like...last night he finished two quarters with a Wig isolation. My son asked me a good question: "If Thibs thinks Wig running the point is a good strategy, why only do it at the end of quarters? Do it the whole game if it's our best offensive set, or don't do it at all." I remain in the "don't do it at all" camp.

So why does Thibs rate a C if I think his rotations, game time decision making skills, and time out management are all substandard? Because I think he gets credit for the enormous improvement this team has shown on defense the past couple weeks, and especially for the improvement we have seen in Belly and Bazz. Thibs came here with a great defensive rep, and he's starting to live up to it.

[Monster]

I give POBO Thibs a B, and Coach Thibs a C. I also admired the restraint he showed during the crazy offseason, and admired the guys he picked up at bargain prices. (I just didn't think he picked them up to have them languish on the bench). But I have disagreed with so many of his coaching decisions, and also think that some of his poor decisions were instrumental in the horrible start that tanked this season early. And I still think his most brilliant coaching moves have come when injuries or something else have forced his hand...he seldom seems to do something that makes me say "OK, that was brilliant".

Even though he is putting Wig at the point (and Ricky in the corner) less frequently than he was when we were losing 2 of every three games, he still does it more than I would like...last night he finished two quarters with a Wig isolation. My son asked me a good question: "If Thibs thinks Wig running the point is a good strategy, why only do it at the end of quarters? Do it the whole game if it's our best offensive set, or don't do it at all." I remain in the "don't do it at all" camp.

So why does Thibs rate a C if I think his rotations, game time decision making skills, and time out management are all substandard? Because I think he gets credit for the enormous improvement this team has shown on defense the past couple weeks, and especially for the improvement we have seen in Belly and Bazz. Thibs came here with a great defensive rep, and he's starting to live up to it.

You don't do something the whole game at times because it loses it can lose its effectiveness.