Minnesota Sports Forum

Two teenagers in NBA history have had at least 30 points, nine boards, four assists, and three blocks in a game: LeBron and Wiggins.

Q12543 wrote:Cool, What happened to your trademark 2 + 1?

My guess is that the rotation will work itself out. We know that Pek physically isn't capable of sustaining starter-level minutes. My guess is that he becomes Dieng's backup, and against bigger teams, may be Flip tries playing them together a little bit. That would mostly cut into Young/AB's minutes at PF, but I don't see this happening much.

Budinger will probably be completely cut out of the wing rotation in favor of Wiggins, Shabazz, Hummel, and Martin. It's weird including Hummel in there (our supposed 15th man), but he is a glue guy that is really tough to keep on the bench. We are just flat out a better team when he's on the floor. Who starts and who subs is TBD, but we know that Wiggins is a lock to keep starting at one of the wings.

Then you have Rubio and Williams at the PG. That means LaVine is relegated to garbage time, but my guess is that Mo gets hurt at some point and LaVine will still get decent playing time, it just won't be as steady.

GRIII will finally be sent down to the D-League.

Truth be told Q I've just been lazy. That combined with the dreadful results lately have had me on the sideline. I will try to ramp it up again.

Wiggins was a stud on defense last night. That's what made his overall game so impressive. Kid's got a fire that burns inside even if it doesn't always show. I'm starting to notice his opponents are giving up the ball rather than try to score on him. He embarrassed Afflalo a couple times last night.

He also had a nice quote after the game. Basically said something like, "Yeah, I'm tired, but I'm able to do what I love and that's play basketball." Again, that's not word for word, but the meaning is pretty close.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Wiggins was a stud on defense last night. That's what made his overall game so impressive. Kid's got a fire that burns inside even if it doesn't always show. I'm starting to notice his opponents are giving up the ball rather than try to score on him. He embarrassed Afflalo a couple times last night.

He was terrific on affalo last night. Give wiggins more experience and add 15 pounds of muscle and he is going to be a handfull on both ends.

I for one never believed the low 'motor' concern on wiggins. What i see is a kid that plays the right way.

Just because he doesnt holler and scream out there or showboat or make stupid hand gestures when he made a 3 or that he will simply slam it home and not try a 360 or ft line dunk when he has a breakaway does not mean he lacks fire. He plays the right way and is lock in at all times. Getting ready to play d right away after a made shot and is focus at all times. I also dont see him developing any bad habbits despite all the losing and being forced to take on a big role on offense.

That couple with his unselfishness, work ethic and natural physical gifts makes me believe that he is going to be special in the near future.

What I especially like about Wiggins defensive abilities is that on a switch he is still able to move his feet and stay in front of the next man, even small quick guards like Ty Lawson last night. He is a great asset to have in PnR defense.

worldK wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Wiggins was a stud on defense last night. That's what made his overall game so impressive. Kid's got a fire that burns inside even if it doesn't always show. I'm starting to notice his opponents are giving up the ball rather than try to score on him. He embarrassed Afflalo a couple times last night.

He was terrific on affalo last night. Give wiggins more experience and add 15 pounds of muscle and he is going to be a handfull on both ends.

I for one never believed the low 'motor' concern on wiggins. What i see is a kid that plays the right way.

Just because he doesnt holler and scream out there or showboat or make stupid hand gestures when he made a 3 or that he will simply slam it home and not try a 360 or ft line dunk when he has a breakaway does not mean he lacks fire. He plays the right way and is lock in at all times. Getting ready to play d right away after a made shot and is focus at all times. I also dont see him developing any bad habbits despite all the losing and being forced to take on a big role on offense.

That couple with his unselfishness, work ethic and natural physical gifts makes me believe that he is going to be special in the near future.

To your point about how Wiggins appears at times, I think of two things. One is a quote to the effect of "never mistake activity for achievement." And the second is a comparison I make to high energy players that waste a lot of it on fruitless efforts. See our very own Corey Brewer.

Wiggins very rarely wastes effort. His decision making is good and he doesn't force things. It's why we sometimes hear the phrase "in the flow of the game." It almost downplays a player's ability on the surface, but I think it speaks volumes about Wiggins.

Good point GymRat. Wiggins is definitely the anti-Brewer in that he gets 2X the production from what appears to be 2X less wasted movement. Defensively he differentiated himself from the beginning from Brewer, playing straight-up defense and contests, with minimal gambling. Now offensively he's playing in a similar way.

Nice article. Says some good things about Wiggins, Hummel and Young. http://www.howlintwolf.com/2015/01/18/good-can-wolves-win-113-105/

That was a fun game to watch last nite. I actually was waiting for the let-down during the 3rd when Denver retook the lead...but it just looked like there was some fire there. The highlight to me was when Gorgui hit another bank shot, Denver called a timeout and Gorgui beat his chest a few times. The coaches actually went out and tried to calm him down, he pushed past them and the team took off. I think Gorgui has already taken to the mantle of floor leader with Rubio out. He has been pushing everyone to up their game and it shows! I truly hope this is the beginning of something great! I think it has even helped Thad pick his game up some. He didn't mope around as much and actually was seen to BOX OUT during the game. I still do not like him in the Wolves lineup as a PF. I think his best fit is SF with a defensive C and a space eater type PF. Thad still has awful handles, cannot come up with loose balls and gambles to much on post defense.

At this point of the season, wins are helping the team gel and really helping the Pups realize that actually competing for FOUR quarters, instead of a half, really makes a difference. Teams are still going to get hot, but up until the past week, the Wolves have never been that team. Wiggins set the tone early, the Denver broadcast team said..."There's that kid again!" a few times during the course of hitting his first 6 shots....and those shots were perfect, I can't remember one even hitting the rim. They were in the course of play and he did exactly what you want from a SG or SF, take the life out of the crowd. It was great, every time he hit a shot or a dunk you could almost hear the fans oooh and ahhh, before the shot went in, like "oh crap, here he goes again!"

I am considering watching the replay again tonite, it was fun!