Minnesota Sports Forum

Q12543 wrote:Thanks for the report Lip.

Yeah, Gibson has been playing well. He is easily at a career high in scoring efficiency (TS%) and I suspect a lot of that is because he's surrounded by four scorers that defenses have to really pay attention to. We'll see if he keeps it up. He seems to have great hands too.

Wiggins had a good game, but I still saw some of his patented weaknesses come out. There was one play where Teague iced an anticipated pick toward the middle and DSJ went baseline and easily got by Teague. Wiggins was the closest defender near the basket and just stood there and watched DSJ dunk when he could have made the effort to step in and take a charge or try to challenge the shot at the rim (last time I checked, Wiggins has about 6 inches on DSJ).

It's these types of plays where I think Wiggins does a quick mental calculation and if he feels like there isn't a better than 75% chance he can make a play, he just doesn't bother. It's why he's taken so few charges and gets so few blocks, despite his athleticism. I don't think that ever changes with him.

I thought he did a good job guarding Harrison Barnes, even though Barnes made some really tough shots against Wiggins. So his one-on-one defense was very solid. It's the off-the-ball/hustle/weakside stuff that he just doesn't give the extra effort on.

While I'm at it, I will also say that Butler got beat on baseline backdoor cuts twice in this game. So may be some of Wiggins is rubbing off on Butler!

Their defense is still a big time work in progress......

You're right about Andrew's patented weaknesses showing themselves last night as they have every game so far this season. As you mentioned, there's the tendency to stand and watch rather than making the effort to defend and take a charge. His lack of effort (or awareness) on the DSJ dunk was disappointing to say the least. He has also continued to show a pretty loose handle and relatively poor hands at times - although improved I think over last season. But the improvement in his overall game -- including rebounding, one-on-one defense and chasing down loose balls -- is evident. Will he ever step in and take charges? Maybe, maybe not. And I don't see him improving his hands or handle much more. But I like his trajectory. I see his shooting becoming more consistent over time and his defense continuing to improve. He's getting smarter and cutting down on his mental errors.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:Thanks for the report as usual.

The last couple games Dieng looks like a different player. Tonight he was espcially spry looking defensively. When Dieng Taj and Bjelly are all effective combine that with Towns and it's a pretty good collection of bigs with some varied skills. Bjelly has never looked better shooting the ball from 3. He looks like a shooting guard out there.

I continue to be encouraged about Tyus's D. There were possessions where he stayed in front of DSJ. JJ scores on him a few times but JJ does his thing. Tyus taking and making some 3's was a welcome sight. More please.

Wiggins D on Barnes looked very good. One time Barnes made the shot and Wiggins got his hand on the ball and knocked it loose a bit and Barnes was able to still score.

Bazz with an assist. He also had a quick outlet pass on a rebound that you don't usually see from him.

Crawford had some poor plays late but he was playing well and making some plays before that.

I wish this would have been more of a blowout so we could have seen more of MGH.

Good point on Tyus Monster. I think he has a bit more athleticism than we give him credit for.

Ditto on Tyus. I really like what we've seen from Tyus on both ends so far this season. Watching him closely on defense, you see that he anticipates well. While not particularly quick or athletic, he seems to anticipate well where the guy he's guarding will go. His low center of gravity enables him to move well laterally. He's also a tough player. He's a really nice backup PG.

Crawford can be annoying with some of the off-balance shots he jacks up, even fairly early in the shot clock. But then he makes big improbable shots as well. I guess you take the bad with the good when it comes to Crawford.

I'm still expecting Bazz to have a break-out game soon. He's been playing consistently hard and well on the defensive end so far this season. He's also shown the ability to pass. The last couple games he seems to be playing more within himself on the offensive end. I think he started the season really jacked to prove himself after being snubbed around the League settling for the minimum. He just needs to let the game come to him on the offensive end.

I see this team getting better as the season progresses. Several reasons. First, a number of key players on this team are still going through an adjustment period. Three of our 5 starters are new and adjusting to one another on both ends of the court. Butler and Teague, in particular, are still finding their way and trying to carve out their appropriate role. Second, 2 of our 5 second unit guys are new as well. Gorgui, in particular, is adjusting to his new role coming off the bench and you can see that he's been struggling with that transition. Fortunately, he seems to have turned the corner the past couple games.