monsterpile wrote:One interesting part of this game that wasn't mentioned was possessions with Wiggins and Porzingis involved directly. Wiggins had that block on Porzingis which was just awesome and a couple times Wiggins had to guard him he did a good job with at worst his had right in his face not far away from the ball which considering the length of Porzingis...impressive. He also had at least one finish on him later in the game. Wiggins continues to impress me going against bigger players as a defender. O'Quinn...ok no but that's more of a traditional NBA big. Wiggins seems to have moved from being a skinny wing defender to a legit option as a small ball 4 Over the summer. It's a bit of an unexpected development.
One of the good things about WIggins is due to his size, length and athleticism, he can switch on a number of different positions and not be completely overmatched. So while I don't think he's a very good all-around defender yet, he also isn't a guy that can be explicitly targeted in mismatches.
I don't think he has been as good this year against quicker players being taken off the dribble. That typically was something he was actually kinda good at just straight up 1 on 1 D staying in front of guys. Regardless his defense this last few weeks have been encouraging. Let's hope it at worst stays at this level the rest of the year. It would be progress on that end. I was surprised they had him start the game on Lee instead of Butler who was on Lance Thonas. Maybe Jimmy was feeling under the weather or maybe they wanted him to be playing off his man.
Also another thing that's been interesting is Wiggins as a post scorer. This year more possessions he has dribbled in and got really deep for that shot that looks like one many bigs would have. Smaller defenders most of the time have no chance if he gets them on his back. It's different than before. He really dictates what will happen stronger there. They have been getting a few more of those possessions lately if he is being guarded by a smaller player. He did it to Hardaway in this game who isn't that small but I'm not sure he is known as even an average defender.
monsterpile wrote:One interesting part of this game that wasn't mentioned was possessions with Wiggins and Porzingis involved directly. Wiggins had that block on Porzingis which was just awesome and a couple times Wiggins had to guard him he did a good job with at worst his had right in his face not far away from the ball which considering the length of Porzingis...impressive. He also had at least one finish on him later in the game. Wiggins continues to impress me going against bigger players as a defender. O'Quinn...ok no but that's more of a traditional NBA big. Wiggins seems to have moved from being a skinny wing defender to a legit option as a small ball 4 Over the summer. It's a bit of an unexpected development.
One of the good things about WIggins is due to his size, length and athleticism, he can switch on a number of different positions and not be completely overmatched. So while I don't think he's a very good all-around defender yet, he also isn't a guy that can be explicitly targeted in mismatches.
I don't think he has been as good this year against quicker players being taken off the dribble. That typically was something he was actually kinda good at just straight up 1 on 1 D staying in front of guys. Regardless his defense this last few weeks have been encouraging. Let's hope it at worst stays at this level the rest of the year. It would be progress on that end. I was surprised they had him start the game on Lee instead of Butler who was on Lance Thonas. Maybe Jimmy was feeling under the weather or maybe they wanted him to be playing off his man.
Also another thing that's been interesting is Wiggins as a post scorer. This year more possessions he has dribbled in and got really deep for that shot that looks like one many bigs would have. Smaller defenders most of the time have no chance if he gets them on his back. It's different than before. He really dictates what will happen stronger there. They have been getting a few more of those possessions lately if he is being guarded by a smaller player. He did it to Hardaway in this game who isn't that small but I'm not sure he is known as even an average defender.
I've thought for a long time that it's important to get Wiggins more post-up opportunities. I think that would play more to his strengths because it hides his weak ballhandling and allows him to take advantage of his length. However, to make the most of his post-up opportunities he has to stop taking fade-away jumpers against smaller players. He's doing that less and less, but he still defaults to that shot too often.
One thing that I feel compelled to mention (apologies if it's talked about in length in the GDT thread I didn't read)...
Butler chasing down Porzingis with a minute left. WOW.
That is the type of play that resonates, or should resonate among teammates. Up 11 with a minute to go. The Wolves were going to win even with a meaningless Porzingis dunk. And yet, he put in the EXTRA effort to stop it. That's a message play.
... from a season- and maybe franchise-changing type of player. If KAT takes all the good parts about Butler (that sort of play chief among them) and adds them to what he already has?
AbeVigodaLive wrote:One thing that I feel compelled to mention (apologies if it's talked about in length in the GDT thread I didn't read)...
Butler chasing down Porzingis with a minute left. WOW.
That is the type of play that resonates, or should resonate among teammates. Up 11 with a minute to go. The Wolves were going to win even with a meaningless Porzingis dunk. And yet, he put in the EXTRA effort to stop it. That's a message play.
... from a season- and maybe franchise-changing type of player. If KAT takes all the good parts about Butler (that sort of play chief among them) and adds them to what he already has?
Watch out NBA.
Yep I liked that play a lot and I am glad you brought it up.
