Minnesota Sports Forum

Not to be to critical, but he is just a 19 year old kid that just a few games ago got major probs for stepping up in the fourth during the Portland win. Yes it is a little disappointing that he hasn't exploded and is averaging 18 a night, but he has shown some impressive flashes and still does have the highest point total in a game for rooks and I believe still the highest ppg avg. Let's see how Rubio's return will change his game, imo in a very positive way. Our offense has been on the level of a middle school team, we need our general back. And FWIW a huge litmus test for Wiggins' motor will come Tuesday. If the kid can't get hyped to play against the team that rejected him basically, then there may be some concern.

I've ragged on his handles and his passivity, so let me pile on here by going back to his shot selection. It seems like he has been taking more contested jumpers lately. Just not a good shot. If he can get a step back, fine, but he seems to be rushing shots with guys right in his face instead of trying to pass the ball and move to an open spot or put it on the deck and draw the foul.

Meh. He looks like a rookie to me. Somebody threw out Garnett's name. Here's reality:

Garnett's per game at age 19: 28.7 min, 10.4 pts, 6.3 reb, 1.8 Assts
Wiggin's per game at age 19: 30.7 min, 12.0 pts, 4.0 reb, 1.3 Assts

It's way too early to tell what kind of player he'll be. I was hoping for better (and more aggressive) play, but we've barely scratched the surface at this point. I think it's the second year that you can really start seeing what you have. I'll be curious to see how/if his game improves with Rubio.

Carlos, Thanks for posting that. I am not giving up on Wiggins that is for sure. I just think we might need to limit his minutes when he is putting empty minutes on the court.

I hope LaVine continues to get minutes when Rubio gets back. I would really like to see him be the back up PG/SG I think he needs about 24 minutes a night. Honestly of the young guns only Shabazz has earned more then 30 minutes a night. I would like to see Wiggins minutes scaled back under 30 a night.

Carlos Danger wrote:Meh. He looks like a rookie to me. Somebody threw out Garnett's name. Here's reality:

Garnett's per game at age 19: 28.7 min, 10.4 pts, 6.3 reb, 1.8 Assts
Wiggin's per game at age 19: 30.7 min, 12.0 pts, 4.0 reb, 1.3 Assts

It's way too early to tell what kind of player he'll be. I was hoping for better (and more aggressive) play, but we've barely scratched the surface at this point. I think it's the second year that you can really start seeing what you have. I'll be curious to see how/if his game improves with Rubio.

Good information, Carlos. But tell me about this Garnett fellow...did he ever amount to anything :) ?

I agree that Wiggins' stats are very good for a 19-year-old rookie, but I can remember Garnett as a rookie, and his effort was never questioned. Wiggins just appears too passive at times, and needs to dial it up...consistently.

Flip sees it, and made a point of calling Drew out for his lack of consistent effort after last night's game. Wiggins can show us so much more than he has so far.

We are all eager to see Wiggins, who should be a 'cant miss star,' develop. But we also know he is raw. I hope we can see improvement like we have seen out of Anthony Davis. Now I will concede that most of us do not expect Wiggins to become a top 5 player in the NBA in 3 years, but Davis was raw with skill and potential. If Wiggins gets close to that, we will be thrilled. I would love to see 22+ppg, 8rpg, 2steals, 1+ blocks, and 4+ assists in 3 years. Is that enough or too much?

Camden wrote:PS: Where the hell has this Budinger been? Two good games in a row. Is this real life? Still had two awful airballs, but I can deal with 13 points on 6-10 shooting. That's what I like to see Chase.

This is a very positive development for us. Let's hope he keeps it up.

kurrdog53 wrote:We are all eager to see Wiggins, who should be a 'cant miss star,' develop. But we also know he is raw. I hope we can see improvement like we have seen out of Anthony Davis. Now I will concede that most of us do not expect Wiggins to become a top 5 player in the NBA in 3 years, but Davis was raw with skill and potential. If Wiggins gets close to that, we will be thrilled. I would love to see 22+ppg, 8rpg, 2steals, 1+ blocks, and 4+ assists in 3 years. Is that enough or too much?

People can say that Davis was raw, and in many respects it's true, like all rookies. But the numbers he put up as a rookie were way better than Wiggins. He was almost immediately effective. People knew it was only a matter of time before he would become dominant. That's not the case with Wiggins.

longstrangetrip wrote:

Carlos Danger wrote:Meh. He looks like a rookie to me. Somebody threw out Garnett's name. Here's reality:

Garnett's per game at age 19: 28.7 min, 10.4 pts, 6.3 reb, 1.8 Assts
Wiggin's per game at age 19: 30.7 min, 12.0 pts, 4.0 reb, 1.3 Assts

It's way too early to tell what kind of player he'll be. I was hoping for better (and more aggressive) play, but we've barely scratched the surface at this point. I think it's the second year that you can really start seeing what you have. I'll be curious to see how/if his game improves with Rubio.

Good information, Carlos. But tell me about this Garnett fellow...did he ever amount to anything :) ?

I agree that Wiggins' stats are very good for a 19-year-old rookie, but I can remember Garnett as a rookie, and his effort was never questioned. Wiggins just appears too passive at times, and needs to dial it up...consistently.

Flip sees it, and made a point of calling Drew out for his lack of consistent effort after last night's game. Wiggins can show us so much more than he has so far.

The other difference it that KG came right out of high school whereas Wiggins had one year to develop in a top-notch Division I program. It's a poor comparison.

I really like Wiggins and have always said that his floor is high, but man, you have to squint really, really hard to see the outlines of a future superstar.

It's too early to conclude anything at this point, but Wiggins play thus far has not been encouraging.

Let us not forget what Kobe said about Wigg...he doesn't throw out that kind of praise to just anyone. Once he has another 20 pt game this will all settle down. It's not like Parker was tearing it up or anything before his injury so I think we just need to all calm down. Yes he disappears a lot but what were you doing when you were 19?