Minnesota Sports Forum

khans2k5 wrote:I actually don't think Zach is best fit to come off the bench. His best numbers have always come next to Ricky because he's most effective as a spot up shooter and secondary ball handler. He's not in the mold of a Harden or Ginobili where he's most effective with the ball in his hands scoring and making plays for others. Also when talking about his defense it has to be considered that he's young and still a twig. His body isn't developed enough yet to be a good defender, but the effort and quickness are there. If he puts on 15 more lbs to the point where he can hold his position, look out because he has the speed to stay in front of anyone.

Duke13 wrote:Great post Lip, I agree with you on Zack. For me he's my favorite player to watch on the team, maybe that's taking for granted the greatness of KAT.

LST, I agree with you about Wig, but I would say that's more of a Wig problem, he needs to get stronger or more willing to battle for boards, have better hands might help also. With Wig at the 2 you lose a lot of play making and a good secondary ball handler. I suppose you could go with the theory of putting Wig at the 2 forces him to get better and more comfortable with the ball in his hand, kinda like the Zack at PG experiment.
I think Lip is on his way to being an all star 2 guard. This is why I'm hesitant of signing a vet at the expense of development. I we're a playoff team as is, that why I lean towards continue developing while winning. If we win 40-45 next years that's a huge step. But with that said I understand and get why people wanna make that big splash this years. I'd prefer to do it next year. I'm rambling now and repeating myself.

longstrangetrip wrote:Lip, good post above. I share your enthusiasm for Zach, and agree that his performance at SG was a major reason for this team's improvement toward the end of the year. But I lean more toward the opinion of the pundits above regarding Zach's best role. Many of their comments are really quite positive about Zach. One of them actually mentions Zach as a potential 6th Man of the Year award winner. That's pretty exciting, because teams that have a player that wins this award often contend for championships.

If the Wolves keep starting Wig and Zach at the wing positions, I think they still make the playoffs next year. But the pundits were asked if the current starting lineup is likely to be the Wolves' playoff lineup, and I would have answered "no" also...and it has as much to do with Wig at the 3 as Zach at the 2. Thibs is a defense/rebounding kind of guy, and he is not going to be satisfied with Wig providing 3.6 rebounds per game at the SF position. Wig ranked 363rd in rebounds per 36 among all NBA players, and while that is marginally acceptable for a SG, it doesn't cut it for a starting SF on a good team. Plus, Wig has proven to be a more dominant defender at the 2 than at the 3. As Wig develops physically, he likely will become a very good NBA SF, but I think Thibs is going to want to play him more at the 2 until then.

Here's what you have to ask yourself: What is a better pair of starting wings next year...Wig/Zach, or Deng/Wig? I think anyone would say the latter, especially if it means you get Zach's offense off the bench. I think a Deng acquisition and Zach to 6th man is what Thorpe has in mind when he says the Wolves can win 55 games next year.

monsterpile wrote:

Duke13 wrote:Great post Lip, I agree with you on Zack. For me he's my favorite player to watch on the team, maybe that's taking for granted the greatness of KAT.

LST, I agree with you about Wig, but I would say that's more of a Wig problem, he needs to get stronger or more willing to battle for boards, have better hands might help also. With Wig at the 2 you lose a lot of play making and a good secondary ball handler. I suppose you could go with the theory of putting Wig at the 2 forces him to get better and more comfortable with the ball in his hand, kinda like the Zack at PG experiment.
I think Lip is on his way to being an all star 2 guard. This is why I'm hesitant of signing a vet at the expense of development. I we're a playoff team as is, that why I lean towards continue developing while winning. If we win 40-45 next years that's a huge step. But with that said I understand and get why people wanna make that big splash this years. I'd prefer to do it next year. I'm rambling now and repeating myself.

"I think Lip is on his way to being an all star 2 guard."

I don't know he had that kinda game. Do you think he will give the Wolves a hometown discount? ;) Maybe all this time he has been saving his body for a playoff run?

longstrangetrip wrote:

monsterpile wrote:
"I think Lip is on his way to being an all star 2 guard."

I don't know he had that kinda game. Do you think he will give the Wolves a hometown discount? ;) Maybe all this time he has been saving his body for a playoff run?

Lip is an excellent poster, but his short arms limit his effectiveness on defense and on the boards...you don't rebound with your head.

Mikkeman wrote:

longstrangetrip wrote:

monsterpile wrote:
"I think Lip is on his way to being an all star 2 guard."

I don't know he had that kinda game. Do you think he will give the Wolves a hometown discount? ;) Maybe all this time he has been saving his body for a playoff run?

Lip is an excellent poster, but his short arms limit his effectiveness on defense and on the boards...you don't rebound with your head.

I don't know. It seems that he has done pretty good job at least on Wolves message boards.