Thoughts on Wiggins

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Think it's more mental then it is strength with LaVine. I think he might just not like contact. I can't remember him dunking on anyone in college. And he hasn't once attempted to take liftoff since we've drafted him. That's not a strength problem. That's an "I don't like contact" problem. Perhaps adding strength can give him the confidence he needs to rise up when he gets in the lane, but I agree, he's not using his athleticism to the fullest just yet. Gerald Green isn't the strongest of guys, but he's confident in his dunking ability and throws down on people. LaVine needs that.

[Coolbreeze44]

LaVine's athleticism is limited a lot by his thin frame and weak body. Strength has to be included in the mix when discussing athleticism and that's something Westbrook has in spades. He attacks relentlessly and as a result gets to the line 6 or 7 times a game. I don't see LaVine ever doing that. He will live and die by his jump shot.

I can't agree there Q. You're talking about a 19 year old kid. He has no fear. Can't see any reason why he doesn't get better attacking as he gets stronger.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

LaVine's athleticism is limited a lot by his thin frame and weak body. Strength has to be included in the mix when discussing athleticism and that's something Westbrook has in spades. He attacks relentlessly and as a result gets to the line 6 or 7 times a game. I don't see LaVine ever doing that. He will live and die by his jump shot.

I can't agree there Q. You're talking about a 19 year old kid. He has no fear. Can't see any reason why he doesn't get better attacking as he gets stronger.

I believe player tendencies and preferences are established quite early. LaVine loves to pull up for the jumper off the dribble and very rarely takes it all the way to the hole. And when he does, he lacks the frame and strength to draw a lot of contact. He might marginally improve in this area, but he'll never attack like Rose (pre-injury) or Westbrook.

[Monster]

LaVine's athleticism is limited a lot by his thin frame and weak body. Strength has to be included in the mix when discussing athleticism and that's something Westbrook has in spades. He attacks relentlessly and as a result gets to the line 6 or 7 times a game. I don't see LaVine ever doing that. He will live and die by his jump shot.

I can't agree there Q. You're talking about a 19 year old kid. He has no fear. Can't see any reason why he doesn't get better attacking as he gets stronger.

I believe player tendencies and preferences are established quite early. LaVine loves to pull up for the jumper off the dribble and very rarely takes it all the way to the hole. And when he does, he lacks the frame and strength to draw a lot of contact. He might marginally improve in this area, but he'll never attack like Rose (pre-injury) or Westbrook.

I agree with this take to a certain extent. I don't think LaVine minds contact he is pretty agressive with his body on other aspects of his game. He has a nice jumpshot and he relies on it more because its a very good weapon. I'm not sure like Q said if he will ever have that agrression going to the rim of Westbrook etc. One thing I wonder about him if he has that elite body control needed to make those plays at the rim not to mention he doesn't seem to have the feel or skills around there. As long as he can finish reasonably around the rim then not being one of those guys can be a good thing. Some of those guards when they get older will they be able to play their game? What about injuries from wild attacks at the rim?

Q said his game will live and die with his jumpshot and I like guys that can shoot partly because that can really open up the rest of their game and you don't always have to blow people away athletically with that skillset. That's not to say he won't be able to score at the basket but yeah they is plenty to be excited about Lavine but the reality is we don't know enough about the guy because of his youth and his smaller role in college.

[Coolbreeze44]

LaVine's athleticism is limited a lot by his thin frame and weak body. Strength has to be included in the mix when discussing athleticism and that's something Westbrook has in spades. He attacks relentlessly and as a result gets to the line 6 or 7 times a game. I don't see LaVine ever doing that. He will live and die by his jump shot.

I can't agree there Q. You're talking about a 19 year old kid. He has no fear. Can't see any reason why he doesn't get better attacking as he gets stronger.

I believe player tendencies and preferences are established quite early. LaVine loves to pull up for the jumper off the dribble and very rarely takes it all the way to the hole. And when he does, he lacks the frame and strength to draw a lot of contact. He might marginally improve in this area, but he'll never attack like Rose (pre-injury) or Westbrook.

I know your theories on how players develop as we've been over this many times. But can we at least wait until a guy plays in a few regular season games before we make these determinations. Actually, let's wait until they are at least 100 games in before we say a guy can't attack the rim. Especially a guy with as much raw ability as Lavine has.

[bleedspeed]

His athletic ability reminds me a lot of mine a few years ago, but he is 6 inches taller and has actual basketball skills.

J.J Barea is that you???

No, JJ would think he was more athletic.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

LaVine's athleticism is limited a lot by his thin frame and weak body. Strength has to be included in the mix when discussing athleticism and that's something Westbrook has in spades. He attacks relentlessly and as a result gets to the line 6 or 7 times a game. I don't see LaVine ever doing that. He will live and die by his jump shot.

I can't agree there Q. You're talking about a 19 year old kid. He has no fear. Can't see any reason why he doesn't get better attacking as he gets stronger.

I believe player tendencies and preferences are established quite early. LaVine loves to pull up for the jumper off the dribble and very rarely takes it all the way to the hole. And when he does, he lacks the frame and strength to draw a lot of contact. He might marginally improve in this area, but he'll never attack like Rose (pre-injury) or Westbrook.

I know your theories on how players develop as we've been over this many times. But can we at least wait until a guy plays in a few regular season games before we make these determinations. Actually, let's wait until they are at least 100 games in before we say a guy can't attack the rim. Especially a guy with as much raw ability as Lavine has.

I'm not saying he'll be a bust or a poor player, just that player tendencies develop early. I highly doubt his game will fundamentally change much in terms of tendencies, as he's been playing ball for many years now. The real question is whether he can knock down that jumper consistently and develop a better feel as an NBA playmaker. On both of those fronts, I agree, it's way too early to know.

[BloopOracle]

Lavine hasn't played enough for anyone to make a real judgement on whether he shies away from contact, limited minutes off the bench on college and hasn't even started in teh NBA, slow down

[Coolbreeze44]

LaVine's athleticism is limited a lot by his thin frame and weak body. Strength has to be included in the mix when discussing athleticism and that's something Westbrook has in spades. He attacks relentlessly and as a result gets to the line 6 or 7 times a game. I don't see LaVine ever doing that. He will live and die by his jump shot.

I can't agree there Q. You're talking about a 19 year old kid. He has no fear. Can't see any reason why he doesn't get better attacking as he gets stronger.

I believe player tendencies and preferences are established quite early. LaVine loves to pull up for the jumper off the dribble and very rarely takes it all the way to the hole. And when he does, he lacks the frame and strength to draw a lot of contact. He might marginally improve in this area, but he'll never attack like Rose (pre-injury) or Westbrook.

I know your theories on how players develop as we've been over this many times. But can we at least wait until a guy plays in a few regular season games before we make these determinations. Actually, let's wait until they are at least 100 games in before we say a guy can't attack the rim. Especially a guy with as much raw ability as Lavine has.

I'm not saying he'll be a bust or a poor player, just that player tendencies develop early. I highly doubt his game will fundamentally change much in terms of tendencies, as he's been playing ball for many years now. The real question is whether he can knock down that jumper consistently and develop a better feel as an NBA playmaker. On both of those fronts, I agree, it's way too early to know.

I know you're not saying he's a bust, but you are saying his game isn't likely to change. And I just can't agree with that. Kevin Love had no post up game when he was a rookie. Magic Johnson added a hook shot when he was 8 years into the league. Rondo had to learn how to attack the basket. A lot of players games develop as they mature. You may be on to something with guys like Wes Johnson who come into the league at an advanced age. But Zach is just a pup. I have expectations that he will be a lot more than what you see today, including aggressiveness to the basket.