Minnesota Sports Forum

Wiggins weak handle:

https://vine.co/v/OpeQar1E71u

Good analysis Mikkeman. He has definitely turned a major corner over the past couple of weeks as a scorer, both in terms of volume and efficiency. He's making a much higher percentage of his shots and doing more things off the ball to create easier opportunities for himself (cuts, fast breaks, steals, etc.). It's been an impressive turnaround after a fairly long stretch of struggling. Let's hope he can keep it up.

He's still pretty anemic in the areas of rebounds and assists compared to some of those other players you looked at. I think both can improve as he matures, but I don't see him ever being a LeBron, Wade, or Harden type of wing, where he's capable of playing "point wing" and dealing out 6+ assists per night. But I think he can eventually be decent.

I agree with others in the other thread that it would be nice to get his minutes back down to the low 30s. While I'm not worried about 10+ years out, I am worried about the next 3-5 years and keeping him healthy. The more minutes played, the more likely injury will be incurred. It's that simple. Lord knows we've had our unfair share of injury problems throughout our history, especially recently.

thedoper wrote:Wiggins weak handle:

https://vine.co/v/OpeQar1E71u

Very nice. Although I don't really attribute this to "great handles". It's more of an indication of his athleticism. And this has been a patented move of his going back to last year at Kansas. Wiggins prefers to set up on the right side of the floor and drive baseline, but when it's cut-off, he will almost always spin left. It's a great move, but we've seen defenders like Kobe wait on it and pick his pocket as he made the anticipated turn.

The bottom-line is that with moves like this and a developing mid-post game, his handles don't need to be elite in order for him to be elite. But they do need to get better and hopefully they will.

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:Wiggins weak handle:

https://vine.co/v/OpeQar1E71u

Very nice. Although I don't really attribute this to "great handles". It's more of an indication of his athleticism. And this has been a patented move of his going back to last year at Kansas. Wiggins prefers to set up on the right side of the floor and drive baseline, but when it's cut-off, he will almost always spin left. It's a great move, but we've seen defenders like Kobe wait on it and pick his pocket as he made the anticipated turn.

The bottom-line is that with moves like this and a developing mid-post game, his handles don't need to be elite in order for him to be elite. But they do need to get better and hopefully they will.

Wiggins had a few balls batted out of his hands throughout the game, whether it be dribbling or rebounding. Sometimes it's awareness while others it's a hands thing. I take that vine loop as more a display of his incredible footwork than anything else. That's one thing I think he possesses already, which can only be amplified by tightening up his handle to respectability, and developing counter moves like you're implying.

http://deadspin.com/yeah-so-andrew-wiggins-is-getting-good-1678216962

It's only Deadspin, but it has this nice highlight reel of last nights game and if the numbers are 100% accurate his last 8 games have been pretty damn good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSW5QNmQFVA

He took that ball the length of the court and finished impressively at the rim. You can't do that with poor handles. His hands and strength are his biggest weaknesses. Maybe getting stronger will help the other.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:He took that ball the length of the court and finished impressively at the rim. You can't do that with poor handles. His hands and strength are his biggest weaknesses. Maybe getting stronger will help the other.

I was thinking this too. A lot of his turnovers seem to be more linked to his body positioning and strength than anything. Some physical development will go a long way with him. He is going to be awesome.

thedoper wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:He took that ball the length of the court and finished impressively at the rim. You can't do that with poor handles. His hands and strength are his biggest weaknesses. Maybe getting stronger will help the other.

I was thinking this too. A lot of his turnovers seem to be more linked to his body positioning and strength than anything. Some physical development will go a long way with him. He is going to be awesome.

And he's going to more of a #2 than a #3

Q12543 wrote:Good analysis Mikkeman. He has definitely turned a major corner over the past couple of weeks as a scorer, both in terms of volume and efficiency. He's making a much higher percentage of his shots and doing more things off the ball to create easier opportunities for himself (cuts, fast breaks, steals, etc.). It's been an impressive turnaround after a fairly long stretch of struggling. Let's hope he can keep it up.

He's still pretty anemic in the areas of rebounds and assists compared to some of those other players you looked at. I think both can improve as he matures, but I don't see him ever being a LeBron, Wade, or Harden type of wing, where he's capable of playing "point wing" and dealing out 6+ assists per night. But I think he can eventually be decent.

I agree with others in the other thread that it would be nice to get his minutes back down to the low 30s. While I'm not worried about 10+ years out, I am worried about the next 3-5 years and keeping him healthy. The more minutes played, the more likely injury will be incurred. It's that simple. Lord knows we've had our unfair share of injury problems throughout our history, especially recently.

Maybe he was just 19 years old playing his first couple dozen games in the NBA?

Q12543 wrote:Wildwolf, I think we've already started to see his minutes get pulled back a bit, especially with Budinger starting to play better.

Budinger, Martin, Daniels, and Muhammed are all more offensively-oriented players. Once all those guys are healthy, Wiggins will go back to being the designated wing defender who won't get much offense run through him. That means that if he wants to get points, he'll have to work off the ball to get them.

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