Minnesota Sports Forum

**CAUTION** This is a blatantly positive message regarding one Andrew Wiggins**

I continue to see encouraging signs in the play of Andrew. Some things I'm picking up on:

1) Of course he is scoring the ball at a very consistent rate over the last 10-15 games. Haven't had many, if any, real clunkers during this stretch. And it's not just how much he is scoring, it's how easy it seems to be.

2) He's still picking his spots which might be smart, but he's starting to run the floor a little better and looking for some easy baskets.

3) He's dunking the ball more when he gets in close. This had been a pet peeve of mine.

4) His handle is better. There has been games when he looks completely comfortable with it, and less games where he looks clumsy.

5) He's starting to play better off the ball, and it's showing in the number of times he's getting his hands on the ball and being more disruptive.

6) He still struggles in the P n R but the effort is getting better there too.

7) His RPM numbers are starting to inch up. I know some of you rely on this metric heavily, so perhaps you've noticed the same.

8) His shooting percentages are up. From the floor and from the line.

9) He's looking more for the pass than forcing his own offense.

10) Last game I actually saw him take a rebound from KAT. That is rare. He almost always defers to his teammate when they go up simultaneously.

11) And he continues to be clutch when given the opportunity.

With the exception of his handle, I'm not saying any of these improvements have been dramatic. But I think each one is real and should be very encouraging to all Wolves fans. I hope it continues and am really looking forward to seeing what he comes back with next year. I'm not the biggest Thibs fan, but I applaud him for continuing to put Andrew in growth situations in the face of criticism. At least in my opinion it's paying off.

I agree Cool great post.

I've seen a lot of that other stuff people wanting him to do come along little by little.

I'm right with you with Wiggins offensively picking his spots. The last few games he is just finding times in the game where he gets his shots makes them yawn. I've mentioned before good and great scorers have to find the yikes to assert themselves in the flow of the game MJ was the best I have ever sent do it. At times you have to get and let your teammates get involved on that end. Wiggins can be passive and it can be bad but he also isn't a guy that demands the ball all the time. He is perfectly willing to defer. The problem is sometimes he defers for too long.

It's difficult to share the ball between three 20ppg scorers. All 3 guys have to find their spots. Lebron Love and Kyrie took over 2 years to figure it out and there is all this angst because the 3 21 years olds don't always put it together. Oh and 2 of those Cavs guys aren't exactly known for defense either...

monsterpile wrote:I agree Cool great post.

I've seen a lot of that other stuff people wanting him to do come along little by little.

I'm right with you with Wiggins offensively picking his spots. The last few games he is just finding times in the game where he gets his shots makes them yawn. I've mentioned before good and great scorers have to find the yikes to assert themselves in the flow of the game MJ was the best I have ever sent do it. At times you have to get and let your teammates get involved on that end. Wiggins can be passive and it can be bad but he also isn't a guy that demands the ball all the time. He is perfectly willing to defer. The problem is sometimes he defers for too long.

It's difficult to share the ball between three 20ppg scorers. All 3 guys have to find their spots. Lebron Love and Kyrie took over 2 years to figure it out and there is all this angst because the 3 21 years olds don't always put it together. Oh and 2 of those Cavs guys aren't exactly known for defense either...

Yes Monster, nothing overly dramatic but the improvement is there. Just have to keep moving in that direction.

Good post. Wiggins has definitely been improving. His non scoring stats have slowly but surely been getting better. His defense and effort there has been better too. He seems to be reading and anticipating more and playing better d off the ball. The 3rd year always seems to be the big leap/breakout year for a lot of players but I can see wiggins making that big leap next season.

The biggest thing I've noticed is that he's getting some easier looks at the rim mixed in with his usual array of jumpers and post ups. He's definitely playing more efficiently of late, even though I still think he takes a hell of a lot of really tough shots that aren't always necessary.

He's definitely getting some more deflections/steals of late too. I'm skeptical that he'll keep that up as that typically isn't something someone suddenly becomes good at. But he certainly has the physical tools, so may be he'll be the exception.

Yeah, there is some improvement. But he has a LOOOONG ways to go. The holes in his game are gaping.

I'm pretty sure all of those positives are because of your unmentioned number 12: TheSP lost interest and quit watching every game. It's all to spite me, I'm sure of it.