Looks like Wiggins has finally become a STAR...

[stalkerforlife]

Completely dominant the past two games.

To those who gave up on him, how do you feel?

Woooow.

[RealSkipBayless]

This sounds like Ingram stans after one game.

[yeaaaman]

I just think Thibs was overrated as a coach. Looked like he was more interested in developing his old players than Towns and Wiggins. That Butler trade was brutal for their growth. Both Wiggins and Towns will be better without them. It's obvious he has a boatload of talent.

[imdaman99]

Whoever has him in fantasy, get ready to EAT

[Ass Dan]

Here are the positives:

-dropped 40 on the best D in the league
-crushed MVP candidate PG one on one (which they were a lot of the game)
-rebounded in traffic
-attacked the rim
-looked happy

All in his firsft game without Thibs.

Nice.

Wait and see how he does going forward

[Sportal]

The surprising thing isn't the 40 points... It's the 10 rebounds. Might make the Wolves quite interesting this.

[Ass Dan]

The surprising thing isn't the 40 points... It's the 10 rebounds. Might make the Wolves quite interesting this.

so true

and how he stuck it to Paul George one on one, including a late block.

fingers crossed this kid can rebuild his career.

[yeaaaman]

so true

and how he stuck it to Paul George one on one, including a late block.

fingers crossed this kid can rebuild his career.

Also him getting to the line. He used to do this at a high clip even as a rookie so it's nice to see. He should and could be among the league leaders.

It's a positive sign he's doing this in just his first game since. Would be nice to see him and Towns reach their potential just have to wait and see

[Andrei89]

You oeople do know Wiggins has better stretches than this, right?

Scum boxscore watchers:lol

[Kblaze8855]

I watched most of that game.

I cant remember the last player to get the sudden "Hes just bad at basketball" label we are so quick to throw out on here who actually was.

We have some people quick to talk about worst in the league, how such and such shouldnt be in the NBA, or is just terrible.....and its almost always false. At least for young healthy players. Everyone eventually gets old and falls off but we have people acting like 20-22 year old max players are actually bad at basketball because of advanced stats or being on bad teams.

Nobody who's name we know has likely ever been near the worst player in the NBA but every 3 days someone is claiming some guy who just....isnt as good as he should be....is straight up scum.

Wiggins is not as good as people thought he would be. Thats really all that needs to be said. Hes not bad at playing basketball....and there are people who seem to think he is.

[PeroAntic]

Perfect time to trade his ass

[ShawkFactory]

Completely dominant the past two games.

To those who gave up on him, how do you feel?

Woooow.
There it is.

[k0kakw0rld]

Completely dominant the past two games.

To those who gave up on him, how do you feel?

Woooow.
If he scores less than 20 points next game, keep that same energy, fool.

[Celtics 1825]

Next game: 10 points on 3-11 shooting

[eliteballer]

Let's see if Wiggins can out-duel Doncic tonight.

[Marchesk]

If he scores less than 20 points next game

bump

[raprap]

Why are Kobe stans always wrong?

[TheImmortal]

This is what happens when he lets that beta Towns take over.

[Smoke117]

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[ImKobe]

Why are Kobe stans always wrong?

OP is an embarrassment to Laker Nation. We don't claim him.

[DMAVS41]

I watched most of that game.

I cant remember the last player to get the sudden "Hes just bad at basketball" label we are so quick to throw out on here who actually was.

We have some people quick to talk about worst in the league, how such and such shouldnt be in the NBA, or is just terrible.....and its almost always false. At least for young healthy players. Everyone eventually gets old and falls off but we have people acting like 20-22 year old max players are actually bad at basketball because of advanced stats or being on bad teams.

Nobody who's name we know has likely ever been near the worst player in the NBA but every 3 days someone is claiming some guy who just....isnt as good as he should be....is straight up scum.

Wiggins is not as good as people thought he would be. Thats really all that needs to be said. Hes not bad at playing basketball....and there are people who seem to think he is.

Honestly, it depends on how you define "bad"...

Nobody thinks he's "bad" in the sense that he doesn't have amazing potential and skill and athleticism...

But so far in his career? I don't know if "bad" is the right word to grade him with, but it certainly wouldn't be "good"...

And it isn't "advanced stats"...the guy has been a poor defender throughout his career...he routinely gives no effort on the glass...he hasn't improved his playmaking ability in tangible ways (I'd say he's gotten slightly better here, but still lacking)...

And while he can fill it up in terms of scoring...he's not consistent or efficient enough to warrant him having the usage he has had throughout his career.

His free throws have gotten worse, not better...as well.

As for the "bad team" stuff...I agree broadly with your point, but specifically here I'm not sure that is really accurate when you have a guy like Towns on your team and some other decent role players.

Is he straight up "bad" in the sense you are saying? No, he's not.

But he's been a serious disappointment as a player and he got that contract off of his potential...and that is the problem with Wiggins...he isn't consistent...

I watched the game he looked great...and I watched the game against the Mavericks last night. I forgot he was even out there half the game and he played 40 minutes iirc in a big game against at home...and he made virtually no impact.

Also, Doris and JVG went hard on him about a week ago on an ESPN game talking about his lack of effort and consistency (nothing to do with advanced stats)...referencing his lack of "give a shit" about rebounding...and like 30 seconds later he just stood there on a loose ball rebound, didn't go for it, and didn't get back in transition...

Honestly, plays like that...which happen a lot for Wiggins...is why people hate on him...even more than the advanced stats (which we shouldn't disregard completely anyway)...

Doesn't mean he will be like this forever, but we are 5 years in...

5 years in...and he's a poor defender, isn't consistent, doesn't hustle frequently, lacks effort specifically on the glass, is an inefficient offensive player and doesn't make plays for his teammates that often

What word we used to describe that doesn't change what he's been to date.

Kind of reminds me of the Jabari discussion we all had last year...just seems like an argument over semantics...which is often boring and misses the point. Jabari has been a really bad defender throughout his career and the type of player, if you ignore potential, that nobody really wants.

Wiggins isn't "Jabari", but he's somewhere on that spectrum.

[DMAVS41]

Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves
The Jimmy Butler drama masks another festering stench: What if Wiggins is just, like, not good? I was a cautious Wiggins optimist when analytics folks buried him as a teenaged rookie, but he has shown zero meaningful improvement over four seasons. If anything, he has gotten worse.

Some of that regression -- the drop-off in free throws, for instance -- stemmed from predictable fit issues with Butler, Jamal Crawford and even Derrick Rose. All three superseded Wiggins in the ball-handling hierarchy, shoving him into spot-up duty he approached with the enthusiasm of a teenager asked to rake the leaves:


Motion-tracking cameras recorded Wiggins "running fast" during only 4.8 percent of his time on the floor, one of the 10 lowest such figures in the league, per Second Spectrum. (Almost everyone in his slowpoke vicinity is a plodding 7-footer.) He has shown no aptitude on pull-up 3s, or on any sort of 3-pointer outside the corners -- and he doesn't shoot enough from the corners. Nobody guards him away from the ball.

His pick-and-roll work is rote. He still doesn't know how to run his defender into screens. He'll peek around a pick, only to moonwalk uselessly into a long jumper. Even when he has an advantage, he'll stop short:


That is a fine shot for Chris Paul. Wiggins hit 32 percent of his long 2-pointers last season. He has never drained better than 38 percent in any season. There may be no more treasonous combination among midrange aficionados of frequency and inaccuracy.

He prefers to drive right or spin back that way, and everyone in the league knows it. (Ditto for his baseline spin on the left block -- a move Houston sat on to an almost absurd degree in their first-round series last season.) He understands all the basic passing reads -- roll man, weak-side corner -- but his passing is paint by numbers. He makes the pass the defense expects, when they expect it.

Minnesota's choreographed, old-school offense doesn't help. Even as a secondary ball-handler, Wiggins doesn't get the head starts Rubio enjoys in Utah. Minnesota's offense is jagged, with no flow or timing. Defenses just ignore the first action and lay in wait for Wiggins.

You see glimpses of something more. Wiggins is a ridiculous athlete. He will occasionally fake toward a pick, tip his defender that direction, and zoom in for a dunk. He peppered Crawford with questions about threading pocket passes and lasers to the opposite corner, Crawford says.

He can bully smaller players in the post after switches (making him a useful screener for Jeff Teague), and hit the open man when help comes. But even down there, he too often settles:


You have to be prime Kobe Bryant for the math on those shots to work.

He has never had the impact he should on defense. He doesn't rebound, force turnovers, or contest shots. He is a bystander.

He could be more on a team that played faster, with more shooting and fewer ball-handlers. But unless Wiggins improves, that team would be bad.

At some point, the tools and the highlights have to translate into something better than "smaller Rudy Gay." If Minnesota moves Butler or Tyus Jones -- and Phoenix has asked about Jones, sources say -- that would at least place Wiggins into some lineups with only one other primary ball-handler.

Regardless: Wiggins is almost 24. It's time.

Zach Lowe on Wiggins.

[Marchesk]

^ This

Also considering that Wiggins was a number one overall pick and came in with a lot of hype. Some people were saying he's the next Lebron, others were saying Jordan + Pippen. So lots of hype.

He's not Anthony Bennett bad or anything like that, but with that huge contract and all his upside, he's not great so far.

[Marchesk]

You have to be prime Kobe Bryant for the math on those shots to work.

:lol

[DMAVS41]

Here is the question to me...

What word do we use to describe a player that;

Doesn't score efficiently, is a poor defender, doesn't make plays for his teammates, doesn't hustle / give effort (specifically on the glass), and is inconsistent...and in 5 years to date...his team has been over .500 only once.

But, is insanely athletic and shows flashes of being great at times...

I don't know the right word...probably best to just assess him as a player and see where others agree or disagree rather than using a label of "bad"...

[Pointguard]

You really can't judge offensive players under Thibes. He just doesn't have solid schemes to help their game out. I just wrote this before they fired him. Wiggins has great talent but you have to wait and see now.