Wiggins: "There's not 100 players better than me"

[K4P]

It's funny that we complain about Wiggins taking mid range jumpers but it would be even worse if Russell was here as he literally can't get to the rim

[Jedzz]

It's funny that we complain about Wiggins taking mid range jumpers but it would be even worse if Russell was here as he literally can't get to the rim

Yeah well WIggins probably has more than 300 games that show he can't get to the rim at times either.

I think sometimes it might have more to do with desire to do it. Rose was pretty small in stature but could get there whenever he wanted. Practice and desire I suppose.

[Mattya]

Russell just got torched defensively by .. wait for it ... DENNIS SCHRÖEDER!

FWIW, GSW’s starting SF is Glenn Robinson III. I bet he isn’t in the “100 players better than Wiggins.”

Are you going to pretend that Wiggins hasn't gotten torched by scrubs before?

Wait. Do you believe that Glen Robinson III is on the “100 players better than Wiggins” list?

Russell’s defense is so bad .. (“how bad is it?”) .. that they put Steph Curry out there to defend the better scoring guard.

Idk what GR3 has to do with he point that while Russell is bad at defense that Wiggins is also bad a defense. You try to knock Russell for things that Wiggins is just as bad at.

[Dewey]

It's funny that we complain about Wiggins taking mid range jumpers but it would be even worse if Russell was here as he literally can't get to the rim

Yeah well WIggins probably has more than 300 games that show he can't get to the rim at times either.

I think sometimes it might have more to do with desire to do it. Rose was pretty small in stature but could get there whenever he wanted. Practice and desire I suppose.

I’m not sure ability is the line issue when it comes to getting to the rim ... I think it’s more about the willingness to accept contact to get the and1. Therefore, it’s about the willing & able.

[shrink]

Are you going to pretend that Wiggins hasn't gotten torched by scrubs before?

Wait. Do you believe that Glen Robinson III is on the “100 players better than Wiggins” list?

Russell’s defense is so bad .. (“how bad is it?”) .. that they put Steph Curry out there to defend the better scoring guard.

Idk what GR3 has to do with he point that while Russell is bad at defense that Wiggins is also bad a defense. You try to knock Russell for things that Wiggins is just as bad at.

Again, if they are equally bad, do you think that any team with a Curry/Wiggins backcourt would have Curry defend the more dangerous scoring guard?

That’s happening to Russell.

[Mattya]

Wait. Do you believe that Glen Robinson III is on the “100 players better than Wiggins” list?

Russell’s defense is so bad .. (“how bad is it?”) .. that they put Steph Curry out there to defend the better scoring guard.

Idk what GR3 has to do with he point that while Russell is bad at defense that Wiggins is also bad a defense. You try to knock Russell for things that Wiggins is just as bad at.

Again, if they are equally bad, do you think that any team with a Curry/Wiggins backcourt would have Curry defend the more dangerous scoring guard?

That’s happening to Russell.

They aren’t though.

[PharmD]

The Heat game was somewhat encouraging in that Wiggins maintained his effort level even when things were going poorly through the first 3 quarters and he was finally able to brake through in the fourth.

This is false. He loafed around doing nothing for a huge swath of the game. He went 34 minutes without a bucket, steal, or block.

[minimus]

The Heat game was somewhat encouraging in that Wiggins maintained his effort level even when things were going poorly through the first 3 quarters and he was finally able to brake through in the fourth.

This is false. He loafed around doing nothing for a huge swath of the game. He went 34 minutes without a bucket, steal, or block.

He ran the floor hard and sealed smaller opponent in order to score easy basket at rim. He went for offensive rebound and dunked. He drove to the basket. Once he sticks to these small things all game long, he will be much more effective.

[Dewey]

The Heat game was somewhat encouraging in that Wiggins maintained his effort level even when things were going poorly through the first 3 quarters and he was finally able to brake through in the fourth.

This is false. He loafed around doing nothing for a huge swath of the game. He went 34 minutes without a bucket, steal, or block.

He ran the floor hard and sealed smaller opponent in order to score easy basket at rim. He went for offensive rebound and dunked. He drove to the basket. Once he sticks to these small things all game long, he will be much more effective.

just seems wrong that after 5 years, it's still a discussion at all...

[wolves_89]

The Heat game was somewhat encouraging in that Wiggins maintained his effort level even when things were going poorly through the first 3 quarters and he was finally able to brake through in the fourth.

This is false. He loafed around doing nothing for a huge swath of the game. He went 34 minutes without a bucket, steal, or block.

I thought Wiggins was clearly exerting better effort than in past seasons. He was moving much better on defense and though he didn't wrack up the stats he made his presence felt (in past years he basically disappeared on the defensive end). I'm perfectly comfortable saying Wiggins is playing much harder and wasn't loafing around.

[Mattya]

The Heat game was somewhat encouraging in that Wiggins maintained his effort level even when things were going poorly through the first 3 quarters and he was finally able to brake through in the fourth.

This is false. He loafed around doing nothing for a huge swath of the game. He went 34 minutes without a bucket, steal, or block.

I thought Wiggins was clearly exerting better effort than in past seasons. He was moving much better on defense and though he didn't wrack up the stats he made his presence felt (in past years he basically disappeared on the defensive end). I'm perfectly comfortable saying Wiggins is playing much harder and wasn't loafing around.

He was definitely loafing in the middle of the game. There are reasons Saunders benched him. Once he started hitting shots in the 4th he started showing more effort.

[wolves_89]

This is false. He loafed around doing nothing for a huge swath of the game. He went 34 minutes without a bucket, steal, or block.

I thought Wiggins was clearly exerting better effort than in past seasons. He was moving much better on defense and though he didn't wrack up the stats he made his presence felt (in past years he basically disappeared on the defensive end). I'm perfectly comfortable saying Wiggins is playing much harder and wasn't loafing around.

He was definitely loafing in the middle of the game. There are reasons Saunders benched him. Once he started hitting shots in the 4th he started showing more effort.

I didn't see it that way. Saunders benched him for for his decision making not for his effort.

[Mattya]

I thought Wiggins was clearly exerting better effort than in past seasons. He was moving much better on defense and though he didn't wrack up the stats he made his presence felt (in past years he basically disappeared on the defensive end). I'm perfectly comfortable saying Wiggins is playing much harder and wasn't loafing around.

He was definitely loafing in the middle of the game. There are reasons Saunders benched him. Once he started hitting shots in the 4th he started showing more effort.

I don't see it that way. Saunders benched him for for his decision making not for his effort.

I just don’t see how anyone could say Wiggins wasn’t loafing in the second and third quarters. Somehow The Heat with Winslow, Nunn and Robinson were leading the Heat to overcome a deficit to take a lead during those quarters but Wiggins who was a negative in the game until the 4th and got beaten on a bunch of plays wasn’t loafing.

[wolves_89]

He was definitely loafing in the middle of the game. There are reasons Saunders benched him. Once he started hitting shots in the 4th he started showing more effort.

I don't see it that way. Saunders benched him for for his decision making not for his effort.

I just don’t see how anyone could say Wiggins wasn’t loafing in the second and third quarters. Somehow The Heat with Winslow, Nunn and Robinson were leading the Heat to overcome a deficit to take a lead during those quarters but Wiggins who was a negative in the game until the 4th and got beaten on a bunch of plays wasn’t loafing.

I went back and watched every minute Wiggins played in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and can now say confidently he wasn't loafing. His defense was actually pretty solid in that his positioning was good, he didn't mess up any switches, he kept his assignment off the glass, he provided help defense, and he closed out and contested shots. The only real problems he had involved getting caught up on the screen a couple of times (resulted in one basket and one missed shot) and misplaying one close out that allowed his guy to get by him. The vast majority of the defensive breakdowns were by other Wolves players. I saw little evidence of Wiggins not fulfilling his responsibilities and even in the few instances where he failed defensively it wasn't because of lack of effort.

On offense I also didn't see much evidence of loafing. He wasn't good in that he missed a bunch of shots, but overall he made hard cuts and in general seemed to playing within the offensive strategy. Even his shot selection was pretty good in that the shots were at the rim or 3s, he just wasn't able to get anything to drop.

[Mattya]

I don't see it that way. Saunders benched him for for his decision making not for his effort.

I just don’t see how anyone could say Wiggins wasn’t loafing in the second and third quarters. Somehow The Heat with Winslow, Nunn and Robinson were leading the Heat to overcome a deficit to take a lead during those quarters but Wiggins who was a negative in the game until the 4th and got beaten on a bunch of plays wasn’t loafing.

I went back and watched every minute Wiggins played in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and can now say confidently he wasn't loafing. His defense was actually pretty solid in that his positioning was good, he didn't mess up any switches, he kept his assignment off the glass, he provided help defense, and he closed out and contested shots. The only real problems he had involved getting caught up on the screen a couple of times (resulted in one basket and one missed shot) and misplaying one close out that allowed his guy to get by him. The vast majority of the defensive breakdowns were by other Wolves players. I saw little evidence of Wiggins not fulfilling his responsibilities and even in the few instances where he failed defensively it wasn't because of lack of effort.

On offense I also didn't see much evidence of loafing. He wasn't good in that he missed a bunch of shots, but overall he made hard cuts and in general seemed to playing within the offensive strategy. Even his shot selection was pretty good in that the shots were at the rim or 3s, he just wasn't able to get anything to drop.

This isn’t going anywhere if you saw nothing wring with his 2nd or 3rd quarters.

[Mattya]

If you can watch his effort with less than 6 minutes left in the 4th on defense and think that looks anything like how he defended in the 2nd or 3rd quarter then I don’t think we are ever going to see eye to eye.

[wolves_89]

I just don’t see how anyone could say Wiggins wasn’t loafing in the second and third quarters. Somehow The Heat with Winslow, Nunn and Robinson were leading the Heat to overcome a deficit to take a lead during those quarters but Wiggins who was a negative in the game until the 4th and got beaten on a bunch of plays wasn’t loafing.

I went back and watched every minute Wiggins played in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and can now say confidently he wasn't loafing. His defense was actually pretty solid in that his positioning was good, he didn't mess up any switches, he kept his assignment off the glass, he provided help defense, and he closed out and contested shots. The only real problems he had involved getting caught up on the screen a couple of times (resulted in one basket and one missed shot) and misplaying one close out that allowed his guy to get by him. The vast majority of the defensive breakdowns were by other Wolves players. I saw little evidence of Wiggins not fulfilling his responsibilities and even in the few instances where he failed defensively it wasn't because of lack of effort.

On offense I also didn't see much evidence of loafing. He wasn't good in that he missed a bunch of shots, but overall he made hard cuts and in general seemed to playing within the offensive strategy. Even his shot selection was pretty good in that the shots were at the rim or 3s, he just wasn't able to get anything to drop.

This isn’t going anywhere if you saw nothing wring with his 2nd or 3rd quarters.

I agree this isn't going anywhere since I haven't seen any argument other than it's Wiggins so he must be bad.

[Mattya]

I went back and watched every minute Wiggins played in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and can now say confidently he wasn't loafing. His defense was actually pretty solid in that his positioning was good, he didn't mess up any switches, he kept his assignment off the glass, he provided help defense, and he closed out and contested shots. The only real problems he had involved getting caught up on the screen a couple of times (resulted in one basket and one missed shot) and misplaying one close out that allowed his guy to get by him. The vast majority of the defensive breakdowns were by other Wolves players. I saw little evidence of Wiggins not fulfilling his responsibilities and even in the few instances where he failed defensively it wasn't because of lack of effort.

On offense I also didn't see much evidence of loafing. He wasn't good in that he missed a bunch of shots, but overall he made hard cuts and in general seemed to playing within the offensive strategy. Even his shot selection was pretty good in that the shots were at the rim or 3s, he just wasn't able to get anything to drop.

This isn’t going anywhere if you saw nothing wring with his 2nd or 3rd quarters.

I agree this isn't going anywhere since I haven't seen any argument other than it's Wiggins so he must be bad.

This explains everything. You are blind. So you don’t see what people are writing which also means you couldn’t see the game.

[WolfAddict]

Wiggins is improving - Although I agree that after so long, this shouldn't be a discussion, but it is what it is. The fact Wiggins (and the coaching staff) have identified his weaknesses, and taken steps to mitigate them, is pleasing to me. Should this have happened ages ago? Most definitely. But it wasn't and we have what we have. If no changes were made, and everything was status quo, then I'd be worried, but I honestly think a corner has been turned where Wiggins is involved.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Read on Twitter