Andrew Wiggins: LeBron like, explosive and cerebral player, the ball comes off his hand very softly both from 3 and off pull-ups, quick release when in rhythm, can really cover ground with dribble in the full court, gifted at timing and blocking shots, young-Carmelo like in his ability to second jump and rebound his misses instantaneously, much of the game comes easy to him -- definitely a fun guy to keep your eye on. Will go to Kentucky for a year.
I find it very enjoyable to watch the Team USA bench cheer and encourage their teammates on the floor. They really let loose. It is a role that none of them generally get to fill, so they can both embrace it and be creative with it. They all seem geniunely interested and sincere in their rooting for teammates. You even see it with Kobe. LeBron has always been very good at it. Russell Westbrook, for my money is my favorite to watch cheer. Tyson Chandler is amazing at it too. Kevin Durant. Now is that a Coach K inspired revelation? I think he does a fantastic job of building the system and infrastructure and tone. The players take the lead from there.
Dion Waiters, in the games that he played in Vegas, was much better than what he was given credit for. He shot the ball like shit, but that doesn't take away the fact that guys were melting off him when he attacked the rim. He was able to get into the key and finish plays and did a good job making good passing decisions. I only saw selected highlights. But from what I saw, I thought he had great driving ability, which was why we picked him. Now the trick just becomes getting his ankle and knee healthy and cutting 15 pounds. Shedding weight should without losing strength should help both the knee and ankle problems.
I hope Tristan Thompson is grinding and getting better. He's another guy who I think could look into losing 10-15 pounds. He just seems to get a little heavy in there when he's tired. He loses his ability to explode through contact. But his game needs serious renovation if he wants to make a year two leap. What sucked for him, was that the Cavs just got so bad in those last 40 games that there was very little opportunity for healthy development. He was also hurt. He has to be much more authoritative with his post move decisions. Last year, you just saw too much hesitation and indecision with him trying to figure out how his defender was playing him and in turn what move should he try. He's gotta have a more clear plan of what he wants to get done in there. He has to be able to make jumpers from the elbows and short corners. And if nothing works in his progression, he at least has to keep his legs injury free so we can include him in a trade for a big player.
Jonas Valuncias is going to play for the Raptors this year. We very well could have grabbed him instead of Thompson. It will be interesting to see him play and adjust to the NBA game.
Mike Kidd-Gilchrist, Brad Beal and Harrison Barnes are gonna be really tough. Which is gonna make Dion Waiters life tough. Especially if he struggles to find big role with the Cavs.
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