Draymond top of key, Step & Klay doing the basketball version of a Spirograph, Wiggins having a picnic, sadly left alone and undefended, at a corner or elbow 3, Wiseman loading up in the dunker's spot. Draymond's head just might explode. You heard it here first.
So glad you covered that Steph→Klay→Wiggins play from the first quarter. I saw that in realtime and was like, "Whoa, Klay got a sweet assist to a wide-open Wiggins in the lane. How the heck?" and now I know.
Is it just me, or is Wiggins getting kinda good at stealthily getting open? Like that time he was under the basket, it's like the defense forgot he even existed. Maybe Draymond sees all but other teams sure don't seem to see Wiggins sometimes.
Jan 19, 2022·edited Jan 19, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot
A few thoughts on this fine breakdown:
1. Steph's gravity has rarely been so clear. Wiggins watches four defenders converge on Steph and thinks "I wonder what's goin' on at the rim? Oh, it's a vacant lot."
2. Among other improvements or rather, things I now notice about his game, is that Wiggins is a really good shot. Sure these are open or somewhat open, but he's knocking them down.
3. The NBA should have a rule, similar to the no-flop rule, penalizing the fake no-look. If you've already looked and then look away as you start your passing motion, that's six foul shots.
4. If a day ever comes when someone gets fired for covering Steph, Apricot's known universe will implode.
Wiggins is gloriously good at knocking down wide-open shots. Maybe there's some differing expectations involved here, but when Steph or Klay get a wide-open shot it feels like the disbelief that someone actually left them open ruins the shot half the time. They're both really good at scoring contested 3's, too, so maybe that's part of it.
Whereas, Wiggins shoots just OK, maybe even less than OK on contested shots. But wide-open ones? Cash money. What a great fit for this team.
I have a hypothetical question: if it turned out that Steph was now a 35% 3pt shooter with his current shot diet (he isn't, only speaking hypothetically), how long do you guys think it would take for the rest of the NBA to react and start defending him normally?
Basically how much emotional damage has he provided and how long will it take 29 teams to recover from it?
Look at this scientifically. A "35%" three point shooter is not 1 for 3 every game. Some games they shoot 4 for 5, others 3 for 16. As anyone who has ever used cheese to train a rat to run a maze, or won something on a slot machine or hit a golf ball pure knows, that one hit makes you come back for more. It is called the "intermittent reinforcement" schedule. Random, but frequent enough hits prevent the "extinction" of the behavior.
As long as Steph continues to have occasional games of 55% plus 3-point shooting, teams will ALWAYS defend him as if he were his normal, 43%+ 3-point shooter. He will do that (if he wants), when he is 48 years old.
First glimpse of Steph-Klay-Wiggs meshing. Awesome. I think the biggest surprise since Klay's return is the emergence of a deadly iso mid range game. This has been an area of weakness for the Dubs. Outside of Curry or Poole, Wiggins seemed like the only real late shot clock option to get a pair. You have to think, in the 2 years of rehab, Klay probably spent an inordinate amount of time practicing shooting closer to the basket. You don't start your rehab at the 3-point line. So is it possible, that in this 2+ year rehab, Klay has rebuilt himself into a "late shot clock, iso, get a slight fade-away mid range bucket at a high efficiency rate #1 option?" Whether or not it is the natural progression or sped up by his rehab process, if Klay can become THAT GUY, in the playoffs, someone to steady the ship with a 14 footer, make the other team take the ball out of the basket preventing transition, getting that vital bucket, wow, what a revelation that would be for the Dubs. Klay's recent play has reminded me of Mullin. Same size. Klay doesn't move particularly fast, he's not twitchy athletic, but he still moves thru traffic, gets to a spot, has good height/length and has touch from anywhere on the floor. Not to mention his assists last night.
It's still early, but if Klay can exploit the mid range with high efficiency, it will wreck havoc on defenses. And in the playoffs, it seems like the kind of thing that could tip a series.
Klay has always been really good at fadeaway baseline jumpers and high-difficulty midrange shots. If anything, I feel like since his comeback he hasn't been getting as much lift and a lot of those have been missing short. Getting that recalibrated has to be one of the aspects of his "full" recovery I'm looking forward to him finishing.
I was specifically thinking of those 2 guys, but didn't mention them. Imagine if Looney developed that elbow jumper. I always thought Patrick McCaw should have tried to copy that Livingston face up 12 footer. But yes, in a playoff series, those 2-pointers are huge.
Watching Steph, Klay, and Wiggs, I keep picturing those two cartoon gophers from Loon(e)y Tunes:
“Dear Andrew, please take the open three.”
“Oh, but you’re much more open, Wardell.”
“No no I insist you be the one to shoot the ball.”
“Ah, but I took the last one and I’m slightly covered at the moment.”
“Quite right you are. What do you say we pass it over to brother Klay. He appears to be open.”
“Splendid idea!”
*Splash*
Draymond top of key, Step & Klay doing the basketball version of a Spirograph, Wiggins having a picnic, sadly left alone and undefended, at a corner or elbow 3, Wiseman loading up in the dunker's spot. Draymond's head just might explode. You heard it here first.
FTW: "And God said 'let there be splash'" - and behold it was good.
So glad you covered that Steph→Klay→Wiggins play from the first quarter. I saw that in realtime and was like, "Whoa, Klay got a sweet assist to a wide-open Wiggins in the lane. How the heck?" and now I know.
Is it just me, or is Wiggins getting kinda good at stealthily getting open? Like that time he was under the basket, it's like the defense forgot he even existed. Maybe Draymond sees all but other teams sure don't seem to see Wiggins sometimes.
"I don't know what you call those, half look passes?"
Lookaway passes
A few thoughts on this fine breakdown:
1. Steph's gravity has rarely been so clear. Wiggins watches four defenders converge on Steph and thinks "I wonder what's goin' on at the rim? Oh, it's a vacant lot."
2. Among other improvements or rather, things I now notice about his game, is that Wiggins is a really good shot. Sure these are open or somewhat open, but he's knocking them down.
3. The NBA should have a rule, similar to the no-flop rule, penalizing the fake no-look. If you've already looked and then look away as you start your passing motion, that's six foul shots.
4. If a day ever comes when someone gets fired for covering Steph, Apricot's known universe will implode.
4. It will be a pain to go back and add an asterisk to all my videos
Wiggins is gloriously good at knocking down wide-open shots. Maybe there's some differing expectations involved here, but when Steph or Klay get a wide-open shot it feels like the disbelief that someone actually left them open ruins the shot half the time. They're both really good at scoring contested 3's, too, so maybe that's part of it.
Whereas, Wiggins shoots just OK, maybe even less than OK on contested shots. But wide-open ones? Cash money. What a great fit for this team.
Wiggins: 51.1% on 2.3 attempts per game when Wide Open on threes
Weird how Joseph got his cage completely rattled by that "foul" but still managed to stick the landing perfectly. Must just be instinct.
Flagrant 2 on Steph for sure.
I have a hypothetical question: if it turned out that Steph was now a 35% 3pt shooter with his current shot diet (he isn't, only speaking hypothetically), how long do you guys think it would take for the rest of the NBA to react and start defending him normally?
Basically how much emotional damage has he provided and how long will it take 29 teams to recover from it?
Look at this scientifically. A "35%" three point shooter is not 1 for 3 every game. Some games they shoot 4 for 5, others 3 for 16. As anyone who has ever used cheese to train a rat to run a maze, or won something on a slot machine or hit a golf ball pure knows, that one hit makes you come back for more. It is called the "intermittent reinforcement" schedule. Random, but frequent enough hits prevent the "extinction" of the behavior.
As long as Steph continues to have occasional games of 55% plus 3-point shooting, teams will ALWAYS defend him as if he were his normal, 43%+ 3-point shooter. He will do that (if he wants), when he is 48 years old.
PTSD man. There is no coming back from that trauma, at least for the guys who experienced it first hand. I think the damage is done. Coaches, too.
First glimpse of Steph-Klay-Wiggs meshing. Awesome. I think the biggest surprise since Klay's return is the emergence of a deadly iso mid range game. This has been an area of weakness for the Dubs. Outside of Curry or Poole, Wiggins seemed like the only real late shot clock option to get a pair. You have to think, in the 2 years of rehab, Klay probably spent an inordinate amount of time practicing shooting closer to the basket. You don't start your rehab at the 3-point line. So is it possible, that in this 2+ year rehab, Klay has rebuilt himself into a "late shot clock, iso, get a slight fade-away mid range bucket at a high efficiency rate #1 option?" Whether or not it is the natural progression or sped up by his rehab process, if Klay can become THAT GUY, in the playoffs, someone to steady the ship with a 14 footer, make the other team take the ball out of the basket preventing transition, getting that vital bucket, wow, what a revelation that would be for the Dubs. Klay's recent play has reminded me of Mullin. Same size. Klay doesn't move particularly fast, he's not twitchy athletic, but he still moves thru traffic, gets to a spot, has good height/length and has touch from anywhere on the floor. Not to mention his assists last night.
It's still early, but if Klay can exploit the mid range with high efficiency, it will wreck havoc on defenses. And in the playoffs, it seems like the kind of thing that could tip a series.
Klay has always been really good at fadeaway baseline jumpers and high-difficulty midrange shots. If anything, I feel like since his comeback he hasn't been getting as much lift and a lot of those have been missing short. Getting that recalibrated has to be one of the aspects of his "full" recovery I'm looking forward to him finishing.
That describes what I valued most about Livingston and West. Though they were almost exclusively 2pters they went in at a terrific rate.
I was specifically thinking of those 2 guys, but didn't mention them. Imagine if Looney developed that elbow jumper. I always thought Patrick McCaw should have tried to copy that Livingston face up 12 footer. But yes, in a playoff series, those 2-pointers are huge.