FanPost

Wiggins is a 2

Today’s sports headline, "The Jazz the latest team to make the Timberwolves look small." Head coach Tom Thibodeau said, "We have to look at everything." Start with the man in the mirror.

Again Tom Thibodeau trotted out a lineup that was physically overmatched. And they were manhandled – again. At the center of the Wolves trouble is a coach who doesn’t want to address something he probably already knows. It is the truth but it doesn’t fit with the Wolves narrative of a "Big 3."

Andrew Wiggins is a 2. And so is Zach Lavine. Andrew Wiggins is playing the 3 so Zach can play the 2 and we can keep this failed experiment going. The truth came out in the Laker game and Thibodeau was quick to cover it up. With Wiggins at the 2 and Bjelica at the 3 the Wolves handled the Lakers easily. We haven’t seen the lineup since.

The biggest loser in all this are the Timberwolves fans – and Andrew Wiggins. The Wolves are ready to win now. The fans are ready for a winner now. And Andrew Wiggins is ready to break out now. His game against the Jazz – 13 points.

He’s playing out of position. He is being bully-balled by most small forwards. He’s got the length to play the 3 but not the strength - not in the NBA. And it’s not going to change with time. Have you seen his legs? They would make Corey Brewer proud.

Fortunately there is a solution. Play him at his proper position. At the 2 Wiggins gets to play against the smaller and weaker of the two wings. All of sudden he has the advantage. The average 2 is not long enough to bother Wiggins and not strong enough to push him around. And Wiggins starts to thrive. Against the Lakers in his only start as a 2 all year Wiggins went for 47.

The Lavine 2/Wiggins 3 combination simply does not work. The Wolves are being manhandled at both positions. The problem with Wiggins at the 3 has a solution – move him to the 2. For Lavine the answer is not readily available. Zach Lavine is a 2. He cannot play the point as he does not move the ball well enough – the offense comes to a grinding halt. The problem with Zach at the 2 is his weak defensive posture – the way he carries his weight is not conducive to holding your ground. Until he can hold his water on defense he cannot be part of a rotation on a winning team.

The Wolves need to bag this whole "Bounce brothers – Big 3" narrative. They need to move Wiggins to the 2 so he can become the player he can be. Wiggins doesn’t need a bounce brother. He doesn’t need another finisher playing next to him on the wing. He needs a facilitator. Someone who will get him the ball in good position to score. Someone who is bigger and can handle the other teams 3 so Wiggins can play the 2. Wiggins needs Bjelica.

Bjelica has also been playing out of position at the 4. Against the Lakers, in his only time at the 3 all year, Bjelica went for 24 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block.

Playing Lavine at the 2 bumps Wiggins to the 3 which bumps Bjelica to the 4 which in theory bumps Towns to the 5. The Wiggins 2/Bjelica 3 length and strength advantage is negated and instead they get pushed around at every position 2-5. Here’s an idea - when we have an advantage use it – that’s what winning is all about. Don’t turn an advantage into a disadvantage – that’s what losing is all about.

And the Wolves are all about losing – and it’s on the coach. The first order of business is to fill out the line-up card properly – after that we can talk strategy. I don’t want to hear about work ethic or mind set and all the other baloney. The coach is undermining this team from the get go. How long do we have put up with this? How many more times do we have to get manhandled because the coach won’t put his players in a position to succeed?