wolfenstein wrote:
I think I had almost posted, then lost, a pretty logically sound post about how Wes always mans up against Kobe and plays very tough, which provides me with hope that he has latent mental toughness that can be cultivated with time.
Every time that I saw Wes go head to head with Kobe last year, in fact, I came away thinking he looks like a #4 pick (albeit a rookie for sure).
In a lot of cases I just don't think he's mentally prepared for the game (same with Darko) and so their self-doubt clicks when things don't go their way immediately.
Thing is that everyone has nights like that (if you play pick up you've had games like that). The key is to do something different to impact the game positively and build your confidence back up. Unless you're Jordan, Kobe, Reggie Miller, or Ray Allen, I don't recommend trying to shoot yourself out of a shooting slump.
In Wes's case, his role was so limited last year that if his confidence was off and his shot wasn't falling he couldn't impact the game. So that's one of the biggest reasons why he tends to be on or off in a game- he's talented but if he was off he just was a negative because he isn't sound defensively and wasn't able to crash boards, move the ball, attack the basket, etc.
This year he's been working on some of those things and while we are definitely in "reclamation phase" with him, I hold out hope over the next few years. Think of him in a similar way to Beasley, only Wes's flaws are much uglier but (I think) much easier to resolve. Whether he will or not resolve them fully is anyone's guess of course.
Honestly he would take a huge leap if he would just play everyone the way he played Kobe last year. I'll be interested to see how well he plays Kobe tonight, if he gets the assignment.
Well yippie, he's going to play well against Kobe. Now if only the Wolves can get him to work out with every other shooting guard in the NBA during the offseason he might be a good player...
In all seriousness, glad you're the optimist Wolfenstein, someone has to be. Just like with Love, I'll be the first to admit I was wrong if he turns it around. I'm willing to get a large sum of money that never happens...
