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Tag: Andrew Wiggins

Andy Liu on Warriors’ 2023-24: “This Thing Is Tenuous”

October 1, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Golden State acquired the 38-year-old point guard in a deal that sent Jordan Poole, draft picks and a couple others to the Wizards (@Warriors/X).

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Creator and co-host of the Light Years podcast Andy Liu is back yet again, and for a record ninth time, no less. His task this time? Helping Aaron preview the Golden State Warriors as they attempt to bounce back from a 44-38 campaign, which saw them finish just six games ahead of the 11th-place Jazz and ultimately fall to the Lakers in the second round. Andy and Aaron discuss last season’s challenges, summer acquisition Chris Paul’s fit, Draymond Green’s leadership, Andrew Wiggins’ value and Klay Thompson’s future, among other timely topics.

7:31-8:39: “They tried to downplay it. They tried to make it seem like they would get through it. But that was the punch that ruined the season. It ruined Draymond Green’s standing as a leader. Nobody respected him or wanted to listen to him after that. … It wasn’t 100% Draymond Green’s fault, but any time something happens that’s like that, you end up not having the same voice you did if you’re Draymond Green. And I don’t think he’s had the same voice for a while now. … I think it just makes things very, very difficult for him to be that guy for this team. I think it works if you’re Steph and Klay. It doesn’t work if you’re Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga and some of these younger guys who don’t necessarily want to hear it from him.”

17:35-17:47: “Steve’s Kerr biggest job this season is to find a way to get Chris Paul to buy in on coming off the bench. Because if Steve Kerr can’t do that…this team is cooked.” Continue reading

Andy Liu: “More Mature” Warriors “Come at You Without Shooting 3s”

May 22, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Now the veteran leaders on the team, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have led Golden State back to the Western Conference finals with a different approach than years past (@Warriors/Instagram).

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After two seasons of missing the playoffs, the Golden State Warriors are back on the main stage, making their sixth Western Conference finals appearance in the last eight years. Ahead of Sunday night’s Game 3, they find themselves with a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks and are poised to make their return to the NBA Finals. Joining us for a record fifth episode is Andy Liu of the Light Years podcast, who never fails to bring both knowledge and passion when talking about the Warriors.

2:37-3:58: “In those comebacks, it was the defense that was great, but the Warriors rained 3s. It would just be left, right, Steph, Klay, Steph, Klay. And they would just do it repeatedly until they beat the other team into submission, and that’s not what it was last night. It really wasn’t. It was a lot of defense, of course…but it was just getting to the bucket. And I think a lot of that is Steph, Klay and (Jordan) Poole figuring out, like, ‘Hey, we’re great shooters, but that’s not our first option anymore.’ That’s different from what we’ve seen with the Warriors. Is it better? Maybe. It’s not as fun. The comeback is great, but everybody always wants to see Steph go dribble, dribble, dribble, step-back 3, but I think those are less sustainable in the postseason. It’s pretty cool to see a more experienced championship pedigree Warriors team kind of come back this way. It felt like more classic basketball versus the Warriors basketball that we’ve seen for a long time.”

6:13-6:38: “Luka Doncic is a traffic cone. Luka Doncic is amazing. He was damn near LeBron-like on offense Friday night with the way that he was making 3s and getting to the hole. But he doesn’t hold LeBron’s jock on defense. And he’s absolutely terrible. Andrew Wiggins was going at him, Steph was driving right by him, and this Dallas team is exhausted. They go seven guys, they have like two, three good defenders – none of them great – and the Warriors know that.” Continue reading

Andy Liu on Warriors: “It’s Safe Now to Love Steph” Curry

November 3, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Stephen Curry leads the league in points per game and 3-point field goals. Could a third MVP award be in his future (Instagram/@warriors)?


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The Golden State Warriors have made their triumphant return to the upper echelon of the Western Conference behind an MVP-caliber start to the season from their star, Steph Curry. On this episode, Andy Liu of the Light Years podcast has made a similarly triumphant return to this podcast to discuss his expectations for the team this season.

2:55-4:16: “I think they could make the Western Conference finals. I think that’s their upside, and, you know, when you’re in that one series to get into the NBA Finals, anything can happen, especially if you have Steph Curry. … I think the worst-case scenario is just Steph Curry being hurt and if that happens, I mean, all right, here comes another lottery pick, right? But other than that, I think this team is bare minimum what that team was last season. They’re an eighth seed, seventh seed at the very least.”

5:06-4:30: “The amount of love Steph got when the Warriors went 15-5 at the end of last season with no chance of actually winning anything, it was incredible. It felt like everybody loved him, and he never got that same love when he was winning titles. … Steph is not a different player than he was in 2018 when they beat the Cavs. … He’s the same guy, but because the Warriors in the last few seasons, especially the last one, didn’t have a chance to win a championship, I think people are coming out the woodwork and saying, ‘All right, it’s safe now to love Steph.'”

Continue reading

Bill Bohl: “Everything Makes More Sense When [Jimmy Butler’s] on the Court”

February 13, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Under coach Tom Thibodeau again, Jimmy Butler is leading the league in minutes per game in his first season with the Timberwolves (Catherine Salaun/Creative Commons).

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A little more than six months after our latest Timberwolves-themed episode, things are looking pretty good for the team currently fourth in the West. Aaron checked in with Billy Bohl, writer for ESPN True Hoop’s A Wolf Among Wolves to discuss a slew of topics, including but not limited to coach Tom Thibodeau’s minutes allocation, 22-year-old phenoms Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, and Jimmy Butler’s multifaceted impact on the organization’s success. Feel free to wolf down some highlighted sections below:

10:00-10:51: “I think it [the third seed] is preferable [to the fourth seed]. But again, you don’t want to look too far ahead…I wouldn’t want to face Russell Westbrook in a playoff series. Right now if they were the third seed, the Thunder would be the sixth seed. No disrespect to them obviously [but] I would much rather face Portland in the first round. It’s hard to decipher just which route you’d want to take. To be perfectly frank, I don’t think they’d have a chance against Houston either. I think they’d be in big trouble in the second round no matter which of those two teams [Houston or Golden State] they faced.”

15:05-15:56: “The Wolves aren’t terribly deep, especially on the wing, and they need Karl-Anthony Towns to be on court when Jimmy Butler is sitting. So they have to stagger those minutes, and that ends up driving up Karl’s minutes a bunch. I don’t worry about it too much as far as Wiggins or Towns is concerned. The part that troubles me a little: I try to be as optimistic as I can, but Jimmy Butler has already had a couple little tweaks to his knee this season. Continue reading

Ward-Henninger (Western Conference Preview): OKC Has “Operation Shutdown Potential”

October 16, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Russell Westbrook will be looking to follow up on his MVP season alongside the Thunder’s two high-profile offseason acquisitions, but guest Colin Ward-Henninger foresees chemistry challenges ahead (Keith Allison/Flickr).

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Colin Ward-Henninger of CBSSports.com helps preview the talent-loaded Western Conference after an action-packed offseason replete with key player movement.

8:54-9:52: “Paul George actually had a higher usage rate and more touches than Melo last year, and we all know what Russ [Westbrook] does on the court. And he had a hard enough time playing with Durant, and then when Durant left, we saw the madness that happened last year with just the NBA record usage rate of like 40 percent or something like that, which is insane, and it’s hard to just turn that off. I think it’s going to take a while…I think it’s going to be very difficult. I think that Paul George is going to have the hardest time adjusting, because I think he’s going to be the one who’s expected to take fewer shots. Melo, we hope at this stage in his career understands that he’s not the No. 1 guy or even the No. 2 guy in this case, but you never know. And these are two guys that can opt out of their contracts, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. So if they get 20 games into the season and they don’t like playing with Russ, there’s some Operation Shutdown potential there.” Continue reading

Tim Faklis: Timberwolves Primed for Playoffs as 5 or 6 Seed

August 4, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Andrew Wiggins, just 22, has been mentioned in Kyrie Irving trade rumors, but Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor says he wants him in town for the long haul (Jose Garcia/Creative Commons).

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The Minnesota Timberwolves have missed the playoffs in each of the past 13 seasons, while finishing with more losses than wins over the last 12. However, the tide is about to turn, according to our guest, Tim Faklis, who contributes to A Wolf Among Wolves, Wolves Wired and FanSided’s The Step Back. He argues that the team’s active offseason, highlighted by the blockbuster trade with Chicago that landed Jimmy Butler, has placed it firmly in win-now mode. Tim touches upon a wide assortment of topics, including the Timberwolves’ expected improvement and whether or not they should try to trade for the Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving. Let’s see if these excerpts leave you howling at the moon:

3:20-4:02: “He [Butler] is not a dynamite perimeter shooter, but pretty much every other aspect of his game is something that they’ve missed, especially defensively. They were the worst defensive team in the NBA by a lot of measures last year. And Butler brings in that defensive toughness that [coach Tom] Thibodeau’s been looking for since he joined the team really… I think part of Thibodeau’s plan is to have Butler teach the both of them [Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins], especially Wiggins, how to work on that end.”

12:02-12:39: “Jeff Teague has been up and down from season to season in terms of his 3-point shooting. The hope is that he’ll be up in Minnesota with guys like Butler, guys like Wiggins, guys like Towns there to initiate most of the offense and him just to kind of bring the ball up and then play. Continue reading

Patrick Fenelon: “There’s Nothing Wrong With (the Timberwolves’) Offense Right Now”

November 12, 2016 / / 0 Comments
Through seven games, the 21-year-old forward is shooting north of 63 percent from 3-point range (Erik Drost/Creative Commons).

Through seven games, 21-year-old Canadian Andrew Wiggins is shooting north of 63 percent from 3-point range (Erik Drost/Creative Commons).

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The 2-5 Minnesota Timberwolves may be on the cusp of something very promising, but they’re awfully young. Under new head coach and president Tom Thibodeau, that inexperience has likely already contributed to three losses by a combined 10 points. Close losses notwithstanding, the offense, led by Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns, all 21 years old or younger, has been electric, as has the 3-point shooting in particular. Timberwolves expert Patrick Fenelon was gracious enough to join the show to discuss these three phenoms, the prospect of Minnesota improving its team defense, rookie point guard Kris Dunn’s strengths and weaknesses, and a whole lot more. Get teased with some excerpts below:

2:53 – 3:21: Fenelon begins by explaining what has been causing the Timberwolves to blow leads in the third quarter of games: “You wonder if it’s just a weird quirk of youth thinking that they can just sit back and play prevent defense. It’s just a layup line really is what happens in that third quarter. If you look at shot charts, you’ll see that one guy is coming in there and getting layups over and over again. They just stop playing defense. And then turnovers happen.”  Continue reading

Previewing the 2016-17 NBA Season With James Herbert

October 19, 2016 / / 0 Comments
James Herbert

James Herbert picked the rise of the Utah Jazz as his most compelling storyline of the NBA season (sixersphotos/Flickr).

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On this episode, James Herbert, NBA writer at CBSSports.com, joins the show to run through the most compelling storylines for the fast approaching 2016-17 NBA season. After an offseason filled with ample player movement and coaching changes, James helps us navigate the new landscape of the NBA, including which teams he thinks improved their chances and which he believes regressed. He also opines on possible breakout players, gives his season award predictions and offers his thoughts on the increasing social activism among NBA players and in professional sports in general.

1:40-4:38 Herbert is very high on the Utah Jazz’s prospects for the season. Here’s a taste:

“I just think they’re gonna be a monster this year. I think a lot of people really expected them to be that breakout team last year — some thought it would even happen the year before, they’d make it to the playoffs — but I think this is really the year that it’s going to happen. They should have been a playoff team last year. They just barely missed out, and that was when they didn’t really have a point guard for the whole season…so I’m a bit more bullish on them than I think even most NBA hipsters are…I think they’re seen as this big team, this enormous team that plays power basketball because of [Derrick] Favors and [Rudy] Gobert, but they can put Trey Lyles and Boris Diaw there as their frontcourt with their bench unit, and they can match up with small teams too. I think it’s really about versatility in the modern NBA, not just going small, and the Jazz have the pieces to play pretty much any way.”

11:03-11:50 Like many analysts, Herbert sees a significant drop-off after the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. Here’s what he had to say concerning the near-inevitability of another Cavs-Warriors Finals: Continue reading

Steve McPherson: Timberwolves “Very Concerned About Developing Their Young Talent”

April 7, 2016 / / 0 Comments
After winning Rookie of the Year last season, Andrew Wiggins is still making great improvements to his game to try to reach his sky high ceiling. (Erik Drost/Flickr)

After winning Rookie of the Year last season, Andrew Wiggins is still making great improvements to his game to try to reach his sky high ceiling. (Erik Drost/Flickr)

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On the heels of Minnesota’s exhilarating, nationally televised upset of the mighty Warriors, Steve McPherson (Rolling Stone, Hardwood Paroxysm and A Wolf Among Wolves, among other outlets) drops by to talk about the young Timberwolves and why their future is so bright. The conversation spans from Karl-Anthony Towns’ many talents to Flip Saunders’ grand legacy and virtually everywhere in between. Some of the show’s highlights can be found below:

3:45 – 4:05 on Karl-Anthony Towns’ many skills:

“You see how difficult of a matchup Towns is going to be for years. You see him both stepping out to defend Steph Curry and shutting him down on a possession, which is amazing for a guy who is 7 feet tall, and then also being a threat on the other end, both shooting and closer to the basket.”

9:45 – 10:35 on Andrew Wiggins’ development in Minnesota:

“They are still trying to figure out what Wiggins can do…The Wolves are very conscientiously showing him different things to see what he can do on the court…They want to give him the ball in a way that he gets to see the court a bunch of times a game and then makes decisions, and then they can see how he deals with that and what he has to work on.”

Continue reading

Elfrid Payton, HinkieBall and the Cheating Fan

October 17, 2015 / / 0 Comments
(Jose Garcia/Creative Commons)

(Jose Garcia/Creative Commons)

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On the debut of OTNB’s three banter segments (the A-A-Ron Block, LLC Incorporated and the J-Spot), the co-hosts react to the Warriors-Clippers media beef and opine on Jamal Crawford’s fit with the Clippers’ retooled roster. Later, the panel praises Elfrid Payton’s dynamic young game, as it includes Orlando as a potential surprise team this season. The Stifle Tower, Rudy Gobert, gets some serious love on the show, and the merits of Sam Hinkie’s radical approach to team-building are debated. Finally, if you were going to cheat on your favorite NBA team, with which squad would it be? Loren and Aaron provide interesting answers.

Music: “Who Likes to Party” by Kevin MacLeod 
Introduction by Jonathan Santiago

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