Dein erstes Forum » Wiggins has been up and down on the perimeter defen

Of the things running through Neil Wagners mind when he walked out to bat with New Zealand on 169 for 8, 127 of them would have been about his own bowling. Thats how many short balls he sent down in the 39 overs he bowled in the first innings, and he knew they would be avenged.The 128th thought would have been that he at least did not have to deal with Morne Morkel as well.Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander were back in South Africas attack, but instead of Morkel, who is nursing a back injury, they had Kagiso Rabada as the third prong. As a trio, they offer swing, seam, pace, bounce and all-round relentlessness, which could end up working Morkel out of the mix altogether.Between Steyn and Philander, they found exactly the right lines and lengths to create confusion in the New Zealands batsmens minds. They dropped the ball outside off and then made it swerve away enough to flirt with the edge, or find it. Its like ringing a doorbell and then running away. Every time, the person inside will open the door just in case its not a prank.Even if New Zealand had got used to the trick, they had to cope with the home invasion. Rabada is more than the perfect first change, he is almost like a third opening bowler because he does things with the same intensity. He reaches speeds of 150kph regularly, bends his back to get extra bounce, and he varies his lengths to prevent anyone from settling.It so nice to be back in this space, Steyn said, after the three quicks had shared nine wickets to bowl New Zealand out for 214. Vernon is a phenomenal bowler. He has kept it so tight. To bowl with him, you feel free because you can do whatever you want and he is going to tick over at two runs an over. And then KG, hes bowling 150, he is hitting the deck and getting wickets. its a great partnership at the moment.So much so that the spinner, Dane Piedt, had almost been an afterthought, bowling only seven overs in New Zealands innings.Once Morkel returns to fitness, South Africa could seriously consider a four-pronged pace attack in seamer-friendly conditions. It would be tough on Dane Piedt, who is fast developing into the kind of support spinner that South Africa like having around, but they have alternatives. JP Duminy and Dean Elgar could do holding jobs with the only concern around that selection being what impact it would have on transformation targets.Exactly what these are has not been made public and Russell Domingo had said before the series that he had not received any instructions, but it is understood that CSA have agreed to field six players of colour with at least two black Africans. That number will be calculated over the course of a season, which means there may be times where they can change their dynamics to suit the situation.On lively surfaces, South Africa will be formidable if their strike force includes all four of Steyn, Philander, Rabada and Morkel, and it looks increasingly likely that Morkel will play second fiddle to Rabada, especially if the evidence of the third days play is anything to go on.Rabadas most aggressive spell came against Wagner, who would have known he had it coming, particularly since he has been the source of much needle so far. This was Wagners homecoming and he wanted to make an impact. He hit Hashim Amla and JP Duminy with short balls and got one to whizz past Temba Bavumas ears, but that was nothing on what he did to Rabada, whom he bounced nine times.Although he did not cause any harm, he had breached the unwritten code enough times to know what was coming. He just did not know how much of it he would have to take.Would it be gentle to start with, good length on off stump? Would it be the quicker one that hurried him off his feet and forced him to play? Or would Rabada try to do some real damage immediately?It was a bouncer, pitching on middle and leg, and climbing towards Wagners head. His helmet jittered. Wagner did not.Rabada turned around, expressionless, and did it again. Faster, but not as furious. Wagner could watch it down the leg side and calm down. Until Rabada turned around and slipped in something different but just as dangerous.Faster still, at 149kph, full and tempting. Wagner met it on the full and bottom-edged. Hashim Amla claimed the catch at first slip. It turned out to be a bump ball. Rabada, once again, turned around, expressionless.Four more bouncers had Wagner hopping before Rabada made contact again. This time on the shoulder. Rabada thought he had found bat or at least glove. He was animated, he appealed, and when he was denied he asked for a review. The first replay showed that in his efforts to unsettle Wagner, Rabada had overstepped. It became moot point that the ball clipped the edge of the bat before hitting Wagners shoulder. As soon as Rabada saw he had not got the desired result, he fixed his expression and hurtled in again.The next ball was a yorker, which Wagner again turned into a full toss and punched down the ground. His punishment was over.Steyn bowled the next over, and peppered Wagner again. This time he took the bouncers on, and took 18 off the over. The South African camp was unimpressed, and felt he may have been better served grinding it out in support of Kane Williamson, who was scoring a battling half-century at the other end. He came out and backed away, Steyn said. If he wanted to be more courageous and brave, he would have been 30 off 90 and watched his captain get a hundred rather than take it on.Wagner may want to keep that in mind when he bats again. Then, he may also have to face some spin, with Steyn expecting Piedt to come into the game far more. The spinner will have to come into play and hopefully as the game goes on, there will be a little more for him, he said.There will definitely be more for Wagner. What started as a little pre-match hype about his return to his home ground has turned into some needle over the pronunciation of his Afrikaans surname and, by extension, of everything he does on the field. Things got a little bit heated and a few words were said, Doug Bracewell said. Its always going to happen.There will also definitely be more for South Africas new look attack, with or without Morkel. OG Anunoby Raptors Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. 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MINNEAPOLIS -- At the end of November, Derrick Rose brought his New York Knicks to Target Center, the building Tom Thibodeau now calls home with the Minnesota Timberwolves.Adversaries that night, Thibodeau and Rose spent five years together in Chicago grinding out victories and trying to restore the Bulls as Eastern Conference powers. They had dinners together, talked basketball together and bonded through the ups and downs of Roses MVP award and his knee injuries.So when Rose glanced at the standings and saw Thibodeaus Timberwolves at a lowly 5-13, the point guard knew his former coach, one of the most intense personalities in the NBA, probably wasnt taking it well.Hes probably driving himself crazy, Rose said. A lot of late nights. His staff is probably having a lot of late nights, too. But it all comes with just trying to win. Hes a winner at heart. He wants to win every game. Thats the crazy thing about him. Some games youre going to lose, but hes probably up late nights and driving himself crazy a little bit.It has only gotten worse for the Wolves (6-18) since then, with only the Dallas Mavericks having won fewer games. Heading into a game against the Bulls on Tuesday night, Thibodeaus first game in Chicago since he was fired by the Bulls in an acrimonious split in 2015, he is searching for answers and a way to connect with his new team.Its been a stunning start to Thibodeaus first season in Minnesota after leading the Bulls to the playoffs in all five of his seasons there. During those years, they were never under .500 after the first two weeks of the season, except for in 2013-14 when they started 9-16. They rebounded to finish 48-34 that season.Rose is right. Thibodeau and his staff get to the office early in the morning and often dont leave until well into the night. Its not uncommon for staffers to sleep at the teams practice facility so they can devote more time to film study and game planning.Theres no shortcut to this, Thibodeau said earlier this season. You have to go through it. Its important to maintain high standards. It starts with practice and preparation.Owner Glen Taylor chose Thibodeau over a long line of suitors last summer in hopes that his demanding style would expedite the growth process for a promising young roster and end a 12-year playoff drought.But the Wolves have been slow to catch on to his defensive teachings, ranking 29th out of 30 teams in the league inn defensive efficiency.dddddddddddd.After a 27-point home loss to Detroit on Friday, he said he was very concerned that his team was not responding to his message.Im going to keep coming. I dont go away, he vowed. Im going to look at everything, re-examine. Somethings being missed. Its got to change.Thibodeau has been noticeably less demonstrative on the sideline over the last two weeks than he was early in the season, but the Wolves still tighten up when things start to go wrong, as they did in a 25-4 fourth quarter run by the Warriors on Sunday night.I studied before I took the job so I knew what I was getting into, Thibodeau said. Youre looking at it and I knew we dont have experience. Part of the learning part is the trial and error. We have to go through it. But I also have to make sure were making progress and moving forward. Thats part of my job.Offense hasnt been the issue so far for the Wolves, who are 10th in the league in offensive efficiency. Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine are the first trio of 21-year-olds averaging at least 20 points a game on the same team in NBA history.But Towns, the reigning rookie of the year, has looked disinterested on defense, often getting beaten back down the floor in transition for easy layups. Wiggins has been up and down on the perimeter defensively and sixth-year point guard Ricky Rubio, the teams only real veteran getting significant playing time, has been unable to adapt to Thibodeaus systems.Its not about (Thibodeau). Its about us, LaVine said after the Pistons loss. Were the ones on the court. He puts in the effort. Were not executing.The Bulls hired Fred Hoiberg to replace Thibodeau, a more player-friendly coach that has lightened the atmosphere in Chicago. But they missed the playoffs in his first season and former Bulls star Joakim Noah said in November that You dont realize what you have with (Thibodeau) until hes not around. They are 13-10 and in fifth place in the East this season.It doesnt happen overnight, Thibodeau said. You have to work at it. Theres going to be some good days, some bad days. Thats all part of it. But everyone putting everything they have into each and every day, thats the big thing, so you can make progress, so you can improve, so you can get better, so you can win. ' ' '