Golden State Warriors: Andrew Wiggins regressing at worst time
By Tony Pesta
What was once shaping up to be the best season of Andrew Wiggins’ career has taken a turn just when the Golden State Warriors needed him most.
Old habits die hard, right? All of the growth Wiggins has shown since joining the Dubs has seemingly disappeared since the All-Star break with the first time star reverting back to many of his same tendencies.
Andrew Wiggins could not have picked a worse time to start regressing as the Golden State Warriors brace for the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
Prior to the break, Wiggins was averaging 17.7 points on 41% 3-point shooting and 48% shooting overall. He was a steady scorer and All-NBA caliber defender, giving the Warriors a unique two-way presence.
Since then, his numbers have dipped to 15.0 points per game on 28.4% 3-point shooting and 40.1% overall. Wiggins has disappeared from the offense and his defensive impact has diminished as well, with the team struggling as a whole.
What happened?
We can attribute some of Wiggins’ slump to the current state of the team. By now, we are well aware that Wiggins is a product of his environment. Surround him with talent and he swims — put too much pressure on him to be a star and he sinks.
The Dubs have been decimated by injuries since January and the loss of Stephen Curry has not helped Wiggins in the slightest. There is a need for Wiggins to be aggressive, something he has never been quite fond of.
Even more, there has been a challenge in finding his place in the offense with the return of Klay Thompson. Wiggins is learning how to play with a new teammate and it hasn’t been easy for either of them, just yet.
Finally, as Wiggins said so himself, shots just aren’t falling. Nothing major has changed about his shot selection in spite of the shifting rotations. Wiggins just can’t buy a bucket right now.
This gives us a reason for optimism. Assuming Curry remains on track to return for the playoffs, Wiggins will be able to reprise his role from earlier in the season and hopefully, knock down a few more shots.