Golden State Warriors’ key player still isn’t himself even after blowout win

The Golden State Warriors got a 31-point win over the San Antonio Spurs on what was an historic Friday night for the league. 68,323 people celebrated the one-off game at the Alamodome, breaking the NBA record for a single game attendance.

Outside the first-quarter, the game wasn’t really close. The Spurs just couldn’t keep up, and it wasn’t even the stars that were doing the major damage for the Warriors. In fact, in a positive sign for the reigning champions, it was actually the supporting cast who delivered most.

However, one starter, a recent All-Star, didn’t look himself. Not Stephen Curry who played his second game after returning from a shoulder injury, nor Klay Thompson or even Draymond Green.

Golden State Warriors’ forward Andrew Wiggins looked to be struggling against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday in just his third game back from injury.

Andrew Wiggins, currently fifth in All-Star voting among Western Conference frontcourt players, has yet to re-establish his best form, and it’s been noticeable. Sure, his stat line wasn’t terrible as he finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and two assists on the night. If you simply looked at the box score, you’d be mistaken for thinking it was a decent game for the Canadian.

However, anyone watching could evaluate that he still isn’t himself. Wiggins wasn’t quite as aggressive as he usually is — there were several times he settled for contested jump shots, rather than taking advantage of a the mismatch and taking the ball to the rim or finding a better quality shot.

The 27-year-old was 7-for-17 from the field and just 2-for-8 from three. He simply hasn’t been his assertive self, even hesitating on wide-open shots from the corner or wing. Friday was his third game back from an adductor injury, and it was a far cry from his last game prior to injury where he dropped 36 on the Houston Rockets.

It’s difficult to expect him to come back and perform at his best right away, and the injury, or rust from not playing, is definitely affecting him. It’s also important to acknowledge that Wiggins has never been through this before, in his previous eight seasons he’d missed a combined 21 games.

But if the Warriors want to make a push for a higher seed, and create some separation between them and the bottom half of the West, then they’ll need Wiggins back toward his best sooner rather than later.