Wiggins’ performance against his old squad could be igniter
It was everything the Warriors needed Wednesday night.
It was everything that fans have wanted since Andrew Wiggins arrived.
The Warriors forward was spectacular against the Timberwolves Wednesday, opening the game 10-of-10 from the floor, finishing with 35 points, two game-sealing shots, and two incredible dunks over Minnesota star center Karl-Anthony Towns.
Wiggins was aggressive. He was inspired.
If he could play like that every night, the Warriors would be the title favorites. That was the kind of two-way play from the wing that wins championships.
Alas, it was only a regular-season game, in November, against an overmatched team.
But one can hope. Because that Wiggins could change everything for the Warriors — and things are going pretty good for the 10-1 Dubs right now.
“Andrew was fantastic with the aggression from the beginning of the game. Loved his energy,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We needed everything he brought us tonight. The scoring, the running the floor, getting to the foul line, knocking down 3s — I thought he was tremendous.”
Kerr posited that Wiggins’ big game was a byproduct of him being in shape.
“He had a knee issue to start the year. He was in a minutes restriction for the first 4 or 5 games,” he said.
And if that’s the case, there might be more of this to come in the weeks and months ahead.
“I’m not sure, maybe it affected me a little bit but I’m not using it as an excuse or anything,” Wiggins said of the knee. “I don’t feel like it’s a proper excuse. I wasn’t in a good rhythm, but I’m picking it up now.”
The likely truth is that this is a one-off — a strange confluence of a hot night from a talented player and the engagement that can only come when you play a team that you both know and do not fear.
“Not no revenge game, a well-played game, against a former team. That’s all that was, a competitive game, a fun game,” Wiggins said.
But we saw this kind of play last May when he dropped 38 points against the Phoenix Suns, or his 27-point performance against the Timberwolves a few weeks before that.
It didn’t carry into the play-in tournament.
There was also the 40-point outburst against the Grizzlies in March. Perhaps that sparked those May games, but that’s a stretch.
The point is, we’ve seen these kinds of games before from Wiggins. Well, perhaps not *that* kind of game, but certainly games of a similar ilk.
They don’t last.
Will this be the game that changes something? Will it spark something in the 26-year-old former No. 1 pick?
We can only wait and see.
THE CANADIAN NEEDED LOONEY »
While Wiggins was incredible, and young Anthony Edwards dropped 48 points for the T-Wolves, a good chunk of the show was stolen — or should I say rebounded — by Kevon Looney on Wednesday.
Looney had 17 rebounds, a career high, to go with 11 points, two steals, and a block.
If not for Wiggins’ two incredible dunks on Towns, we’d be saying that it was Looney who owned the underwhelming AllStar big man.
“Feels good. I embraced the physicality,” Looney said after the game.
Towns did not. What’s new?
And when Draymond Green exited Wednesday game with a thigh contusion, Looney’s impact was felt even more.
The center’s stats rarely pop and matchups have not favored him early in the season, but Looney remains a winning player who Kerr believes is hitting this stride.
“That’s one of the toughest matchups in the league,” Kerr said of Looney playing Towns. “For Loon to go out there and battle him and play for 29 minutes… that’s where he is now. He’s healthy again.
“He’s one of those guys you root for, the way he works… he just puts his head down and gets the job done day after day after day.”
THE TRUE VALUE OF ANDRE IGUODALA »
Zero points. Plus-19.
That’s Andre Iguodala in a nutshell.
The Warriors wing has turned back the clock this season, and, like with Looney, his impact was necessary Wednesday after Green exited the game.
Not only is Iguodala still a defensive ace, but his offensive impact was on full display against the Wolves.
And yes, I know I just wrote that he had zero points.
Iguodala does, however, know the Warriors’ offense like we all know our commute home. With Green — the Warriors’ defacto point guard — out of the game, Iguodala took that role and dished out eight assists.
Iguodala would be the perfect Kyle Shanahan quarterback — he executes the plays exactly as they are written on the page.
No fluff, no improvisation. Just execution.
The Warriors would not be where they are so far this season without Iguodala. His impact will be all the more necessary if Green misses more than a game or two.