Wiggins acts different, and great for Warriors
It was the exact kind of game the Warriors needed from Andrew Wiggins.
It was the exact kind of game that Wiggins has been providing as of late.
It was the kind of game that might begin to change the narrative about the Warriors wing.
Here was the situation: Wiggins was the only player from the Warriors’ best-five lineup to play Friday night against the Pistons. It was on him to lead the way.
And lead the way he did.
He was aggressive, decisive, and all-around effective in the Warriors win over Detroit.
He, along with a nice night from Jordan Poole (32 points), won the Dubs a game they were ready to punt.
That’s no small thing. It, like so many other contests in this early portion of the season, showed serious character from the Dubs.
It also showed that Wiggins, in his third year with the Warriors, is a different player than the one that arrived.
Wiggins’ best game this season came, unsurprisingly, against the Timberwolves. He’s always found another gear (or two) against his former team).
After his 35-point, 74-percent-from-the-floor night, which included a dunk so thunderous it looked out of place from an upper-1-percent athlete, Steph Curry told the media that he was going to send Wiggins a photo of the dunk — which came over Karl AnthonyTowns — before every game. A little motivation. It’s working.
Wiggins has always been a fantastic fit for the Warriors. That was the main reason they added him.
Of course, compared to D’Angelo Russell, I might have been a good fit for the Dubs.
Still, Wiggins is a sturdy on-ball defender and someone who can put the ball on the floor and create his own shot, on occasion. He knows the Dubs’ system and defensively, his versatility is a key component in Golden State playing their best lineup, where Wiggins — a la Harrison Barnes a half-decade ago — slides up to play power forward.
(Of course, the league has become much smaller since Barnes first did that for the Dubs — the “power” has been taken out of the forward position.)
The only knock on the Canadian was that his activity on the offensive end ebbed — if it flowed at all.
When Wiggins was active, the Warriors’ offense went to a new level. Having an athlete like putting the ball on the floor or cutting to the basket creates a lot of problems for a defense.
But him standing in the corner, playing the Kelly Oubre role? That won’t do.
Not if the Warriors want to be title contenders this season.
But lost amid the Dubs’ incredible start to this season — their early-campaign declaration that they are back in the mix — is the fact that Wiggins has been activated far more often this season than in years past.
It’s not plainly obvious every night, but it shows up. Not only in the bigbox-score nights, but also in his activity off-ball on offense.
Wiggins followed that 35-point game against Minnesota with a 28-point night (on 19 shots) against the Hornets and then nice games against the Nets and, Friday night, the Pistons.
He’s hit two-thirds of his shots inside the arc over his last six games. He’s using his insane leaping ability and underrated strength to drive to the rack and finish in ways that few players in the NBA can even imagine.