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The potential of the Timberwolves’ Andrew Wiggins

By Jarrett Spence

Apr 3, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) looks to pass as Portland Trail Blazers guard Allen Crabbe (23) defends in the second half at Target Center. The Timberwolves won 110-109. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) looks to pass as Portland Trail Blazers guard Allen Crabbe (23) defends in the second half at Target Center. The Timberwolves won 110-109. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports /
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Andrew Wiggins has improved since his rookie season, but he’ll need to continue his upward trajectory on a more rapid pace if the Timberwolves are to make the playoffs any time soon.

Maple Jordan.

Is it about time we realized that Andrew Wiggins has not lived up to this nickname yet? Even though Wiggins is still very young — just 22 years old — and early in his NBA career, he still has a lot of work to do if the Minnesota Timberwolves want to be a better team.

Throughout his first three seasons, Wiggins’ numbers have been very similar across the board, with no particular stat standing out. But we can give him a label: scorer.

His points per game have been improving year after year. He averaged 23.6 points per game during the 2016-17 after averaging 20.7 points per contest from the previous year. He also improved his three-point shooting to 35.6 percent, an improvement from just 30 percent the prior year.

There have certainly been improvements in Wiggins’ game, but not anything that will make him a superstar and put the Minnesota Timberwolves over the hump to becoming a playoff team. Of course, the Wolves have not made the playoffs since 2004 when they made it to the Western Conference Finals — the longest streak of not making the postseason of any team in the NBA.

Something to keep an eye on with Wiggins is his defense; his defensive win shares were a disappointing 0.9, but an improvement from his 0.0 his rookie year. Defense should be an easy improvement under head coach/defensive guru Tom Thibodeau, and there should be more improvement on the horizon in that category.

Thibodeau coached an MVP in Derrick Rose, who led the Chicago Bulls when they were a defensive powerhouse. Thibodeau was criticized by some for playing his stars a ton of minutes, which may have been a factor in his players getting injured (Rose, Loul Deng, and Joakim Noah come to mind). Wiggins was the NBA minutes leader this past season with 3,048 minutes played, an average of 37.2 minutes per game.

Andrew Wiggins needs to up his playmaking and rebounding. He only averaged four rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this previous season and with his athletic ability, he should grab at least seven boards per game.

Additionally, he is the focal point of the Wolves offense, and he needs to facilitate for his teammates. While Ricky Rubio is the main facilitator on offense, it would be a big help if the team’s best all-around scorer can make plays for others. Teams are going to game plan to stop Wiggins every night, so he needs to be able to not just rely on his scoring to help his team win games.

Next: Timberwolves Should Ride With Ricky Rubio

Being a more versatile player is the key for Wiggins to lead his team back to the playoffs — territory not seen since Kevin Garnett took them while having a MVP season. And perhaps Wiggins will have to have a MVP-like season for Minnesota to get there.

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