Andrew Wiggins impresses in Wolves first game

The Minnesota Timberwolves opened up the regular season on the road against the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 18. Sadly, it resulted in a loss… but there was one bright spot and that was Andrew Wiggins.

In the 99-107 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Andrew Wiggins led both teams in scoring with 26-points. Yes, scoring a ton of points doesn’t always result in games being won, but in a game in which there was little to like, Wiggins was surely a big winner.

Defense is still an issue regarding the team and Wiggins, but that will only improve when chemistry is being built. Setting defense aside, there was a lot of things to be impressed about, offensively.

One thing that pops out was his ability to shoot the ball. Wiggins was only second to the Spurs Dejounte Murray in field goal percentage – averaging a nice 64.3 percent from the field. Shooting the ball 14 times, Wiggins was able to connect on nine of those shots.

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A point of emphasis over the summer for Wiggins was his three-point shooting and ball handling. Last night he made it very clear that he has improved drastically. While the sample size was small, it was still nice to see he was able to get his shot going.

He was easily the best shooter from 3-point land in last nights game. Kyle Anderson was 100 percent from 3, but only attempted one shot. Both Wiggins and Jimmy Butler shot it 66.7 percent from 3. However, Wiggins took three more attempts than Butler.

Wiggins was able to go 4-for-6 from 3, making it look easy from beyond the arc. He showed no hesitation or fear offensively. A big talking point when the Wolves traded for Butler was whether or not the spacing on the wings would be okay; if Wiggins can continue to deliver like this, it looks like it won’t be an issue this season.

When watching this video, you can clearly see how good he looked offensively.

During media day Wiggins made it clear that he needs to improve in a certain stat category and that was rebounding.

Last season, he averaged 4.0 rebounds per game. In the regular season opener, he was able to add 5 rebounds. While, i was only one more rebound, it was nice to see him active on the glass. Not only did we see this in last nights game, but we saw him being a lot more aggressive during the preseason.

One last thing that was noticeable in the Wolves first game was Minnesota designing plays for Wiggins to be the go to scorer. This gives both Minnesota and him the confidence to keep playing at a high level. Especially with all the talent surrounding the team, and it being the indication that he would be the third option behind Butler, and Karl-Anthony Towns – Wiggins may have resurfaced the idea that he is Minnesota’s go to scorer.

We did see a lot of this in a lot of close games last season, and of course Wiggins making clutch plays to win games.

If this was any indication, it looks like the Wolves were right to offer him the 5-year/$148 million contract. He appears to be taking steps in the right direction in scoring, shooting percentage, and rebounding.

Next: The day after: Reflections from opening night

Let’s hope he continues to play at a high level, and gives the Wolves their first win in their first game back at the Target Center.