Minnesota Timberwolves: Player grades for first quarter of the season

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 31: Derrick Rose #25 of the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 31: Derrick Rose #25 of the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
2 of 10
Minnesota Timberwolves, Andrew Wiggins
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 21: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Andrew Wiggins – Player Grade C+

While most fans and analysts would probably grade Andrew Wiggins much lower than a C+, I cannot do that with a clear conscious.

Wiggins’ has played like one of the worst max contract athletes in the history of sports over the past few games, shooting 8-37 from the field and even going 0-12 for zero points in his outing against the Chicago Bulls.

Moreover, Wiggins’ hasn’t played a single minute in the fourth quarter of the past two games against the Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the Wolves winning streak sitting at 3 games, something has to be going right, right..?

The good news is that Wiggins has played close to 28 minutes a game over the past two wins, so this could be the new way to utilize him, or even off the bench (yes, a max player off the bench).

Now, why am I not worried? Because Wiggins is still the third leading scorer on this team and is a good enough player that we should all look away from seeing the past few games as a new “normal” for Wiggs.

Tom Thibodeau hasn’t schematically figured Wiggins out on the offensive end since the former no. 1 overall pick scored 23 PPG back in 2016, which may seem more like a Thibs problem and less like a Wiggs problem.

Albeit, something needs to be done to get Andrew Wiggins moving in the right direction, and maybe lighting a flame underneath him on the defensive end will make the difference? At least, that seems to be what the Wolves are doing with him.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations