Minnesota Timberwolves: Andrew Wiggins is nobody’s scapegoate

The 2018-19 season hasn’t gone to plan for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but it would hardly be fair to pin it all on Andrew Wiggins, which has become rather popular of late.

Minnesota Timberwolves wing Andrew Wiggins is nobody’s scapegoat.

The Northwest Division is tough. Finishing last in this division isn’t as bad as it might be in almost any other division in the NBA. And that doesn’t even deal with how tough the Western Conference is from top to bottom.

As weary Wolves fans look for answers after another disappointing season, Andrew Wiggins’ continues to surface as one of the easy scapegoats for the Timberwolves as a whole.

Despite his recent jump in numbers, the still-young wing’s season averages sit at 17.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. His career field goal percentage is 44 percent, but he’s shot just 40.5 percent from the field this season. These stats are still respectable, save for his lapses in efficiency, and shouldn’t be considered weak overall.

Of course, 40 losses from the Wolves provide plenty of reasons to shift some of the blame to him.

It’s the rare efficient games from Wiggins, such as his recent 22-point performance on 9-of-15 shooting against Memphis, that make his potential even more exciting, as it shows he is honing his game and making better decisions. Against the Clippers, Wiggins was consistent but suffered through a 9-for-21 night from the field. He also had two steals, three rebounds and three assists.

Wiggins has averaged 19.9 points per game over in the last 10 performances, including 24 points and nine rebounds against the Golden State Warriors. And to top it all off, the Wolves won in overtime. Then, against Philly, he had 24 again and shot 50 percent from the field. Then, he put up 21 points against Portland.

This is the consistent scoring the Wolves need. Wiggins has stepped up while the team’s lone All-Star, Karl-Anthony Towns, has gone through a rare rough patch of late.

Towns will continue to improve next year, of course, and will remain the primary scorer and star for the Wolves, so it is unnecessary to put too much pressure on Wiggins. The latter remains a good second option with awesome athleticism and the ability to shoot the three well enough to keep defenses honest, although his efficiency could always improve.

Sure, it’s been an up-and-down season for Wiggins, but here’s hoping that the 2019-20 campaign has an arrow that’s always pointing in an upwards direction…