SAN FRANCISCO — Everything about February 2022 should have been arguably the best month of Andrew Wiggins’ NBA career. Now feeling like he has found a home here in San Francisco, Wiggins was named All-Star for the first time in his third season with the Warriors and second full season. Not only was he named an All-Star, he was named a starter.
In the city that first taught him the craft of basketball, he sent him from Cleveland to Minnesota after becoming No. 1 for the Cavaliers in the 2014 draft. Wiggins played 15 minutes and scored 10 points for Team Durant, while Steph Curry stole the show and Wiggins loved every second.
That was a bright spot in what was a mostly cloudy and questionable month for Wiggins as they head into the long run of the regular season. Sunday night’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks was a perfect example.
Wiggins, like the rest of the Warriors’ offense, was rolling in the first quarter. He even looked like their best player to start the game, and the numbers back it up. He scored 11 points in the first frame, went 4-for-5 from the field, made both of his 3-point attempts, had two assists and two steals and was a plus-13.
He also missed two of his three free throws when he made a mistake on a three-point attempt, an ugly trend all month.
“He’ll be fine, he’s always been a good free-throw shooter,” said Steve Kerr after the Warriors loss. “He’s in a bit of a rut, it’s happening. He’s working hard on it. It hit him a little bit tonight, but he’ll bounce back.”
This is nothing new for Wiggins though and his aggressiveness took a bad turn after his free throw problems after that hot first quarter. Wiggins didn’t make another free throw until the fourth quarter with 6:14 left and he missed one of his two attempts. That night, Wiggins went 2-for-5 from the charity line.
He was also a completely different player in the last three quarters, showing signs of his Minnesota days that the Warriors hoped were a thing of the past. Wiggins made none of his four 3-point attempts, went 3-for-9 from the field, grabbed only two rebounds, had no other assist or steal, went out on dirt and scored just seven more points.
The fact is, Wiggins has never been a knockdown shooter from the free-throw line. He’s now a 72.5 percent shooter for his career on the line, but it won’t be as bad as this month.
Wiggins attempted just 17 free throws in nine February games, averaging less than two free throws per game. He made just seven, accounting for a low 41.2 percent. Wiggins scored 73.5 percent of his free throws in November. That number fell to 64 percent in December, 60 percent in January and barely exceeded 40 percent this month.
Overall, Wiggins scored just 13.8 points per game in February, by far his lowest of all months this season. His percentage of 41.9 field goals was his worst of all months this season, as was his 49.8 true shooting percentage and 101 attacking score of 101 per 100 possession. He shot 36.5 percent from deep, which is 0.5 percent better than in November.
The last time he scored at least 20 points was on January 31, the entire month of February without doing so.
It wasn’t just the attacking side of the ball.
Wiggins averaged just 3.4 rebounds in February and had a defensive rating of 114 per 100 possession. Both were the worst of all months this season.
Sunday night’s epic collapse of blowing up a 21-point lead came without Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and James Wiseman. No one has missed Green’s absence more than Wiggins.
Draymond missed his 23rd game in a row on Sunday night with a back injury, if you factor in the seven seconds he played in Thompson’s return. Wiggins has averaged 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds since Green went down, shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 38.3 percent on three-pointers. Those numbers also fell markedly in February.
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When the Warriors brought Wiggins on board, it was certainly with Steph, Klay and Draymond in mind. It didn’t fit as No. 1 or No. 2, but as a piece full of talent on both sides, which could be emphasized to the maximum in a perfect situation. That was Golden State for the most part, especially with a healthy squad.
The Warriors don’t need Wiggins to be a star. They were delighted when he was announced as an All-Star starter, an honor he deserved. He now has 22 regular season games left to prove once again that this is true.
He just can’t be Harrison Barnes in the 2016 playoffs, especially when the game slows and tightens in the postseason. Which Wiggins will we see when it matters most? The Warriors have faith in him, but it must be a question in the back of their minds when it comes to a player who didn’t really do it when he was in the playoffs.
Lucky for him, his next test comes Tuesday with another month against the team he loves most: his former franchise, the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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