Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
If you’ve been paying close attention to the NBA lately, you’ll have noticed that Andrew Wiggins is having quite an incredible month for a 19-year-old rookie. Although some of the criticism and comparisons for him through the first 30 games of his season were incredibly unfair, there has been a noticeable improvement from him lately, a stretch that has seem him produce at an All-Star calibre level.
Since December 23rd, Wiggins is averaging 21.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. More impressively, he’s doing it while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 45.9 percent from three, culminating in a True Shooting Percentage of 58.9. To provide context for those numbers: he’s still 19 years old, is on an incredibly awful team that ranks dead last in the Western Conference, and is currently playing alongside a group of players that won’t necessarily make the life of a budding rookie easier. To add to that — and perhaps most often overlooked — Wiggins is doing so while playing very solid defense, which is one of the hardest transitions for young players.
There’s a lot more at play than simply Wiggins figuring it all out, however. Flip Saunders is beginning to learn how to use his rookie phenom more effectively. As a recent alum of the University of Kansas, I spent much of last year hoping that Bill Self would adjust his offense (that heavily relies on swinging the ball and feeding the post) to put Wiggins in more advantageous positions given his unique skill-set. Very rarely was he given much room to operate in Self’s offense in pick-and-rolls or isolation situations. Frequently, when he decided to drive, he had to do it by himself and often right into Kansas’ post players. The NBA game has given Wiggins a lot more space, and Saunders is more actively looking for ways to put Wiggins in scoring positions.
Here are a few plays the Timberwolves run to accomplish that.
Apr 9, 2013; Augusta, GA, USA; Bubba Watson (left) laughs with Scott Piercy on the 2nd green during a practice round for the 2013 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
Mo Williams gets the ball to Thad Young up top and immediately sets a screen on Wiggins’ man, allowing him to curl off, catch, and explode to the rim for the dunk. It’s not a very complicated play, but often all Wiggins needs to beat the defense is a tiny bit of space generated off a screen.
Another play the Timberwolves have been running for lately:
Apr 9, 2013; Augusta, GA, USA; Phil Mickelson walks from the 18th tee during a practice round for the 2013 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2013; Augusta, GA, USA; Phil Mickelson on the 2nd green during a practice round for the 2013 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
Again, not a super complicated set play, just some maneuvering to get Wiggins an open look. Williams comes down the court, hands off to Wiggins while fellow Canadian Anthony Bennett comes over to set the screen on Wiggins’ man, freeing him up for a three. Getting these looks has been great for Wiggins lately, as he’s actually shooting the ball much better than most anticipated, making 29 of his 70 threes so far (41.4 percent). If anything, he should be looking for more threes and less of the long twos, particularly of the one dribble step-back variety.
The third play features everyone’s favorite basketball player from Senegal, Gorgui Dieng!
Apr 11, 2013; Augusta, GA, USA; A course official inserts the name plates for Arnold Palmer , Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus before their ceremonial tee shots to begin the first round of the 2013 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
You’ve probably noticed a theme of screens to get Wiggins room to operate. Mo Williams and Anthony Bennett bluff a pick-and-roll up top while Wiggins starts to sprint across the baseline. As he does, Dieng comes over and sets a wide screen to stop Wiggins’ man from contesting the jumper. Dieng’s defender doesn’t figure out what’s happening quickly enough, and Wiggins buries the long two.
On defense, Wiggins usually guards the opponent’s best wing player and in some cases even the point guard if it’s someone like Chris Paul. He has had some issues on screens, but for the most part he is extremely adept on that end for a rookie. His length alone allows him to contest shots incredibly well. On Saturday night, he blocked three jumpers because of this.
Apr 11, 2013; Augusta, GA, USA; Gary Player (left) shakes hands with Jack Nicklaus (middle) after hitting a ceremonial tee shot as Arnold Palmer (right) looks on before the first round of the 2013 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Not only is Wiggins seemingly improving each day on both ends of the floor but Minnesota’s coaching staff and roster is doing a good job of figuring out ways to put him in position to be successful on offense. From the outside looking in, Flip Saunders deserves a lot of credit for Wiggins’ recent surge in productivity. The young forward is a stud after all, and he’s well on the track to stardom.