Warriors Need More from Wiggins in Second Half

At the start of the season, the Warriors were getting exactly what they needed from Andrew Wiggins.

He had a 10-game stretch in January in which you knew exactly what you were getting out of him each night; from 1/3-1/21, he scored over 16 points in each game while shooting over 40% in each game. His numbers in the month of January as a whole were excellent, as he averaged 17.9 points/game on 50.5% shooting and 40% shooting from three.

February has been a different story, as Wiggins has now been surpassed by Kelly Oubre Jr. as the Warriors best secondary scoring option. Whereas Wiggins started the season strong and has been declining as of late, Oubre has seen the exact opposite happen, going from a dismal opening month to scorching hot play as of late.

Wiggins’ usage has remained constant, as he has averaged exactly 13.8 shots/game during both the months of January and February, but his points are down to 16.1/game and his percentages are down from 44.9% from the field and 27.3% from three.

On the season now, he is down to 16.9 points/game on 46.2% from the field (still a career high) and 34.9% from three (not a career high but above career average). These numbers are fine, and they are probably close to what most people expected when Wiggins came to the Warriors in the first place. However, the Warriors expect more from Wiggins.

Ideally, his month of January would become the norm rather than the exception. Throughout his career, he has statistically been better in the second half of the season. The Warriors hope that Wiggins can regain his early-season form in order to form a solid tandem with Oubre on the wing.