Wiggins: "League's in Trouble" When Klay's Back
Last night, the Warriors beat the third-best team in their conference, the Utah Jazz, despite giving up a 41-point third quarter. The Dubs built a solid lead at the half and almost blew it, but some phenomenal 4th quarter play closed the door on the Jazz. A big part of that win? None other than Andrew Wiggins, who basketball genius Nick Wright called “a bad basketball player”.
Wiggins shot 9-for-19 from the floor, 4-for-6 from three, en-route to a 25-point game. He was going after Joe Ingles all game, putting pressuring from all over the floor. He even drew the double-team that would result in an open Iguodala triple for the win.
After the game, Wiggins (who Steph Curry is currently campaigning to be an all-star), made it clear how the NBA will need to watch out when the Warriors all-star swingman, Klay Thompson, returns:
Klay Thompson is extremely valuable to the Warriors’ success, although it doesn’t seem like they’re struggling too hard without him. With the best record in the league and signature wins over Brooklyn, Utah, twice over Phoenix, and Milwaukee, the Dubs are 5-1 against the other top-5 teams in the NBA. They’re doing all this without a player over 6’9, and without their starting shooting guard.
Wiggins has been a huge part of that, seeing a spike in efficiency since joining Golden State. He’s averaging a career-high in 3-point percentage at 43% as well, likely due to the excess spacing he’s seeing within the Warriors system. He’s taking more assisted shots, and that too will likely increase even with Klay Thompson back. While Thompson may eat into his volume, there’s no question Wiggins will be a beneficiary of the lack of lane-clogging the All-NBA calibre guard brings.
While the two wings have never played with each other save for a few practices now, it’s obvious that they’ve got each other’s back, which speaks volumes to the state of the locker room and the culture even with a few guys who haven’t had the time to mesh.
The Warriors play the Miami Heat tomorrow, and it has been confirmed Klay Thompson will not be rostered for that contest. The most likely time for Klay’s return is January 9th, a home game against the surging Cleveland Cavaliers. We will get to see just how well his scrimmage minutes translate to game situations, and just how dominant the Warriors will be at his return.
(Photo credit: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)