Kurtenbach: Andrew Wiggins has become the Warriors’ second-most-valuable
player. Golden State’s loss to the Pacers proved it
Golden State Warriors: The Dubs' poor performance against the Pacers
showed just how valuable Andrew Wiggins is on both offense and defense.
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 23: Golden State Warriors’ Andrew
Wiggins (22) reacts after scoring a three-pint basket against the Los
Angeles Clippers in the second quarter of their NBA game at Chase Center
in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. (Ray Chavez/Bay
Area News Group)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: December 6, 2022 at 4:20 a.m. | UPDATED: December 6, 2022 at
7:56 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/12/06/kurtenbach-andrew-wiggins-has-become-the-warriors-second-most-valuable-player-golden-states-loss-to-the-pacers-proved-it/

The Warriors inhabited an alternate universe Monday night — one where
Andrew Wiggins never became a Warrior.

It’s not one the Dubs want to revisit anytime soon, because it included
a brand of basketball that was in no way championship-caliber.

Wiggins missed Monday’s game against the Pacers with an adductor injury.
It was the first game he missed for non-load-management purposes and
only the seventh game he’s missed because he was, in fact, unable to
play, in the last two seasons.

And without Wiggins — the Dubs’ steadiest player next to Steph Curry
this season — in the lineup, Golden State seemed… off.

Wiggins truly is the team’s linchpin. His absence Monday proved it.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 26: Golden State Warriors'
Andrew Wiggins (22) participates during a practice session at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, September 26, 2022. (Jose
Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

Of course, there are plenty of other reasons why the Warriors started
and finished the game sluggish, but as the Dubs pulled back into the
contest after an early lull, and Indiana — a team without its two best
players in the lineup — kept countering, it became clear how valuable
Wiggins is to the Golden State’s winning formula.

Wiggins is rarely a flashy player, but his competence and steadiness as
a defender and scorer were sorely missing against a Pacers team that had
no business beating the defending champions the way they did Monday.

The Dubs’ biggest issue? They couldn’t defend the perimeter without Wiggins.

Do you know who Andrew Nembhard is?

It’s OK to admit that you don’t — or, at least that you didn’t know him
before Monday’s game.

The Warriors’ lax perimeter defense made the Pacers’ second-round rookie
look like the second coming of Kyrie Irving. (The version of Irving
before this algorithmic poisoning.)

Going into Monday’s game, Nembhard’s career-high in points was 16.

He scored 31 Monday and dished out 13 assists.

And what’s worse is that he made it seem like old hat. He nearly doubled
his best NBA performance while playing the Warriors at Chase Center, and
there was a general ho-hum to it.

The Warriors’ defense had made it just that easy for him.

>Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) defends against Indiana
Pacers' Andrew Nembhard (2) in the third quarter at the Chase Center in
San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area
News Group)

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Now, Donte DiVincenzo put in a solid defensive shift Monday, but he was
it for perimeter defense against the Pacers. Everyone else — Klay
Thompson, Jonathan Kuminga, Anthony Lamb, Jordan Poole, Steph Curry, and
Moses Moody — was cooked by the 22-year-old Gonzaga and Florida product.

Wiggins is one of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA. It’s not
something that’s talked about often, but it’s true. So forgive me for
thinking the Warriors don’t give up 112 points to a team led by
Nembhard, Jalen Smith, and Buddy Hield if Wiggins is on the court Monday.

And forgive me for being concerned that, without Wiggins, the Warriors
looked so defensively feeble against a bottom-of-the-league roster.

But Wiggins was missed on offense, too.

The Canadian is having a career year shooting, and his ability to score
off the bounce is much needed, especially on a night when Steph Curry
struggled.

Or perhaps, Curry struggled because of Wiggins’ absence.

>Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) heads down court after a
play against the Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Had Wiggins been part of the proceedings Monday, I doubt Curry would
have needed to work so hard to find open looks against a long Indiana
team. I question if the Dubs would have been force-feeding Thompson in
the second half, trying to replicate his strong second quarter, but
instead shooting 3-of-11 from the floor. It almost certainly would have
meant a few fewer possessions where Jordan Poole dribbles the shot clock
down to a handful of seconds, trying to find a shot under the guise that
he’s looking for his teammates for a pass.

The Warriors had their offensive moments when they were able to get out
and run, but in the half-court, they needed Wiggins — a true wing who
can take a few dribbles, rise, fire, and make the shot.

The good news is that the Warriors aren’t terribly concerned about the
injury that kept him out of the lineup Monday. He might even play on
Wednesday in Utah.

But this is the NBA, where outrageousness usually carries the day. And
as we enter the league’s trade-rumor silly season, the Warriors — and
Warriors fans — would be well served to remember Monday’s game.

This guy can’t go anywhere, literally: Because of his new extension, he
cannot be traded this season.

But more than that, Wiggins has made himself downright irreplaceable to
the defending champions. Monday was the clearest evidence of that fact yet.

Not bad for a guy who was once signed what was considered by many to be
the worst contract in the NBA.