https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/andrew-wiggins-feeling-more-himself-can-shift-warriors-kings-series

Wiggins feeling more like himself can shift this series

Apr 21, 2023
by Dalton Johnson

SAN FRANCISCO -- Andrew Wiggins, after a two-month break from basketball
games, rocketed out of the gates in his return during the Warriors'
series-opening loss to the Sacramento Kings on April 15, nearly one week
ago.

Wiggins scored six points in the first quarter, followed by another six
in the second to give him 12 at halftime. He gave the Warriors another
five in the third quarter, too. But Wiggins was held scoreless in the
fourth quarter, missing all four of his shots with all four being
3-pointers.

In the Warriors' Game 2 loss Monday night, Wiggins scored 15 of his 22
points in the second half but continued to struggle from deep down the
stretch. Getting over the hump Thursday night and earning their first
win of this first-round playoff series, Wiggins scored 20 points with
ease against the Kings.

His 3-of-6 shooting from long range showed his legs were more under him,
though it was everything else that showed how close he is to being
"Two-Way Wiggs" once more, especially crashing the glass.

Rebounding was a focal point for the Warriors after their Game 1 loss,
and the same can be said after being defeated in Game 2. With Draymond
Green suspended for Game 3 and Gary Payton II being ruled out due to an
illness, that aspect of the game was going to be crucial for the
Warriors to make this a series and get back in the win column.
Advertisement

"I feel like with Draymond out, GP out, everyone had to fill those shoes
together and rebound the ball," Wiggins said Thursday night after the
Warriors' 114-97 win over the Kings. "I feel like that's what's going to
take us over the top is rebounding. And I feel like every game I'm just
getting back to myself, rebounding wise.

"I hope I can keep it going, and keep it going up."

The ultra-athletic 6-foot-7 forward grabbed just three rebounds in Game
1. That number increased to five rebounds in Game 2 and then finally
seven rebounds in the Warriors' Game 3 win. There were shades of the
player that blossomed last playoffs.

Though Wiggins can jump with the best of the them and has a scout's
dream of strength and explosiveness, he never has put up huge rebounding
numbers. He averaged 4.5 rebounds per game in his first All-Star
campaign last season, but then tapped into a different beast in the
playoffs. Wiggins averaged 7.5 rebounds per game throughout the
Warriors' playoff run, and 8.8 in the NBA Finals.

The Warriors were 9-2 in games Wiggins had seven or more rebounds last
year in the playoffs, and are a perfect 1-0 now this time around.

One sequence in particular during the course of the Warriors' 17-point
win Thursday night against the Kings perfectly exemplified what kind of
an impact Wiggins can have on both sides of the ball.

Guarding Kings forward Trey Lyles in the post, Wiggins trailed Lyles'
spin and swatted it away. The ball then found him after being swung from
Steph Curry to Donte DiVincenzo and then back to Wiggins for a 3-pointer
at the top of the arc to give the Warriors a nine-point lead with eight
minutes remaining in the first half.

"That's what's going to fuel us every game," Wiggins said. "We know when
things are not going our way that's something that we should be able to
depend on, the rebounding, the defense, the hard work -- trying to make
the other team uncomfortable."

Staring at possible 0-3 first-round deficit and doing so down two of
their top players, the Warriors out-rebounded the Kings by six (59-53),
had twice as many steals as them (12-6), two more blocks (5-3) and a
15-point advantage from 3-point range by making 16 threes compared to 11
by Sacramento.

Whether it was Curry's 36 points or Kevon Looney's 20 rebounds, there
were plenty of Warriors to pat on the back for their winning efforts.
Wiggins looking more like himself for four quarters, and feeling more
like himself in every part of his game also was a major contributing
factor and can shift the series even more in the Warriors' favor.