The Miami Heat have an Andrew Wiggins problem.
This feels like a crazy sentence for me to be writing, especially since his taking a discount on his extension felt like a huge long-term win for a team that needed a 3-and-D wing. However, that was before we realized that Wiggins’ defense and 3-point shooting somehow had an expiration date.
This season, Wiggins has quite possibly been the worst starting forward in the entire NBA, outside of maybe Mikal Bridges. He has the 12th-worst plus-minus of any player who’s appeared in the NBA this season. He’s averaging under nine points a game after averaging over 15 per game last season. And he’s a sub-30 percent 3-point shooter after his jumper turned around over the last few years.
Is it too early to write off Andrew Wiggins?
I really don’t want to write off Wiggins, but the issues appear to be far more than “he’s just not making shots”. His defense has all of a sudden turned sour, despite the fact that his role as a perimeter stopper hasn’t changed. His lack of effort is astounding, granted that applies to much of the Heat’s roster at this point. It just feels like he’s been replaced by a person who looks like him, but doesn’t play like him.
It’s almost unexplainable what has happened to Wiggins. And I sincerely hope that it gets better, because we all know what he’s capable of. He should be a fringe third option who isn’t scared to take open 3s and lock down the best opposing player. Or a player who isn't really scared to take shots at all.
There's been some disconnect so far this season.
Clearly, head coach Erik Spoelstra has noticed, because his minutes have already ticked down to only 26 per game so far this season. That does have a little bit to do with there being a few blowouts so far this season, but even in the game against the Golden State Warriors, Wiggins saw nine fewer minutes than Ryan Conwell, who was widely expected to play very little, if at all. Even worse, Conwell vastly outplayed him and showed far more effort.
However, how far can Wiggins really fall? I don’t think he’s going to get benched, mainly because the Heat don’t really have anyone consistently better than him, but guys under him are going to get more opportunities quickly. The aforementioned Conwell is one of them, amongst other guards/forwards who’ve gotten playing time, like Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson (who could very well be starting soon).
If Wiggins can’t turn it around soon, his contract that was previously seen as a discount could be one of the worst in the NBA. It’s unfathomable that it’s gotten this far, but that’s the territory we’re approaching.
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