Losing the first three games of the season, with the schedule not letting up, the Miami Heat find themselves in an early-season free fall.
And especially with the way the first two games have played out, it may not just be Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo who the Heat will need to pull them out of their early-season hole. There's going to have to be another player who must step up to start changing the trajectory of the Heat.
Realistically, that player has to be Andrew Wiggins. With the way the Heat's supporting cast is built, Wiggins may be the only player who can save Miami right now.
Andrew Wiggins has not been the third option that the Heat has needed
Heading into this season, many were bullish on the Heat's chances of emerging as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference, largely because of the team's lack of a consistent third option next to Giannis and Bam.
Despite that natural hesitance, many Heat fans (and likely everyone in the front office) believed that Wiggins could evolve into that role for the team. It's the reason why many Heat fans were higher on their chances than the general public.
Unfortunately, through the first three games of the season, Wiggins hasn't been that player. Coming off a career season, in which he averaged 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists on 41 percent shooting from the 3-point range, Wiggins has had a nightmarish start to this year.
Wiggins is currently averaging just eight points, four rebounds, and one assist per game on 36 percent shooting from the field and 18 percent shooting from the 3-point range. That's just not going to cut it for the Heat.
Andrew Wiggins is an extremely important player for the Heat
Even if the Heat's shooting improves, and if they start looking more crisp and organized in the half-court, they're still going to need Wiggins to be more of the player he was last year than he has been in the first three games.
It hasn't been talked about much, but there's no question that Wiggins' shaky start to the year has made all of the Heat's struggles look that much worse. The Heat's 0-3 start to the year isn't all on Wiggins; far from it.
But Wiggins is extremely important, on both ends of the floor, to what the Heat want to do. If the Heat are going to be successful this season, to the extent that many fans were expecting from them this year, Wiggins has to be better.
The Heat desperately need a 3-and-D wing to help snap this Heat team out of their early slump. Wiggins was supposed to be that player. It's about time he starts playing up to his potential. The Heat need it in the worst way.
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