Will Andrew Wiggins regain his 2022 playoff form?

[vagelis]

His free throw shooting form is bad with no arc.
He puts the ball above his head and shoots with 2 moves.

Furthermore his right foot is placed a lot ahead of his left foot.

That is a very wrong shooting form for free throws.
He has to change it. There is no way he shoots with less than his current 60-70% with any other shooting form.

The right way is to place the right foot near left foot and shoot with one motion from eye height.

Why does not anyone try to change this from Warriors staff?

[Crazy-Canuck]

He has no legs right now. I think chasing fox and monk for 7 games took alot out of him. He was starting to strong arm his shots.

[vagelis]

He has no legs right now. I think chasing fox and monk for 7 games took alot out of him. He was starting to strong arm his shots.

I agree that his bad shooting night may be because of tireness.
But his free throws low percentages are for years now and they are because of bad shooting form in my opinion.

[Pooleparty123]

He looked gassed in Game 7. I wonder if its a result of his conditioning (not playing any regular season games for 2 months, then jumping straight into the playoffs). I hope it doesnt become a reoccurring issue the rest of the playoffs

[wco81]

He's going to have to defend a physical Lebron.

May also have to take turns on Schroder to deal with his quickness though maybe GP2 can show improvements in his minutes over the Kings series.

Dlo another potential threat if his pull up 3s are falling. He shot 40% for the Wolves and Lakers this season, on about 7 3PAs per game this season. He shot 37.2% from 3 in the series vs. Memphis on 7.2 attempts per game. He hit three 3-pointers in 3 consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter of game 4 to put the Lakers up 3-1 in the series.

[wco81]

LeBron cooked Wiggins in the first half for 21 points.

But he's still +35 for the game!

I don't think physically he will be the same this season, however much is left of it.

He can get his legs and CV fitness but he still seems lighter than he was last post season, when he had to deal with Luka, who's pretty physical, as well as Tatum and Brown on the Celtics.

Lebron is going to be a big test since Wiggs is giving up weight and strength to him, even before his time off probably cost him some muscle mass and strength.

Gotta lift a lot in the offseason I guess.

[Onus]

LeBron cooked Wiggins in the first half for 21 points.

But he's still +35 for the game!

I don't think physically he will be the same this season, however much is left of it.

He can get his legs and CV fitness but he still seems lighter than he was last post season, when he had to deal with Luka, who's pretty physical, as well as Tatum and Brown on the Celtics.

Lebron is going to be a big test since Wiggs is giving up weight and strength to him, even before his time off probably cost him some muscle mass and strength.

Gotta lift a lot in the offseason I guess.

We’ll live with Lebron hitting jumpers. He’s not doing that all series let alone all game.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Wiggs offense is a bit of a struggle, but his defensive numbers are elite.He needs to start hitting some shots for this team to hit the next level.

He's got a 102 drtg which is the best among players getting 30+ minutes per game who are still in the playoffs. He's also 3rd in total blocks behind AD and Horford.

[Warriorfan]

Wiggins is the difference maker in that he has to guard Lebron and rebound in a small lineup since Looney may have match up problems with AD. Wiggins scoring is a bonus.

[wco81]

He's not rebounding like last season.

Tough to do vs. Lakers but he didn't rebound a lot vs. Sacto.

He drove aggressively a couple of times but on one, Schroder stripped him before he put the ball up.

He had one or two big put back dunks.

Nothing like the dunk he had vs. the Mavs yet.

[KevinMcreynolds]

He looks out of rhythm on offense and not as athletic as usual.

[Impuniti]

He looked gassed in Game 7. I wonder if its a result of his conditioning (not playing any regular season games for 2 months, then jumping straight into the playoffs). I hope it doesnt become a reoccurring issue the rest of the playoffs

Theoretically, his fitness should improve with every series.

[Warriorfan]

Activity is there but shot is off

[vagelis]

Kerr one more time says what he believes for Wiggins.
He says that 4 years now.
But he needed his scoring in order to win the title last year.
I agree with Kerr about regular season Warriors don't want him to score a lot and don't need it.

But in playoffs Warriors need to give shots to someone who is capable to create his own shot, who doesn't make turnovers, doesn't get blocked when he drives in the paint and plays unselfish giving the extra pass when needed.

Warriors were down 12 points before Wiggins went to the bench and then became a blowout in the next 4 minutes.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/warriors-vs-lakers-return-of-playoff-andrew-wiggins-lone-golden-state-bright-spot-from-game-3-drubbing/
"He doesn't have to make a ton of shots for us to win," Kerr said of Wiggins. "But he has to defend and rebound and play with force because he represents a lot of our length and athleticism, and we have to be able to match what the Lakers are putting on the court. So, Wiggs does it."

[vagelis]

As I said Warriors need Wiggins to score in playoffs.
There are many players who can score in regular season if they take the touches and the plays.
But in playoffs with the tough defenses only the very capable scorers can do it.
And Wiggins is a very capable scorer.
If he takes the ball he will score regardless who is guarding him and how tough the defense is.
He is smart with his decisions, plays unselfish too and does not make turnovers.

He is a playoff player who needs the motivation and needs to be feeded in my opinion

[wco81]

I don't know I hold my breath every time he takes that flat jumper.

If he posts or goes to the basket, it's a better outcome, though it's tough with AD hovering, unless they keep pulling him away from the restricted circle.

Even then I would guess that in the next game, AD is going to try to get back into the play if Curry passes the ball from the top of the key and the Warriors rotate towards someone diving to the basket.

[vagelis]

I don't know I hold my breath every time he takes that flat jumper.

If he posts or goes to the basket, it's a better outcome, though it's tough with AD hovering, unless they keep pulling him away from the restricted circle.

Even then I would guess that in the next game, AD is going to try to get back into the play if Curry passes the ball from the top of the key and the Warriors rotate towards someone diving to the basket.

His best tool is driving to the basket.
That's the way he scored for the Timberwolves and averaged 24ppg in a season.

He worked a lot in other aspects of the game with the Warriors in order to fit and provide what his team asks for him.
But I think the team has to utilize his best tool too.
Give him some screens and let him drive, noone can block him when he drives to the basket.

[Crazy-Canuck]

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Maybe it is indeed a lack of trust in wiggin by kerr and the core 3.

But then they go to it alot in game 5? Steph also mentioned that they don't try to get wiggs the ball enough in his post presser after this game.

Game 6 will be interesting. There's a good chance they abandon the wiggs/steph pnr in favor of more motion to get klay going.

[wco81]

There was one play in the fourth quarter where Wiggins tried to post up Vanderbilt? Why, there's no height advantage there. Not even sure Wiggins could back down Vanderbilt, who's at least as tall.

But instead, Vanderbilt stole the pass and it went the other way for a breakaway dunk.

Cross matchups against 1s and 2s, Wiggins can post. Even then he does the little jump hook and it's flat, not that reliable. Better if he tries to work the dribble and get to the rim for a layup attempt or at least gather himself more for a turnaround jumper ver smaller defenders, though that is the worst option, settling for a jumper on a mismatch.

[GSWFan1994]

I thought yesterday it was his best game of the series. He's been playing well overall too, though not in the same level as last year's playoffs.

Moreover, it seems like Kerr is once again afraid of emphasizing what works well in detriment of running "the system"... same old, same old.