The questions surrounding Andrew Wiggins are abundant: Is he really the next LeBron? Did the Cavs make a mistake by trading him? Can he turn things around for the Timberwolves?
We won’t have real answers to those questions for a while, as Wiggins has a whole career ahead him to live up to being the number one pick in a coveted NBA draft class. However, the kid from “The Six” did show us a few things in his first nationally broadcasted game against the Dwight Howard, James Harden and the rest of the Houston Rockets crew last night. Just what did learn from our first time watching Wiggins in primetime? Hit the arrows above to find out.
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Wiggins Is Fearless
The only factor people knocked Andrew Wiggins about before the draft was the one thing that’s kind of hard to measure: his heart. His athleticism is through the roof but reaching superstar status won’t happen if your can’t combine god given skills with that inner killer instinct. Last night, facing off against arguably the best shooting guard in the game, Wiggins attacked him with no-fucks-to-be-found.
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Shaq used to say NBA was just short for No Boys Allowed. Looks like Wiggins had a talk with the legendary center before this game, because he played like a grown man. With that said…
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He’s Not Quite “There” Yet
Not that scoring on Dwight Howard is easy and it’s great that Wiggins didn’t shy away from challenging him, but he’s going to need a few more years in the weight room before he can challenge NBA sized big men at the rim—especially the likes of Dwight. The Rockets big man tossed Wiggins’ shots away like an A&R would a struggle mixtape handed to him in the streets. One day, Wiggs. You’ll catch them bodies at the rim one day. Just not yet.
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Minnesota’s Making The Right Moves
Whether the calculated move of Kevin Love for Andrew Wiggins works out for Cleveland this year or not remains to be seen. But it’s already proving to be the best move Minnesota could have made for the franchise. Love might be the best power forward in the league, but that doesn’t mean he was the best fit for the pieces around him. Everyone on the roster is built to run, from young guards Ricky Rubio and Shabazz Muhammad, to fellow rookie Zach LaVine, the best options for the T’Wolves right now all involve playing at fast pace. Speaking of Zach LaVine…
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The Combo Of Andrew Wiggins And Zach LaVine Is What Hoop Dreams Are Made Of
Without getting all technical and spiting too many stats, we’ll use a throwback thursday type of analogy here: remember when Vince Carter and Tracy Mcgrady were on the Toronto Raptors together back in the early 2000’s? This pairing could be a 2014-and-beyond version. High flying, run-and-gun, freak athletes that like to dunk, score and make spectacular plays on defense. They’re too young to win right now, but NBA fans should be excited about watching these two get busy on the ball court for years to come.
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Wiggins Is Way More Dynamic Than We Thought
Potential and ceiling are words that thrown around for young players that are usually unpolished but “could” be good if they learn the game. While Wiggins does have a long road to greatness ahead, he has way more tools than originally thought. He’s not just a kid that jump higher than everyone. He has all-world timing, great defensive awareness and has more range on his jump shot than we initially thought.