Andrew Wiggins was motivated this summer by his poor performance in the playoffs as the Heat were swept by Cleveland, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. After shooting 16-of-43 in the series with 11 turnovers, Wiggins was determined to prove that he’s still capable of playing winning basketball, like he did when he helped Golden State capture the NBA title in 2022.
“That definitely wasn’t one of my better series and I did a lot more of everything (on the court) this summer,” he said. “I did everything I did before and more to get to the next level.”
After being traded to the Heat at last year’s deadline, Wiggins has a greater comfort level following a full offseason. His family has joined him in Miami, and he’s used to playing in coach Erik Spoelstra‘s system. Wiggins’ scoring average has declined to 14.5 PPG through the first four games of the season, but he attributes that to being on the court with so many other talented players.
“I play within the flow of the offense, play within the flow of the game, and do whatever I can to help the team win,” he said. “We’ve got Tyler (Herro), an All-Star. You’ve got (Norman Powell), who had a hell of a season last year. Should have been an All-Star last year. But he’s heading towards it this year. We’ve got Bam (Adebayo). Bam’s another All-Star. So we’ve got a lot of guys that can do a lot of special things.”
There’s more from Miami:
- Davion Mitchell, who was acquired in the same trade as Wiggins, has brought stability at point guard, Jackson adds in the same story. He’s among the league’s top 12 players in assist-to-turnover ratio, and his 33 assists in four games are the most by a Heat player to start a season in nearly three decades. “How do you not love playing with a guy like that who wants to get you the ball?” Spoelstra said. “He wants to make sure that it’s delivered on time, on target. And that becomes contagious.”
- Powell is listed as doubtful for Thursday’s game in San Antonio after sitting out Tuesday with right groin soreness. Tyler Herro is still recovering from ankle surgery, but Miami’s up-tempo offense has remained effective without its most explosive scorers, producing 144 points in a win over Charlotte, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “This is probably my first year where we’ve been emphasizing playing this fast, and we’re playing the right way,” Adebayo said. “That’s what I love about it. We’re sharing the game and everybody feels involved.”
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. is also enjoying the new offensive approach and is thriving as an on-ball creator with the bench unit, Chiang states in a separate story. Averaging 18.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, Jaquez’s numbers are up across the board after a disappointing second season. “Getting downhill, we’ve got a lot of guys cutting and moving,” he said. “It creates a lot of space and a lot of opportunity for myself to get into the paint and make a play. Really, this style, it’s been a lot of fun. And that’s the most important thing, we’re having a good time.”
The heat are gonna do something special this year. They had a lot going against the last year, but I like how they are approaching the game. They have a lot of different ways they can play. A very good bench, probably best in the league. This is a strategic team, high IQ quality basketball
There are a lot of special players in the draft they can choose from with their upcoming lottery pick.
Is it possible to get a lottery pick if you’re in the playoffs?
I really do like Bam and Wiggins but there just isn’t enough talent outside of those two to do anything “special”. They may make the playoffs but only because someone besides the Knicks, Magic and Cavs have to.
They made the playoffs last year and this year they are significantly better. Powell is having another all star caliber season. Jaquez is playing great basketball and is clear 6moy right now. Mitchell has significantly improved his court vision. Ware is finally solidifying his game and playing consistently. Jovic consistent from that corner 3. Fonts is the only questionable one, but if he keeps his play up, that’s going to interesting.
At worst, the will lose deep in the 2nd rd. Winning it all would be hard. But getting to the finals is possible. But I’m betting they are in the ecf
Aside from 3 months in 2022, Andrew Wiggins has literally never been anything but a scrub in this league, straight up.
Come on man. Andrew Wiggins is an over-average NBA player. One of the better wing defenders around. Not a star but very solid.
Denied. Aside from those 3 months in 2022 he is not a winner, he is a cancer to winning. Look at Miami once he joined them. He literally plays the same position as Jimmy. Now look at the Dubs with Jim. Exactly. He is a LOT worse than you think. He played great for those 3 months in 2022, no doubt. He was extra mid all season before that though. His entire career has been a failure for the #1 pick with the MJ toolbox. Unfortunately, unlike MJ, he is one of the lowest hoop IQ guys and head cases in the league. MJ was a super on court IQ guy, but Wiggs just makes the worst choice over and over and yet fails upwards. I lowkey hated him on the Warriors and am glad he is gone. He was never supposed to be a big piece anyway. Wiggins has a CAREER 4.2 VORP. Curry has 11 full seasons of more than 4.2 VORP. Stats don’t support your claim, EMS. Just sayin.
Wiggins has won more rings than “Jim”
Has Wiggins led a team to the Finals before? Nope. Steph Curry did.
WOW dude! What did Wiggins do to you?
Be a huge part of why GSW does not have at least two more rings.
Most teams in the NBA are a couple A players and a bunch of c’s and d’s…. the Heat are a roster full of B level players and a couple A- players….. that is a great depth thing but I’m not sure it will win the playoffs when 1-3 players can dominate a series…. then again the Pacers did it just last year haha
Heat need help at the 3/4 or 4/3 defensively. Kel’el Ware was -14 in his 27ish minutes Tuesday night, the Heat are -32 per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor so far; I am at these games; you cant gaslight me on this. Stop telling me his counting stats as though they matter.
You need patience with Ware. He can be very frustrating and has that Ayton-like side to him.
But he has a very high upside and was an excellent pick. Gotta let it play out and see what becomes of him.
-20 in 21 minutes tonight; single handedly losing games. He cant guard anyone…he is not a winner; he plays with little effort as well; not full Hassan Whiteside, but too close for me. It was a clown pick, qnd I am tired of people pretending anything else, especially those that do that, then turn around and try to clown on Bam. Try to spin what Ware did tonight with a straight face. People are legit comparing him to Anthony Davis and Wembanyama, being dead serious. Cmon man…
Hey, I didn’t say that he was Anthony Davis in the making. He can and will frustrate you. He is soft. I watched the game, and he was poor.
It’s not about him leading Miami to great things this season. It’s that he has made plays in the past that few players are capable of; he has had games in which he was very difficult to play against; he has rare athletic gifts and has shown the ability to effectively apply that in games. Rarely, but he did.
For a 15th pick in a weak draft, that’s good.
You can do a little bit of reverse psychology – don’t expect anything to become of him, and if that’s what happens, you won’t be disappointed. And if he develops into something, that’ll be like a pleasant surprise. That’s what I do with Alex Sarr. That guy had such a horrible rookie season. If you put him into any good team and made him a starter, he’d single-handedly ruin the chances of that team winning games. I’m not kidding. NY had 51 wins last season. With Sarr at the 5 and playing the way he played last year, they’d have 30 wins at most.
But he’s showing signs of life now.
Alex Sarr was someone you could actually see guarding people
Drafting a center at 15th overall that cant guard anyone and is a blackhole on offense is a clownshow decision, especially when you have 1 of the best in the league at the 5 already
-38 per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor…-10 with Ware on the floor in general
I watched Hassan Whiteside for far too long to be stuck seeing this again
Sarr hunts blocks just like Ware, if not more. Sarr lets all kinds of things happen in his paint, then he jumps for a block when he sees an opportunity to get one. He’s getting better, but that’s how he “plays defense” mostly.
Ware had 2 decent games. See, he’s not hopeless. Often, young men, not just in basketball, but generally in life, are quite passive until something “clicks” and they start taking control over their lives. All you can do is hope that Ware will click at some point.
So Ware has had a run of 8 pretty good games.
13 pts/11.5 rbs/3.5 stocks, without much setup from his PGs or sets from the coach, on a very good efficiency. And he can shoot the 3 a little?
And it’s not just stats. He had an impact. Much more impact than Sarr is having despite his stats, trust me. Ware’s rebounds per 100 possessions on the season are up there with Zubac and Sabonis.
Now, I’d lie if I said that he looked fantastic. He didn’t. He doesn’t look for the ball often in attacks as he doesn’t have a go-to move; he still doesn’t occupy the space around the rim all that well, and has trouble against all the size that’s in the league right now. So many teams have tough physical frontcourts these days.
He will need to work on his body. If he stays lean, he will be easy to move around, like Claxton, and that will limit his potential as a presence around the rim.
But he is 7 feet tall without shoes, and has long arms and a nice standing reach. You can see it in games. He is 2-3″ taller than Jarett Allen, Gafford, Claxton. He can block and contest.
And at least he moves his feet rather well, something you hope from a lean guy.
Now, none of this will matter if he’s the type that doesn’t want to give full effort but only wants to smoke wееd or something, but you don’t know. Just have to see how it plays out, and trust the coach.