Basketball fans really haven’t had much of an opportunity to see what Andrew Wiggins, the reigning Rookie of the Year, play in an offense with the potential this year’s Wolves team has.
In two weeks that changes as the Wolves open the regular season Oct. 28 against the Lakers.
Ricky Rubio will be healthy and running the point while Karl-Anthony Towns and Nemanja Bjelica provide floor-stretching-size that should help open things up for Wiggins.
The general consensus around the league is that the Wolves probably aren’t ready to compete in the Western Conference, but Wiggins might be ready to break through as one of the games best talents.
TSN basketball writer Jack Armstrong has been really impressed by Wiggins’ development.
“I’m really impressed with how he’s shooting the ball with greater confidence and range. He looks stronger with increased stamina and is aggressive attacking the basket. He’s playing harder defensively too. It looks like he’s committed to improving his game and that’s a huge step in right direction to build off of the momentum of last year’s Rookie of Year campaign.”
Pro Basketball Talk’s Kurt Helin is super high on Wiggins, saying he’s a growing offensive player diversifying his game. Helin called the Wolves “one of the best up-and-coming teams in the league.”
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True Hoop analysts Ethan Strauss and Amin Elhassan don’t think the Timberwolves will be “good” this season, but they do believe they’ll be “young and exciting.” As for superstar potential, Elhassan thinks Wiggins’ ceiling is higher than Towns’.
“The game lends itself to perimeter guys,” he said. “Wiggins showed a lot of growth from the beginning of the year to the end of the year… my money is on Wiggins.”
Wiggins and the Wolves play the Raptors in Ottawa, Canada for a preseason game Wednesday night.
