Why Wiggins started at shooting guard in Warriors’ season opener

Why Wiggins started at shooting guard in Warriors’ season opener originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

PORTLAND, Ore. – The modicum of mystery about who would replace Klay Thompson as Stephen Curry’s primary sidekick in the Warriors backcourt was solved Wednesday night, 90 minutes before tipoff against the Portland Trail Blazers.

It’s going to be replacement-by-committee, with Andrew Wiggins first in line.

Wiggins joins Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis in the starting lineup. The last time Wiggins was in any lineup as a shooting guard was, by his recollection, at least seven years ago as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kerr has said often in recent years that Wiggins and Thompson were in many ways interchangeable, and this is the first real test.

“I hope this group starts all year,” Kerr said. “That would be the hope. But we’ll start this way and go from there.”

Steve Kerr explains the thought process behind the Warriors’ first starting lineup of the season, which features both Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga pic.twitter.com/tbX5IY7qNI

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 24, 2024

Wiggins starting at shooting guard is the closest thing to a surprise, only because De’Anthony Melton received strong consideration early in training camp. One reason for that is that Wiggins missed the first week of camp with an illness. Another reason is that Wiggins has considerable experience playing with Curry.

In playing the last two preseason games, Wiggins made a case for himself. And as Kerr and his staff thought about it, he became a logical option.

One reason is that at 6-foot-7, 215 pounds, he brings the kind of size required to harass such big guards as Dallas’ Luke Donćić, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards.

Wiggins gets the on-ball defensive assignments that once went to Thompson. Indeed, Wiggins was the primary defender on Donćić when the Warriors defeated the Mavericks in the 2022 Western Conference Finals.

The only concern is spacing on offense, and Kerr hopes that can be somewhat…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-wiggins-started-shooting-guard-020131366.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-10-24 02:01:00

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