Wolves Are NOT a Playoff Team Because Andrew Wiggins is Still Andrew Wiggins

PHOTO: MICHAEL REAVES/GETTY IMAGES
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I saw the joke on Twitter the other day. In fact, I’ve seen this Twitter joke a few times…. The only problem with this joke, is it’s not funny. People think the Timberwolves will make the playoffs this season. Maybe it’s not funny because it’s not even a joke. No, these delusional Timberwolves fans are actually serious. But, part of the blame needs to be put on Karl-Anthony Towns. For some fucked up reason (some will point to leadership), this guy keeps on wanting to raise expectations for a team that, somehow, needs them tempered; even after 68-straight losing seasons (outside of one season where the terrible human limped us into the playoffs as an 8-seed).

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Here’s where I come in and throw a big bucket of cold reality on the Timberwolves’ fan base. Then, everyone gets really pissed off and I get a lot of comments about me being a “real MN sports fan”, but then I end up being right every time (but nobody comes back to give me credit down the road, FYI). I see the fucking future, people. The sooner you trust in that, the better off you’ll be.

The only chance the Wolves have at becoming a playoff team in 2019 lies with Andrew Wiggins. That is also why they have no chance at being a playoff team in 2019. Now that the preseason is nearing a handful of games in the bag, I feel even more confident in my claims that the Wolves will suck. Why? Well, Andrew Wiggins of course.

Here is a chart showing Wiggins’ numbers last year vs. this preseason, adjusted for comparison. So far this preseason (through 4 games) Wiggins has averaged 16.9 minutes per game. Last year during the regular season, he averaged 34.8 minutes (2.06x his 2019 preseason). So, I’m taking his totals numbers from this preseason x 2.06.

(Numbers came from NBA.com)

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If you love Andrew Wiggins, I want to stop you right now. I know where this is going: “This is preseason. Of course he isn’t going to go all-out in the preseason.” Normally, I would agree with you. I would want to wait until the regular season because these games mean nothing. But, here is why it is the only sample size you need for Wiggins:

He’s a fucking robot. Maybe Andrew opens up and is a completely different person around people he knows and his family. It’s definitely not a crime to be a quiet guy who likes routine. I don’t know that side of Andrew but I’ve heard nothing but great things about him, personally. The side I know (and the side I care about) plays basketball professionally and gets paid a lot of money to do it. This team needs Andrew Wiggins to do more. They need him to shoot better shots, make them, get to the FT line, make them, play good defense with his long athletic physique, and use his height advantage on 2-guards to rebound and start breaks (where he’s at his best).

Unfortunately though, none of that is possible, even though we would all like to dream it into reality. Andrew Wiggins is a complete fucking robot. He sounds like a robot when he gives interviews and he plays like a robot (and not a very good one) when he’s on the court. Coaches have been telling this guy the same fucking thing for his entire career and nothing ever changes. I think people worry that I hurt his feelings when I write these blogs about him but I’m not convinced he has feelings or that he cares…. about anything relating to basketball. I wish I could get him pissed off a little bit. I would happily fall on that sword for the rest of Minnesota. If I could be the one who irritates Andrew Wiggins into a better version of himself. but it means he will hate me forever (along with half of the fan base), I am happy to be that guy. Life is about sacrifices and I am the ultimate team player.

But again, none of it matters with Andrew, or it would have happened already.

This also has nothing to do with Andrew Wiggins’ work ethic, either. I have no issues with that. Wiggins gets his work in and he is in the gym and working on his craft a lot, from all accounts. It has nothing to do with anything, off the court. It’s all up in his head, while he is on the court. He doesn’t have the awareness + aggressiveness that it takes to be really good in this league. His brain clearly doesn’t tell him to crash the boards, when opportunities present themselves and he doesn’t see the floor very well when he has the ball in his hands. We’ve seen him go into “kill mode” a couple of times through his career but it isn’t something that comes out regularly, nor something he seems comfortable with.

Andrew Wiggins just is what he is… He’s best suited for a volume scoring role, off of the bench, on a good team…. where he isn’t being paid a max deal that prevents the Wolves from being relevant, because they can’t go sign the guy who should be playing ahead of him. It sucks, but it’s where the Wolves are at. That’s why I’ve been calling for a Wiggins trade since forever. Maybe during or after this year, when he only has 3+ years left on the worst contract in sports history, somebody will be willing to let us unload him for a future favor or a rim job or something… if Rosas really cares about winning, he’ll do whatever it takes to free up Andrew Wiggins’ money as fast as possible, before KAT realizes he’s as fucked as I already know he is.

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Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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