Wiggins isn’t close to Thompson’s class as a shooter, but his love for taking middies when players like Thompson were hoisting threes was detrimental. Not only does he convert triples at an elite rate (career 41.9 percent), he takes more shots from deep than any other range (career 43.7 three-point rate). Thompson is, at worst, a top-five shooter of all-time. Chief among them in the Wiggins- Thompson comparison: there’s a canyon-sized difference between the two’s shot profile. There are obvious caveats to on-off numbers - who did they play with? Who replaced them? - though it becomes easier to draw conclusions over a five-season sample. Klay Thompson, a guy that has toggled between being a second and third option, more than doubled that number (plus 7.02 when he’s on). Via PBP Stats, between 20, the Wolves only scored 3.2 more points per 100 possessions with Wiggins on the court than when he was on the bench. Yet, that value felt pretty underwhelming for a virtual 20-point scorer. Entering the season, scoring was really the only area of the game Wiggins brought any real value to. To this point, a two-fold problem has hindered the Wiggins Experience. His scoring average (19.6) in that time frame leads the 2014 draft class by a mile, and slots cleanly between John Wall (20.1) and CJ McCollum (19.3) overall. Since he entered the league in 2014, only 10 players have scored more total points (8,147). Wiggins isn’t a stranger to scoring the basketball. That willingness, combined with improved coaching, has led to a breakout season. It was a hint of willingness to transform his shot profile. That decision from Wiggins - turning down a mid-post fade or an awkward drive for a three-point opportunity - was a flashbulb moment. They’re glorified scrimmages, but that doesn’t mean you can’t draw anything from preseason. Rotations aren’t set, players aren’t fully in game shape, and maybe 15 percent of a team’s schemes are in place. Preseason basketball is mostly meaningless. Suddenly, he’s in the right corner raising up for a lightly contested triple. One hop-dribble to the right, one to his left. Layman dribbles to the right wing before finding a cutting Andrew Wiggins as he flashes to the right block. Wolves wing Robert Covington snatches a chain (his mama gave him that chain) and flips the ball ahead to new signee Jake Layman. It’s the first quarter of a mostly meaningless preseason basketball game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Haifa Maccabi Haifa.
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