Slumping Warriors Starter Could Fall Out of Playoff Rotation: Insider

Andrew Wiggins

Getty Andrew Wiggins brings up the ball in a game against the Phoenix Suns.

Andrew Wiggins has been having a career-best season for the Golden State Warriors, but the All-Star’s recent shooting slump could land him on the outside of coach Steve Kerr’s playoff rotation if he doesn’t improve, an insider speculates.

Wiggins was one of the best scoring threats behind Steph Curry through the first four months of the season, but hid a skid in February and March that includes some unusual struggles from the free-throw line. Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area predicted that, if Wiggins is unable to pull out of his slump, it could cost him a spot in the playoff rotation.

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Wiggins Deep in Slump

Wiggins is shooting just 38.6 percent from the field and 32 percent from three in March, averaging 12.8 points. As Poole pointed out, Wiggins has become a late-game liability for the Warriors since January. Over the last 15 games, he has gone just 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from the free-throw line, missing all three of his attempts in a win Tuesday over the Denver Nuggets.

Kerr said he still has faith in Wiggins, saying that he’s just enduring a rough stretch and needs to get his confidence back.

“That can be a factor,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters in Denver. “It happens to everybody. You go through stretches where you’re not feeling as comfortable at the foul line. That could be a factor right now.

“But I’m not worried about Andrew. He’s had a great season. It’s been a tough stretch for him, but he’s competing. He made some big plays for us tonight, especially defensively.”

But Poole speculated that if the shooting doesn’t improve, Kerr could be skittish about putting Wiggins in the closing lineup and potentially put him out of the rotation during the playoffs.

“With the Warriors headed for the postseason and trying to get healthy, a Wiggins free-throw drought puts them in a delicate space with a player who is paid very well to play very well. Which he did the first half of the season,” Poole wrote. “Now, not so much.”


Warriors Getting Healthier

The rotation will soon be getting more crowded for the Warriors, with Green announcing that he will be returning March 14 after being out since January with a back injury. Kerr has also experimented with pulling backup guard Jordan Poole into the closing lineup alongside Curry and Klay Thompson, creating a three-headed scoring threat that forces defenses to make difficult decisions about where to put their focus.

Poole has been headed in the opposite direction as Wiggins, heating up in March after moving past a shooting slump in January and February when Thompson returned and pushed Poole out of the starting lineup. Kerr hinted that Thompson could get more time alongside the Splash Brothers.

“I do like the Jordan [Poole], Steph [Curry], Klay [Thompson] combination,” Kerr said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “There’s a lot of proof that those three guys play well together.”

Curry seemed to endorse the lineup change as well.

“You got Klay running the wing, me or Jordan bringing it up and it’s kind of a pick your poison type of vibe,” Curry said.

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