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The Golden State Warriors may be coming off their most impressive win of the season — a blowout of the Boston Celtics — but real concerns are lingering in the Bay. Right now, the most pressing of the bunch would have to be what’s happening with Andrew Wiggins.
During the Warriors’ December 3 bout with the Houston Rockets, the 2022 NBA All-Star had what might have been his finest game as a professional basketball player. Over 34 minutes of action, Wiggins scored 36 points on 14-of-19 shooting, hitting 8-of-10 threes and adding five boards, two assists, two steals and a block.
After the game, however, the 27-year-old suddenly showed up on the injured list with an adductor strain. And he’s gone on to miss the Warriors’ last three games, leaving Dub Nation to wonder what the deal is and, more importantly, when he’s coming back.
On Monday, the team updated the Wiggins situation, and the news wasn’t good for those hoping to see the baller back in time for one of the toughest stretches of the 2022-23 campaign.
Wiggins to Miss More Games
On the eve of their Tuesday bout with the Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks — the first of a brutal, six-game road trip — the Warriors issued a status report on Wiggins’ injury.
And while the verbiage used was positive in tone, the underlying message was that the team would have to rough it without their starting small forward for a little bit longer. Via ESPN’s Kendra Andrews:
“Andrew Wiggins (adductor strain) was re-evaluated today and is making “good progress,” per Warriors. He’ll be re-evaluated again on Thursday, meaning he will miss tomorrow’s game against the Bucks and Wednesday’s against the Pacers.”
That would seem to indicate that there’s at least some chance that Wiggins could return for Friday’s road bout with the Philadelphia 76ers. Then again, the former No. 1 overall pick has already missed more time than many expected. When Wiggins showed up on the injured list initially, Warriors coach Steve Kerr indicated that he wasn’t concerned about his latest ailment.
Wiggins has arguably been Golden State’s second-best player this season, averaging 19.1 points and 5.1 boards per game while shooting 51.1% from the floor and 45.0% from deep. The Warriors are 1-5 when the two-way wonder sits this season.
Kuminga Has Benefited From the Extra Time
Clearly, the Warriors aren’t at their best when Wiggins isn’t in the lineup, so the prospect of more time without him isn’t great for them. There has been at least one silver lining amid his injury, though. Namely, the emergence of second-year man Jonathan Kuminga.
Over the last three games that Wiggins has been on the shelf, Kuminga has averaged nearly 25 minutes per outing and he’s responded by putting up 16 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 3.0 APG while nailing 76.9% of his shot attempts. Moreover, he’s plus-five over that stretch, which is a big deal given his massively negative net rating this season.
Said Kerr after the Cs game: “JK has really helped solidify our defense and given us another weapon that we can put on the best players on the opponent.”
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