The Miami Heat have an Andrew Wiggins problem, and it’s getting hard to ignore.
That’s a strange sentence to write after his discounted extension looked like such a clean long-term win for a team that badly needed a 3-and-D wing. But that was before Wiggins’ defense and 3-point touch seemed to come with an expiration date.
What’s happened this season has been ugly. Wiggins has been one of the worst starting forwards in the league, with only Mikal Bridges maybe in the same conversation.
He owns the 12th-worst plus-minus of any player who has appeared in the NBA this season. He’s scoring fewer than nine points per game after putting up more than 15 a night last season, and he’s shooting below 30 percent from deep after his jumper had been trending upward over the last few years.
So, is it too early to give up on Andrew Wiggins?
The answer should probably still be no, but this looks like more than a simple shooting slump. His defense has fallen off sharply even though his job as a perimeter stopper hasn’t changed.
The effort level has been rough, too, and that stands out even on a Heat roster that has already had its share of lapses. It almost looks like the player has been swapped out, except the body is the same.
It’s difficult to explain what’s going on. And that’s what makes it so frustrating, because Wiggins has shown exactly what he can be.
He should be a fringe third option who isn’t scared to take open 3s and lock down the best opposing player. Or a player who isn't really scared to take shots at all.
There's been some disconnect so far this season.
Erik Spoelstra has clearly noticed. Wiggins is down to 26 minutes per game, and while some of that comes from early blowouts, the reduction has shown up in more telling spots too.
Against the Golden State Warriors, he played nine fewer minutes than Ryan Conwell, a player most expected to barely see the floor. Conwell also outplayed him badly and brought a lot more energy.
Wiggins probably isn’t headed for the bench, mostly because Miami doesn’t have anyone clearly better to put in his place. But the pressure is there, and the players behind him are going to keep getting chances. Conwell is one of them, along with Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson, who could very well be starting soon.
If Wiggins doesn’t find his game quickly, the contract that once looked like a bargain could end up looking like one of the worst deals in the NBA. That’s a stunning place for this to be, but it’s where the Heat are headed if this keeps up.
In Other News...
Heat Suddenly Have A Lineup Debate Fans Never Expected
The Heats uneven opening has already pushed Erik Spoelstra into a familiar kind of early-season search, and this one is centered on how to get more reliable production around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Miami is off to a 3-6 start, and the lack of consistent help has made every rotation decision feel a little heavier than usual. Amid that frustration, Pelle Larsson has emerged as one of the more interesting names in the mix after showing better shooting and assist numbers than he did a year ago.
Larssons rise has been enough to spark real talk about whether Spoelstra might be tempted to move him into the starting lineup, even if the evidence is still coming from a small sample. For a team trying to stop the slide and rediscover some balance, the idea is less about making a splash than finding a five-man group that can actually stabilize possessions and support the stars more cleanly. The Heat do not need a headline-grabbing fix so much as a workable one, and this is one lineup question they probably did not expect to be asking so soon. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Roster Debate Is Heating Up After Miamis Rough Start
Miamis rough start has put a spotlight on more than just the box score, with the conversation around the Heat now spilling into how the roster is being viewed from the outside. The latest NBA 2K ratings have become a talking point because they mirror the uneven feel of the season so far, with established names like Bam Adebayo and Klay Thompson landing in different places as the team tries to find its footing.
Davion Mitchell has been one of the more notable risers, a sign that his impact is being noticed even as the bigger picture remains unsettled. For a Heat group still searching for consistency, the ratings debate is less about a video game number than what it says about who is driving the team forward and who still has room to climb. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Slow Start Keeps Pointing To Three Problems Spoelstra Must Fix
The Heats uneven start has left Erik Spoelstra staring at a familiar kind of early-season puzzle: a team that can look organized in stretches, then drift into the same trouble spots that keep showing up on both ends of the floor. At 3-6, Miami has not been able to string together enough consistent offense or defense to settle in, and the numbers point to a few specific areas where the margin for error has been too thin.
Miami has been efficient when it does use pick-and-roll action, but it has not leaned on it often enough, and the spacing around those possessions has not always helped. The other issues are just as obvious, with spot-up jumpers producing too little and opponents finding too much success from three-point range. For a team that expects to tighten up as the season goes on, those are the kinds of problems that can keep a slow start from turning into something more manageable. [Read more 🡒]