For the second straight season, the Golden State Warriors need to make up for a slow start with a strong stretch run. And for the second straight season, they may have to do it without their best defensive wing player
Andrew Wiggins missed Tuesday night’s win over the Washington Wizards with a “personal matter.” The timing is eerily similar to what happened with Wiggins last year, when he missed the last 25 games of the season with a “family matter.” Neither Wiggins nor the team ever confirmed the reason for his extended absence, but Shams Charania reported that his father, former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins, had a “serious medical situation.
There’s not likely to be an explanation from the famously private Wiggins, nor is the team likely to put pressure on their starting small forward to hasten his return. Last year, he returned to the team after a 51-day absence, and returned to the court for the first game of the Warriors’ first-round series against the Sacramento Kings. Wiggins showed no signs of rust, averaging 18 points per game in the first round before broken ribs slowed him during the second-round series with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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The Warriors do have superior depth to last year’s team, whose bench minutes were often disastrous. Now they’ve got young supporting starters Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, and bench help from new sixth man Klay Thompson, and the newly-healthy Gary Payton II and Chris Paul.
Still, there’s no one on the roster who provides both part of “3-and-D” the way Wiggins does. although Draymond Green’s 44.6% three-point mark has been a revelation this year. After a slow shooting start, Wiggins has made 40% of his three-pointers since December 1, and routinely guards the opposing team’s top scorer.
But Golden State has no choice but to hope for a speedy, positive resolution to Wiggins’ personal matter, especially with 15 road games in their final 25 contests. But it’s likely that they’ll have to make do without Maple Jordan until the playoffs – assuming they can get there without him.
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