Through six games, it appears Andrew Wiggins is taking to heart much of what the organization is asking him to do. He is shooting far fewer midrange jumpers and getting into the restricted area much more.
Wiggins was the Wolves' high scorer on Monday night against the Bucks. He had 25 points on 10-for-21 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point range.
Wiggins is averaging 21.2 points per game, almost two points higher than his career average. He is rebounding better and shooting a higher percentage than he did last year. His overall shooting percentage of .432 and his three-point percentage of .333 are just off his career averages.
"It's encouraging,'' coach Ryan Saunders said. "But it's also a credit to a lot of people involved, doing the research, and the way the information is being conveyed to these guys.''
In Saturday's victory in Washington, without Karl-Anthony Towns in the lineup, Wiggins scored 21 points in only 26 minutes. But it wasn't the points that caught the eye.
It was his six assists, with four coming in the first half in the Timberwolves' one-sided win. Saunders said moving the ball was something he and his staff have been talking to Wiggins about.
"It was also the fact we didn't have Karl,'' Saunders said. "Some of it was the actions we tried to put him in earlier, and some of it, I give [point guard] Jeff Teague a lot of the credit. He called a lot of the actions early, in the flow of the game. It ended up nice for us.''
Wiggins did not have an assist against the Bucks.
