Andrew Wiggins
Wiggins is Miami's starting wing beside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, a defense-first role that has produced little scoring through the Heat's 0-3 start.
Role
He started all three games, in a five of Davion Mitchell, Klay Thompson, Wiggins, Antetokounmpo and Adebayo (Chiang and Winderman lineup reports, Oct 23-24). One article had him at 9.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, and Yahoo noted he has defended the opponent's best wing. Pelle Larsson and Tim Hardaway Jr. are wing reserves, but I found no reporting that they threaten his job. I found no published minutes or usage figures for him this season. The wire note that he rested in preseason is the only rest-related item I found, and I found nothing on back-to-back rest plans. Last season he played only 3 games, so those numbers say little about his role now.
Locked On Heat's David Ramil (Oct 20) called him a very good player whose offensive versatility is underrated. SI's projected-lineup piece calls him one of the league's best 3-and-D players coming off a career-best shooting year. Optimists think the slow start is a small sample and an adjustment to the Giannis-centered offense, and that his shooting will recover once the team settles.
The starting five has been outscored by 30 points in 31 minutes (Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, via Yardbarker). Wiggins managed 8 points on a combined 5-of-23 shooting with Thompson against Detroit and went 1-of-6 from three. Yahoo says he is still settling into the new offense. Skeptics worry that a fifth option on a team ranked 25th in offense and 28th in defense after three games may not get enough scoring touches to matter beyond his defense.
Where analysts split
The open question is whether his poor shooting is early-season noise or a fit problem. The starting five's results are the evidence. Coverage says it is too soon to know, and I found no analyst who argues he should lose his starting spot.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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