Andrew Wiggins growing into starring role with T’wolves

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) takes a shot against Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Dec, 8, 2014, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Bad news, rest of the NBA. This Andrew Wiggins kid might be the real deal.

Obviously, we shouldn’t make too much out of one or two strong showings, but the Minnesota Timberwolves and their fans have to be thrilled with what the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft has been up to lately.

Two days after scoring 21 points in a loss to the best team in The Association, Golden State (19-2), Wiggins actually outdid himself in his encore performance Wednesday night against Portland (17-5, No. 3 in the stacked Western Conference).

The 19-year-old Canadian sensation posted the first double-double of his career — 23 points, 10 boards — and the lowly T’wolves (5-16) beat the Trail Blazers.

The most impressive part of Wiggins’ latest breakout night? He’s knocking down contested shots. Check out the YouTube clip. In a lot of those highlights, he’s rising up and scoring over Nicolas Batum, a respected and talented defender.

Advanced stats from NBA.com show Wiggins made five contested field goals against Portland. That’s actually the same number he made against Golden State. He led both those games in that category. Steph Curry only made four contested shots vs. Minnesota (which likely also speaks to the T’wolves’ defense).

As Jerry Zgoda wrote for The Star Tribune, Minnesota had dropped six straight before knocking off the Blazers at home. The showing prompted Wolves coach Flip Saunders to say: “Baby Wolves grew up a little bit at times tonight.”

One example of that came in the final minutes of the fourth, as Portland surged and cut its deficit to four. Wiggins scored the next five points.

“I feel great, I feel a lot better
every game, every second on the floor
I’m learning a lot,” Wiggins said. “I
feel comfortable. I know my team is
always going to be there. We made big
plays together. It wasn’t just me. … I
wanted it, I didn’t want to lose.
Ricky [Rubio] came over to me and
said, ‘We’ve got to win this game.’ I
was determined to win.”

Seems like the young phenom is starting to feel comfortable. That doesn’t mean he’ll score 20 a night from this day on, but now we have seen evidence he’s capable of doing that as his career progresses.

Wiggins just might become the franchise player Minnesota needs him to be.

— Keep up with the production of all the ‘Hawks in the NBA daily at KUsports.com.

– Follow @BentonASmith on Twitter.