Minnesota Timberwolves: 2015-16 Season Outlook
Three Key Storylines
1. Is Andrew Wiggins Already Poised For A Breakout Season?
We all know Andrew Wiggins is going to be a star in Minnesota. For a franchise that was reeling from Kevin Love‘s departure not long ago (and had barely just finished reeling from Kevin Garnett’s departure before THAT), Wiggins represents the best chance the Wolves have of contending for titles down the road.
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That’s an enormous amount of pressure to place on a 20-year-old with little more than a Rookie of the Year Award to his name, but Wiggins’ staggering two-way potential is undeniable. After a slow start to his rookie campaign, the minutes started coming and Wiggins began to emerge as a regular 20-point scorer.
Despite averaging 16.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game on the season while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from downtown, Wiggins’ bumped his numbers to 20.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game after the All-Star break on 44.6 percent shooting. His three-point shooting dropped to an anemic 16.1 percent, but that was to be expected as the 82-game season takes its toll on all rookies around that time.
He hasn’t looked too bad at Eurobasket either.
The question is, how much can Wiggins build on all that momentum entering his second season? There’s no possibility of a sophomore slump here, but is Wiggins already poised for the breakout season that moves him into superstar territory in just his second year in the league?
More than likely, it’ll take one more year, especially with so much potential fluctuation between the different lineups Saunders might trot out there. But with Wiggins’ development being priority No. 1 for this franchise, the 2015-16 season represents a very good chance at a breakthrough season.
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