Minnesota Timberwolves: Time for Andrew Wiggins to change

Shot selection

Most skilled basketball players work over time on diversifying their shot selection, and Wiggins is no different. Per Basketball-Reference.com, the average distance of his shots has increased every season.

This is a great sign because as currently constructed, he most helps the T-Wolves by increasing his proficiency as a coveted “3-and-D” wing. So at least trying to increase his range every year shows that he is paying attention to coaching. But even with a career-high 27.1 percent  3-point attempt rate in 2018, there is still too much inefficiency in his field goal attempts.

The DeMar DeRozan study:

A good reference point for any discussion about Wiggins’ shot selection is DeMar DeRozan. Much like Wiggins, he started his career as a dunker with a good mid-range game and almost nothing else. But this year DeRozan has been shooting 3-pointers, and his confidence in his perimeter shot has taken his game to new heights.

Here are some numbers that reflect the maturity that Wiggins needs to develop: During the 2017-18 regular season, DeRozan has attempted 19.2 percent of his shots from the dreaded “long 2-pointer” range (2-point shots that are 16-plus feet from the basket) and has knocked down 44.7 percent of them. Wiggins has attempted 22.2 percent of his shots from this area while hitting 35.3 percent of them.

This comparison shows something that you can see from the eye test: Wiggins has too much confidence in his mid-range game. His two-dribble (and sometimes many more) pull-up shot should be moved back to 3-point range. That has a lot to do with where on the floor he receives screens, which is ultimately a coaching decision.

But Tom Thibodeau is not preaching the value of 3-pointer like Dwane Casey in Toronto. So bombing away from deep like Klay Thompson is by no means what Wiggins should do. What he should do is work on getting to the free throw line early to get into a good rhythm shooting-wise.

The moral of the story is Wiggins is a talented player who has made the mid-range jump shot a key part of his arsenal. Abandoning it completely would be foolish. but many opposing coaches choose to switch smaller players onto him because they know he will settle for the mid-range. If he shot just a little bit less from the mid-range, it would go a long way toward helping him improve on a career-low free throw rate (27.9 percent).