The Minnesota Timberwolves came into this season with a lot of expectations on their shoulders. With their young core having already played a full season together and the addition of veteran head coach Tom Thibodeau, many believed they are geared to compete for a playoff spot.
Despite the positives, the team has not been able to translate them to victories as they have found it difficult to win games and are currently at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with an 11-26 record.
The Wolves are relying on their third-year forward, Andrew Wiggins, who is considered as one of the leaders of the team together with last season's unanimous Rookie of the Year, Karl-Anthony Towns. The 21-year-old Canadian has shown glimpses of brilliance but has often struggled with consistency.
Last week, Wiggins scored 41 points against the Washington Wizards but failed to follow it up with another huge game as he only scored 16 versus the Utah Jazz. His inconsistencies have not gone unnoticed especially by his teammate, Gorgui Dieng, who called him out for it and explained why the team needs him to produce big numbers every game.
“Wigg is a great basketball player. He cannot pick and choose when he wants to play. We need him to play like this every night. He needs help, we’re all going to help him, but he’s our leader. He needs to play like this every night.”
Dieng hopes his comments will serve as a wake-up call to Wiggins as they still have 45 games left to turn around their fortunes this season. If the former top overall pick of the 2014 NBA draft can take his game to a higher level and be consistent with it, he will give the Timberwolves a huge boost as they try to regain relevance in the powerhouse Western Conference.
All is still not lost for them as they are only five games out of the 8th seed currently held by the Portland Trail Blazers.
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