Golden State Warriors used “Stephen Curry strategy” on Andrew Wiggins at Playoffs
After more than a month away from the team for family reasons, Andrew Wiggins is finally able to announce good news to fans of the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
According to prestigious journalist Shams Charania of The Athletic, Wiggins was given the green light by the medical team and coaching staff to play in the first match of the Playoffs. That is Game 1 of the Warriors series against the Sacramento Kings, taking place on Sunday morning (April 16) in Vietnam time.
The "Stephen Curry tactic" will be applied by the Golden State coaching staff, which is to let Andrew Wiggins come on from the bench, and at the same time limit the number of minutes to play at 20-25 minutes.
Call it the "Stephen Curry tactic" because the No. 30 superstar was used in a similar way last season, when Curry had just missed a period of time due to a left foot injury.
Instead of immediately letting Stephen return to the starting lineup and immediately take on a heavy responsibility, coach Steve Kerr put Curry on the bench in Game 1 of the Warriors series against the Denver Nuggets.
In that match, Stephen Curry played 22 minutes. The same number will probably reappear with Andrew Wiggins in the showdown against the Sacramento Kings this weekend.
By using Andrew Wiggins like Stephen Curry at the Playoffs last season, the Golden State Warriors hope to be able to recreate the excellent series that the "chef" once showed.
He did not play well in Game 1 but exploded in Game 2 with 34 points in just 23 minutes of play. This use of personnel makes it easy for Curry to regain the rhythm of the game and especially the feeling of finishing. Due to playing in the sub-team, he was able to face the "lighter" players of the opponent's sub-team.
Curry's minutes were gradually increased to 30 in Game 3 and were no longer limited to Game 4 (37 minutes). By Game 5, Stephen returned to the starting lineup and was rotated as usual.
If allowed to play, this will be Andrew Wiggins' first match since February 13. Due to not playing for nearly 2 months and temporarily leaving the team for more than 1 month to handle family matters, Wiggins is still not 100% sure in terms of fitness.
So even though Wiggins worked hard to keep up with his teammates, he was still under the close supervision of the coaching staff and was limited in the number of minutes played to avoid unnecessary risks.
In the ideal scenario, the Warriors would have a fit Andrew Wiggins from Game 2 onwards, significantly improving his competitiveness thanks to the Canadian striker's comprehensive set of offensive and defensive skills.
