Why Warriors-Lakers could be big series for Andrew Wiggins

SAN FRANCISCO — Andrew Wiggins returned to the Warriors from a month-plus absence just in time for their first-round series against the Kings. He made an impact, slowing Sacramento’s wings and picking his spots offensively.

Now that he’s in the second round, though, he’s facing a bigger challenge.

“It’s tough. It’s LeBron,” Wiggins said Wednesday of guarding the Lakers star and four-time MVP. “But I just try to make it hard, stay on him and make every shot a tough shot.”

James had 22 points in the Lakers’ Game 1 win Tuesday night — 12 of which were scored when Wiggins was his primary defender, per NBA Advanced Stats.

The first game of any series is a feeling-out process, but Wiggins walked away from Wednesday’s film session motivated to “do even more” in Game 2 on Thursday.

But the Warriors need Wiggins to be more aggressive on both ends of the floor.

Coach Steve Kerr opted to go small near the midway point in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game for the simple fact that “we needed to score,” he said. It worked.

The lineup that featured Wiggins, Steph Curry, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green went on a 14-0 run to tie the game with 1:38 remaining. The Lakers answered with five points to close out the game and take the five-point victory, but Kerr liked what he saw in that late-game push.

“We got some big plays from a lot of guys, Wiggs’ rebounding down the stretch, and obviously the shooting, Steph, he had a couple incredible 3s,” Kerr said. “We are right there. We made a great fight and just couldn’t get over the hump, but we’ll be ready for Game 2.”

Wiggins had 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.

His goal for Game 2 on Thursday?

“Just be more forceful, that’s the main thing,” Wiggins said. “Being forceful the whole game and staying engaged, especially with the long rebounds and everything.”

Some players are built for the playoffs.

Wiggins wants to prove he’s one of those guys.

“Playoffs is hard, it’s not easy. A lot goes into it,” Wiggins said. “A playoff game compared to regular-season games, the attention to detail, how one play, one moment in a game can change a series. The physicality of it, the pace slows down, there’s a lot that goes into it.”

Wiggins was the second-best player on the Warriors during last year’s title run, averaging 18.3 points and 8.8 rebounds while primarily guarding Jayson Tatum in the NBA Finals.

“Before last year, it was a minute before I had played in the playoffs, but I found my stride as the playoffs went on,” Wiggins said. “But right now, I feel good, I felt good since the Sac series. Every game is going to be different, every play is gonna be different, every team you face is different. It’s a big difference from playing Sac and playing the Lakers, it’s two totally different teams.”

The Warriors need two-way Wiggs to be the efficient scorer, aggressive rebounder and relentless defender they saw in last year’s playoffs if they want to reach their ultimate goal of another title.

“This is a big series for him,” Kerr said. “We’re playing a big athletic team and he represents a lot of our athleticism and size, so we’re going to need Wiggs in this series for sure.”

It was fair to question, after spending seven weeks away from the team for a family matter, whether the Warriors would be able to simply plug Wiggins into the lineup and let him loose in the playoffs.

Wiggins’ coaches and teammates praised his conditioning level in his two-week ramp-up to the postseason, but it was hard to gauge how ready he would be under the bright lights of the NBA playoffs.

Wiggins quickly kicked those concerns to the curb.

It took only two shots in Game 1 of the Warriors’ first-round series against the Sacramento Kings last month before he felt like himself again.

And he’s only built his confidence up over the last three weeks.

Wiggins has averaged 17.8 points and 5.9 rebounds in eight games. He’s shooting 45.9% from the field and 26.2% from deep, far below his season average of 39.6%, though the hope is that’ll even out eventually, especially in this series when 3-point shooting is vital for Golden State’s success.

“We’re just thrilled to have him back,” Kerr said.