As their dearly beloved Minnesota Timberwolves fell victim to the Atlanta Hawks in overtime, fans clung to their favorite scapegoat by booing him vociferously. Unfortunately for Andrew Wiggins, he is the chosen pariah in Minnesota, based on his shooting woes - 5-of-12 at the line (74 over the season). With an NBA max deal comes great responsibility, and ticket holders felt it was their obligation to let Wiggins know how they felt about his performances up to this point of the season.
Things certainly didn't get off to a dream start for Wiggins, as he forgot to wear his 'Wolves jersey in warmups, which almost needlessly made him miss the opening tipoff as he scrounged for proper gear with the equipment manager. "It happens," Wiggins explained. "It's one of those days and one of those games." But the home crowd wasn't buying it one bit. Mental preparation is a must.
But it wasn't only Andrew Wiggins struggling from the line. The Minnesota Timberwolves as a whole were 21-of-38 from the free throw line, numbers that certainly would have compensated for the 3-point margin of the 123-120 scoreline.
And to make matters worse, Derrick Rose, who did his part with 25 points in a starting role, sprained his ankle late in the game, during which Andrew Wiggins received his fair share of boos everytime he found himself at the line. After the game, Wigging commented on the mixed signals he gets from the T-Wolves faithful. "That's fans for you," Wiggins said. "We've got some s---ty fans, and we've got some good fans. That's just how it works."