After missing most of the regular season with a personal issue, the Warriors are able to get Andrew Wiggins back for the first game of the playoffs.
Andrew Wiggins will be playing for the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference first round in the NBA Playoffs. Golden State will open the postseason with a series matchup against the Kings.
Wiggins has only played 37 games this season due to an absence related to a personal issue and was just able to mentally come back about two weeks ago.
Now he’s been cleared to play, as reported by Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
The wing defender will be a on minutes restriction, as reported by Charania, but he will be available for Game 1 of the series. It can be assumed that after game one he will be off the minutes’ restriction as the Warriors and Kings have a day off between Games 1 and 2, though that is a situation to monitor.
Pending any setbacks, at the worst, he will be fully available for Game 3 as they have three days off between games. With both teams having little travel between games, every day between games will be a true day off, not just designated travel days.
Warriors news: Andrew Wiggins returning for playoffs is massive for Golden State’s title hopes
The Warriors wanted to make sure that Wiggins’s conditioning was in peak form as he hasn’t played an NBA game in a while.
Golden State has Wiggins under contract for the next five years, so they also wanted to limit the amount of risk that the elite wing defender could sustain a career-defining injury due to poor conditioning.
The Warriors will need his wing defense in their playoff series against the Kings. While Golden State got the preferred first-round matchup in the West that every bottom seed wanted, it will still be a hard series to win.
Having Wiggins to help defend an elite player like De’Aaron Fox in any possible switch will go a long way in Golden State’s chance of winning the series and moving one step closer to the NBA Finals. Additionally, the Warriors perimeter defense will be a lot better with Wiggins in the game.