OKC Thunder Needs Aaron Wiggins to Find His Groove Again

Over the last few weeks of the season, where Oklahoma City has struggled most, they’ve been pretty one dimensional offensively. As a team that usually relies on defense to create offense, it feels like they’ve gotten into too many stagnant front court situations.

The Thunder have now dropped four of its last six games, and it hasn’t felt all too flukey. Every game, it felt like Oklahoma City was simply thoroughly outplayed. The defense was bad, there’s no denying it. San Antonio and Minnesota both got open looks all game long, but especially during the clutch. Opposing guards torched this Thunder team during the skid.

But the offense might’ve been worse. Oklahoma City’s long distance shooting has gone ice cold, and without Ajay Mitchell, there hasn’t been any energy from a scorer off the bench. The Thunder still seem to be trying to connect the dots offensively with injured players back in the lineup and inconsistent rotations because of it every game. There hasn’t been a ton of chemistry.

Many times, Oklahoma City has been predictable and relatively easy to guard. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the only player they’ve been able to rely on in terms of consistency, and he’s expected to bail them out on every occasion. Especially in the fourth quarter, the offense has been SGA isolations.

This Thunder team has solutions for the problem currently on the roster, but they have to flip a switch. Last season, Oklahoma City ran into similar issues with the shooting going cold and the offense going stagnant, and they figured out how to combat it with different players stepping up. An obvious player who could step up, and who was a big part of Oklahoma City’s success early on in the season, is Aaron Wiggins.

With Jalen Williams sidelined, Wiggins was one of Oklahoma City’s best and most efficient scorers to start the season. He was a big reason why the Thunder coasted to a near perfect start. After he got injured on Nov. 5 though, he hasn’t looked the same. With a near month long absence, it’s understandable to slowly get back in his groove. But he has played the entire month of December and he still hasn't gotten back to his pre-injury form.

OKC needs more production out of him with the stalling offense being a topic of conversation. Over the last five games, Wiggins is averaging just 3.8 points per game, a strikingly low number for a scorer of his caliber. On the season, he's averaging 11.0 points per game on 45.2% from the floor and 40.7% from 3-point range, but the points average is going down with each passing game.

Before his injury, Wiggins had a handful of outbursts including a 23-point performance and a 27-point performance within a two-week span. He's more than capable of returning to form, but Oklahoma City needs it now more than ever. As the Thunder continues to search for another consistent scorer outside of SGA, Wiggins could certainly be an answer.