Dub Hub, Daily Warriors Links for 4/12/23: Warriors ‘planning’ to have Andrew Wiggins ready for Game 1 vs. Kings

Good Morning Dub Nation,

Ahead of the team’s first round matchup against the Sacramento Kings this upcoming Saturday, Golden State Warriors fans received a positive update regarding one of their key players. According to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews in an interview with 95.7 The Game, the Warriors are “planning” to have forward Andrew Wiggins available for Game 1 this Saturday.

Wiggins — who hasn’t played a game for the Warriors since Feb. 13 — was away from the team for almost two months due to personal reasons. Last week, it was announced that Wiggins will rejoin the team, but he will still need time to get back into NBA level conditioning.

Andrews goes on to say during the interview that the Warriors held Wiggins out of their regular season finale against the Portland Trail Blazers as a precaution. Although it remains unclear if Wiggins will return as a starter or ramp up slowly by coming off the bench, Andrews says the team is happy with his progression in practice.

Having Wiggins ready for the postseason will be critical for the Warriors’ championship aspirations. Last postseason, Wiggins was arguably Golden State’s second most important player as he was often tasked with defending the opposing team’s top offensive threat while averaging 16.5 points and an impactful 7.5 rebounds per game.

His addition will be a welcome sight for a Golden State team severely lacking in athletic big wing defenders. With Wiggins ready for Game 1, the Warriors will add another dimension to their team that should go a long way towards another championship run.

Here are the rest of today’s stories:

In case you missed it from Golden State of Mind:

• Warriors vs Kings Playoffs Series Preview: A deep dive on the battle for Northern California supremacy
• Warriors’ assistant Kenny Atkinson among candidates to interview for Rockets’ head coaching job
• Klay Thompson becomes third player in NBA history to reach 300 threes in a season
• Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole are the Warriors’ Iron Men
• Warriors vs Kings: Sacramento’s Beam vs Golden State’s Rings

Other Warriors News:

• Kendra Andrews: Warriors plan to play Andrew Wiggins in Game 1 vs. Kings (95.7 The Game)
• Draymond Green addresses Kings preseason slander ahead of playoff series (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Three reasons underdog Kings can upset Warriors in NBA playoff series (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Which key young players could play decisive roles in Warriors-Kings series? (San Francisco Chronicle)
• California’s Four NBA Teams Reach Playoffs in Same Season for First Time (Sports Illustrated)

NBA News:

• Lakers outlast Timberwolves in OT to claim 7-seed in West (ESPN)
• The $1 million shot that changed sports contests forever (ESPN)
• Hawks outlast Heat in East’s Play-In opener, earn conference’s No. 7 seed (The Athletic)
• 2023 NBA Playoffs: 1 Thing Holding Back Every Western Conference Team (Bleacher Report)
• Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has team back in the pure joy of the playoffs (Andscape)