To Andrew Wiggins, his recent spike in rebounding numbers comes from a desire to do more. To coach Ryan Saunders, it’s a first step.
One of the more interesting trends in the 10 games since Saunders took over for Tom Thibodeau is an upward one. Wiggins is a career 4.2 rebounds-per-game player. In the first 36 games of this season he averaged 4.1.
But in the past 10 games under Saunders, that has jumped to 7.0 boards per game, including two with point-rebound double-doubles.
It began right away, in Saunders’ first game as coach, when Wiggins scored 40 points with 10 rebounds in a two-point victory in Oklahoma City.