<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0eCTG2_0wMAYiCR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0eCTG2_0wMAYiCR00" width="1080" height="608" ><figcaption>Golden State Warriors v Portland Trail Blazers / Alika Jenner/GettyImages</figcaption></figure>There were plenty of positives to emerge from the Golden State Warriors demolition of the Portland Trail Blazers in their season opener, with the visitors running away with a 35-point victory following a dominant final three-quarters.Superstar guard Stephen Curry fell just one rebound short of a triple-double, Buddy Hield was electric in his <a href="https://bluemanhoop.com/grading-buddy-hield-warriors-debut-fills-giant-shoes-immediately">Warrior debut with a team-high 22 points</a>, and <a href="https://bluemanhoop.com/steve-kerr-continue-bizarre-warriors-tactic-blowout-victory-portland">Steve Kerr's decision</a> to go to a 12-man rotation was certainly notable.<h2>Andrew Wiggins performance was the biggest positive for the Warriors</h2>Nothing may have meant for Golden State though from an individual perspective than the form of Andrew Wiggins. Having come off a career-worst season, and after missing much of training camp and the first four preseason games through illness, there was some uncertainty on how Wiggins would perform to start out.The response couldn't have been more emphatic, with the 2022 All-Star pouring in an efficient 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Wiggins looked confident, decisive and while only one game against a lowly opposition, a far improved version of the player we saw last season.<a href="https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/andrew-wiggins-steve-kerr-season-opener/1797265/">Speaking after the game</a>, Wiggins gave credit to head coach Steve Kerr for the confidence he has instilled in him leading into the season."When your head coach believes in you and gives you that confidence to let it fly, go out there and play pressure-free, it feels good," Wiggins said. "It feels good. And I've been working on it a lot this summer, just trying to get back to what I know I can do."Kerr had publicly backed Wiggins to respond from a disappointing season multiple times in recent weeks. That may not have been overly surprising, but the <a href="https://bluemanhoop.com/steve-kerr-huge-perhaps-unwarranted-faith-one-warriors-player">specific goals he set out</a> for the 29-year-old were certainly lofty based on what we've seen recently.Kerr has spoken regularly about Wiggins as a 20-point per game player who can be Golden State's second-leading scorer, and who will do so by getting up six or seven threes each game. It's eery how much that proved true in the season opener, with Wiggins the second-leading scorer with exactly 20 points and seven three-point attempts.Golden State's depth gives them a point of difference against almost every other team in the league, and the stardom of Curry will almost always give them a puncher's chance against anybody. Yet if the Warriors want to return into any sort of legitimate contention, the development of Wiggins back into his All-Star level form may be the biggest factor of all.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

This development could be what reignites the Warriors contention status

There were plenty of positives to emerge from the Golden State Warriors demolition of the Portland Trail Blazers in their season opener, with the visitors running away with a 35-point victory following a dominant final three-quarters. Superstar guard Stephen Curry fell just one rebound short of a triple-double, Buddy Hield...