Andrew Wiggins is skating on thin ice with Heat before another Warriors meeting

It's not hyperbolic to label Andrew Wiggins' start to the season as disastrous for the Miami Heat, with the veteran forward now under pressure ahead of a meeting with the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.

Wiggins has been criticized at times across the course of his career, particularly prior to his arrival at the Warriors in 2020. Yet the former first overall pick may enter Thursday's matchup against his former team in the worst form of his career, and skating on thin ice when it comes to his role on a Heat team that still holds hopes of competing for a championship.

Andrew Wiggins is skating on thin ice ahead of Warriors matchup

Miami have responded from an 0-4 start to win three of their past four games, including overcoming the L.A. Clippers in an overtime thriller on Wednesday where another former Warrior champion, Klay Thompson, hit the game-winning three with one second remaining.

Wiggins hasn't been part of the turnaround though. In fact, it's been quite the opposite where his role has been diminishing as a result of poor form. The 2022 All-Star played just two minutes during the fourth-quarter on Wednesday, and was stapled to the bench for the entirety of overtime as Erik Spoelstra went with Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson and Thompson along with star duo Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.

Wiggins is now averaging just 9.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists on the season, shooting 42.9% from the floor and 31.4% from three-point range. Even those underwhelming numbers fail to outline how bad he's been though, particularly in comparison to other starter-level forwards around the league.

As posted by The Heat Realm on X (formerly Twitter), Wiggins has also been one of the worst defenders in the league this season, while recording the 12th-worst plus-minus of the 452 players to step onto the floor across the league.

Heat fans are questioning Andrew Wiggins' starting role

The most frustrating aspect for Miami must be that Wiggins doesn't actually have that much responsibility. With Antetokounmpo entering the fold in a blockbuster offseason trade, Wiggins just had to settle into being a high-level defender who ran the floor and hit open shots.

The fact he can't do that effectively has Heat fans questioning whether Wiggins should remain part of the starting lineup, and surely Spoelstra will be deliberating on that very topic after benching him down the stretch of Wednesday's game.

As much as the Warriors will always love Wiggins and he'll forever be a legend in the Bay Area, they'll be hoping to pile more pressure on by keeping their former forward quiet again as they chase a sixth-straight win on Thursday night.