Aaron Wiggins was back in his usual role on Sunday, when Oklahoma City opened its postseason against Phoenix and left him out of the starting lineup for Game 1. The move sent Wiggins back to the bench after he had started each of the Thunder’s final two regular-season games.
Wiggins’ brief run with the starters came only after Oklahoma City had already locked up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, allowing the team to rest key players down the stretch. Even with the playoff rotation expected to tighten, Wiggins should still see a fair amount of playing time in the postseason.
That makes his role more than a footnote, even if Sunday’s lineup change pointed to the Thunder’s bigger plan. The starters were back in place for the start of the playoffs, but Wiggins remains part of the group Oklahoma City is expected to lean on as the games get harder and the rotation gets shorter.
