Andrew Wiggins has been statistically the second-worst defender in the Miami Heat rotation over the first seven games. Opponents are shooting 56.2% against him on 10.4 attempts per game, 10.8 percentage points better than average.

Wiggins’ statistical struggles defensively have contributed to the team’s underperformance with him on the court. Opponents are averaging 74.1 points and shooting 52.2% on 54.1 attempts, helping the team get outscored by 9.3 points during his 26.9 minutes of action.

Although Andrew Wiggins has horrific defensive statistics, he isn’t the sole root cause of the team’s defensive struggle. Over the first seven games, the Miami Heat roster has also done a poor job stopping three-pointers. 

Miami Heat’s Three-Point Defense Is a Disaster

Miami has given up the second-most three-pointers, with opponents averaging 42.1 per game over the first seven outings. Opponents are making 41 percent of their three-pointers against the Heat, the second-highest in the league. As a result, opponents are averaging 51.9 points against Miami from these three-pointers, the most in the league.

Miami’s struggle to defend the three-pointer comes from focusing on the ball instead of their defensive assignment. On October 23, 2026, Bam Adebayo was standing near the paint with eleven minutes to go in the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons.

During this possession, he appeared to be guarding John Collins in the right corner. Collins stayed in the right corner as Ausar Thompson had the ball at the top of the key. 

Thompson noticed that Bam Adebayo was watching him and that Collins was being left wide open. He passed the ball to Collins, who shot and made a three-pointer.

A similar occurrence happened against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 2, 2026. With nine minutes left in the second quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo was standing near the restricted area with the original defensive assignment of Matisse Thybulle. Matisse drifted to the right corner as Collin Sexton and Walker Kessler initiated a pick-and-roll. 

The Miami Heat decided to hedge the pick-and-roll to focus on Sexton. As a result, Sexton passed to Kessler, who saw Giannis Antetokounmpo focused on him and passed to Thybulle. Matisse Thybulle made a wide-open three to end the possession.

As a result, Miami leads the league in giving up the most open three-pointers over the first seven games. An open three-pointer is defined as 4 to 6 feet of space between the shooter and defender. Opponents are averaging 17.9 open three-pointers per game against Miami.

They are shooting 36.8% on these open three-pointers, the seventh-highest in the league. Opponents are generating 19.8 points per game on those looks.

Consequently, Miami’s defensive issues have more to do with effort and paying attention than with Andrew Wiggins.