Iguodala flips the switch — again
Andre Iguodala in the starting lineup? That once counted as an afterthought, not headline-making news.
Now, two games into the NBA playoffs, Iguodala’s stint as a stand-in starter helps explain why the Warriors are taking a 2-0 series lead deep into the heart of Texas. They seized control against San Antonio, in part, because Iguodala made a smooth return to his old domain.
He has started only 16 times since Steve Kerr became head coach of the Warriors and Iguodala moved to the bench, eight in the regular season and eight more in the playoffs. By now, he’s more comfortable coming off the bench and serving as de facto captain of the second unit — that’s his role with the Warriors, and it coincided with their rise to power.
So even though Iguodala has started 822 games in his pro career (766 in the regular season, 56 in the playoffs), he needed to adapt when Kerr unexpectedly included him in the lineup against the Spurs.
“You try to embrace whatever situation,” Iguodala said. “Sometimes, being out of your comfort zone is best for you. That familiarity can work against you if you get too comfortable. It’s good to switch
things up sometimes.
“The focus changes a little bit when you’re starting a game. You really have to set the tone early. I feel good that I’m getting outside what I’m used to, (because) it’s going to help me in the end.”
Iguodala obviously is a placeholder while a certain two-time MVP recovers from injury. He’s no Stephen Curry, but he produced a Curry-like flurry of long-range shots in Monday night’s 116-101 victory over the Spurs, draining three threepointers in the opening five minutes.
He finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Another relevant number: Iguodala committed only three turnovers in the first two games of this series, despite the ballhandling responsibilities of playing point guard.
He downplayed the impact of his starting assignment, insisting he doesn’t enjoy starting any more than his customary sixth-man role. Iguodala, 34, often plays in the fourth quarter anyway, when Kerr leans on his small lineup to close out games.
And becoming a starter hasn’t affected Iguodala’s workload: He averaged 25.3 minutes in the regular season and 25.6 minutes in the first two games against San Antonio.
“Honestly, it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “You know you’re going to play a set amount of minutes, and you know what you need to do to help the team win. Just playing ball.”
It mattered to Iguodala earlier in his career. He started all 82 games five times in his first six seasons in the league, with Philadelphia, and he made at least 62 starts in each of his first 10 seasons. That included 201314, his first season with the Warriors.
Then Kerr hopped aboard and decided to make Harrison Barnes a starter. The revised lineup propelled the Warriors to their first NBA title in 40 years — after Iguodala replaced Andrew Bogut as a starter for the last three games of the 2015 Finals against Cleveland.
Fast forward to April 2018, with Kevin Durant entrenched at small forward and Curry rehabbing his sprained knee. Kerr tapped Iguodala for his defense, leadership and savvy, preferring to move Quinn Cook — who started 16 of the final 17 regular-season games — into a reserve role.
This gives the Warriors a long-armed, defensive-minded starting unit, with Iguodala (at 6-foot-6) as the shortest member. “I just like his poise,” Durant said. “He’s a veteran leader for us, a guy (who) kind of just keeps it real with everybody. That’s something we all need. …
“Even if he’s not making shots, he adds so much value with his energy, his deflections, his rebounds. I’ve been saying it all year: his passing, driving to the rim and getting hockey assists, he does the type of stuff you don’t really see on the stat sheet.”
Draymond Green referred to Iguodala as a “calming force,” initiating the offense and seldom taking chances. He launches threes only when he’s wide open, which tends to happen given opponents’ preoccupation with Durant and Klay Thompson.
“Andre has kind of always been that sixth starter for us, anyway,” Green said. “He comes off the bench because Steve likes him to come in and kind of calm the game down. But he can start on a lot of teams in this league, this being one of them.”