Stats don’t tell whole story on Iguodala
CLEVELAND >> For the Warriors, forward Andre Iguodala has been part mentor, part utility man during his run with the team.
On Friday, Iguodala added another tag: consistent close-out game performer.
In the championshipclinching 108-85 win over the Cavaliers, Iguodala scored 11 points in 23 minutes. He made three 3-pointers in the first half to help the Warriors take a 61-52 lead into the break, Defensively, Iguodala was an irritant to Cavaliers star LeBron James, drawing an offensive foul on the 14-time All-Star, much to James’ chagrin.
These performances are nothing new for the veteran forward. Last season, with the Warriors’ up 3-1 in the NBA Finals against the Cavaliers, Iguodala scored 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, pushing the team to its second title in three years.
Last summer, the Warriors’ re-signed the 14-year veteran in part for postseason performances like Friday evening. However, his true value might have been shown in the games he missed. After suffering a leg injury in Game 3 against Houston in the Western Conference finals, the Warriors lost the next two games and were on the brink of elimination.
Altogether he missed 6 games in a row, before returning for Game 3 in Cleveland, where he scored eight points in 22 minutes. Typically, with Iguodala stats don’t begin to tell the story of his contributions. but here’s one: In Game 3, the Warriors outscored the Cavs by 14 points in the 22 minutes Iguodala was on the floor. the plus-14 rating was second only to Kevin Durant (+15), who scored 43 points.
“One thing with Andre is that he’s not like most players in terms of needing rhythm and needing minutes to get his conditioning back,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after Game 3. “He just never gets tired, even when he’s been out two and a half weeks and hasn’t really been running much at all.”
• Kerr was wired for sound by ABC and that made for some terrific TV during the postgame celebration on the floor.
“Thank you, coach,” Stephen Curry said as he and Kerr embraced. “It’s a hell of a feeling. It never gets old.”
“Amazing,” said Kerr, beaming as he broke from the hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
To Zaza Pachulia, who started the season as the starting center and ended up barely playing in the postseason, Kerr said: “These last couple of months were so important to us with you doing what you did, being the leader that you are, accepting your role. It’s not easy, I know.
But you did it beautifully.”
To Quinn Cook, an NBA knockaround who stepped in when Curry missed long stretches because of injuries, Kerr said: “You helped us get here. don’t ever forget that. You helped us win playoff games. You’ve earned your spot in the NBA.”
• Even before the Warriors completed the sweep, the hot topic was their place in history. Are they among the greatest teams ever?
“Without a doubt,” said Paul Pierce, a 10-time All Star and MVP of the 2008 Finals for Boston.
Pierce added that the Warriors, winners of three of the last four titles, “should be working on a ‘four-peat,’” a reference to the 3-1 lead the Warriors blew in 2016.
“This is one of the greatest teams we’ve ever seen,” Pierce said. “This is one of the five best team that has ever played the game.”
Jalen Rose puts at least two teams ahead of the Warriors: the Bill Russell Celtics, who won 11 titles in 13 years, and the Michael Jordan Bulls, who had two three-peats.
“While they’re in the conversation,” Rose said of the Warriors, “it’s a second level.” He added the Tim Duncan Spurs and the Kobe Bryant Lakers to that mix.
Asked how many titles it would take for the Warriors to move up in his ranking, Rose said: “You need five.”