Playoff consistency reinforces his value

Years from now, when voters debate whether Andre Iguodala deserves enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, they need only to cue up video from the Warriors’ Game 3 rout of Houston in the Western Conference finals Sunday night to see why he has a case: Though more role player than superstar, Iguodala is an essential part of one of the most loaded teams in NBA history.

His stat line — 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting, three assists, three rebounds and zero turnovers in 27 minutes — wasn’t gaudy, but it was a big reason Golden State cruised to the most lopsided postseason victory in franchise history. It came as a major relief to head coach Steve Kerr that the apparent knee injury that forced Iguodala to leave the game midway through the fourth quarter isn’t considered serious.

“I think he’s OK there,” Kerr said. “He got banged on the knee. I think it was like a knee-on-knee type of thing. He said he would be all right.”

Eyebrows were raised last summer when the Warriors re-signed Iguodala to a threeyear, $48 million deal. At 33, he had been dealing with nagging back and knee pain. Gone were the days when Iguodala was one of the most athletic players in the league.

His critics only got louder when his numbers lagged well behind his career averages in the regular season. Kerr, however, didn’t fret.

Iguodala knows how to be at his best when it matters most. On a roster loaded with shooters, he is content to guard the opponent’s best scorer and keep a free-flowing offense from veering into chaos.

With that in mind, Kerr has started Iguodala the past 11 games. It is no coincidence that Golden State’s three defeats in these playoffs came on nights Iguodala was passive offensively. He had just four points in the Warriors’ Game 4 loss to the Spurs in the first round, four points in their Game 3 loss to the Pelicans in the second round and five points in Wednesday’s Game 2 loss to the Rockets.

But Iguodala was aggressive early Sunday, scoring six firstquarter points on 3-for-4 shooting. The highlight of his night came with less than a minute left in the period, when he missed a turnaround jumper, leapt past the Rockets’ P.J. Tucker to corral his own rebound and hammered home a two-handed dunk.

“When we’re playing how we are supposed to play, Andre’s right in the middle of it,” Kerr said of Iguodala, who also played solid defense on James Harden, helping hold him to 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting. “His defense and being smart, making good decisions. Andre is one of the guys who seems to set the tone for us, and I thought he did a great job of that tonight.”