Should Andre Iguodala Start or Sit?

Andre Iguodala famously took the role of sixth man before the start of the 2014-15 season, allowing Harrison Barnes to start for the Dubs. Iguodala’s selfless act allowed the Warriors’ bench to be the best bench in the league, and it allowed Barnes to thrive in a starting position, after stumbling a bit when coming off the bench during his second NBA season (2013-14).

Andre did not make a start the entire regular season, and the Dubs won 67 games. He did not start in the first three rounds of the playoffs, and the Dubs more or less cruised into the Finals, where they met the Cavs. The Warriors won game 1, but lost games 2 and 3, and Steve Kerr and his staff knew that they had to make a change. Andrew Bogut was being outplayed by Timofey Mozgov, and LeBron James was doing LeBron things all over the Warriors, and no one could stop him except Iggy. The only problem was that Iggy started the games on the bench, and when he wasn’t playing, LeBron had his way with the Dubs. Kerr then made the bold move to change the starting lineup that had won him 67 games and gotten his team to Finals, and in game 4, he moved Draymond Green to center, and replaced Bogut with Andre in the starting lineup.

Kerr then made the bold move to change the starting lineup that had won him 67 games and gotten his team to Finals

Andre became one of the best players of the series when he started, he kept LeBron in check, and the rest was history. The Warriors won their first championship in 40 years, and Iggy was named Finals MVP.

The question now is this: Should Steve Kerr keep Iggy in the starting lineup for next year? Or should he move him back to the bench?

Kerr recently indicated to the media that Iguodala would be coming off the bench once again next season, to which Iguodala jokingly responded on Twitter (read about the exchange here).

Is Kerr making the correct choice?

There are two sides to this debate: the side that simply states that the Dubs won 67 games plus 3 playoff series with their starting lineup, or the side that states that Iggy was Finals MVP for a reason, and the Finals were a sign that he could take the team to new heights by starting.

Both sides have valid points to their arguments, but it is hard to disagree with Coach Kerr here.

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Iguodala should start the next season on the bench. With Iguodala on the bench, the Dubs are able to maintain their high level of defense in the second unit, making sure that there is no drop off in defensive pressure or intensity from the starters to the reserves. Iguodala is also a renowned leader on the court, and he spearheads the second unit. Harrison Barnes, presumably the man who Iggy would replace in the starting lineup, is going into only his 4th NBA season, and is not nearly the leader that Iggy is, and has struggled in a bench role before.

It is true that the Warriors had no answer for LeBron except for Iggy, and that their play in the Finals stepped up instantly when Iggy joined the starting lineup, but that choice by Kerr and his stuff was purely situational. The Warriors recognized that Iggy seemed to have the answer for slowing down LeBron, and that Andrew Bogut simply did not have a place in the series, as small ball was working very well.

The key to Iggy’s move into the starting lineup was small ball. Mozgov was having a terrific series, and Bogut was not. Kerr knew this, and to try to slow down Mozgov’s impact on the series, he put Draymond Green at center, Harrison Barnes at power forward, and Iggy at small forward. This lineup allowed the Warriors to play extremely fast basketball, and the Cavs’ big men simply could not keep up with the Warriors’ fast-paced offense.

Kerr simply made a move in the never-ending chess match that is coaching. Putting Iggy in the starting lineup was not a correction of every game leading up to that point, and it was not Kerr admitting that he was wrong by not starting Iggy all season. It was simply Kerr making a calculated move based on matchups, something that he had excelled at all season.

Iggy will start the next season on the bench, and it will be the correct move, and the Warriors will thrive, just as they did last season.

Do you think that Iggy should start? Or do you think that Kerr is right, and Iggy should stay on the bench and lead the second unit. Let me know below in the comments.