Golden State Warriors: Is Andre Iguodala still their secret weapon?

Andre Iguodala has been the Golden State Warriors secret weapon since the 2015 NBA Finals, but, is he still capable of having that same impact?

The Golden State Warriors have kicked off the 2018-19 NBA season with a 10-1 record. Stars such as Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant have all had shining moments while other names like Jonas Jerebko and Damian Jones are becoming fan favorites. However, Andre Iguodala has been largely absent.

Thus far, the 35-year-old has played in 9-of-11 games and has racked up an average of 19.0 minutes per game. In this time, he is scoring just 2.8 points and dishing out 3.0 assists a game. This may seem like an alarming statistic as his production has been very low, but, it shouldn’t cause too much worry.

Iguodala hasn’t been a stat sheet stuffer for many years now. His impact is something that will not show up in the stat sheet. He provides gritty defense and high IQ plays that the Dubs need off of their bench. He isn’t being asked to produce at a high level.

Furthermore, Iggy has played a total of 1049 regular season games in his career and understands that it is best for him to save his energy for the playoffs. The postseason is where Iguodala will have his number called to make big plays much like he always has.

Last season, Andre became a crucial factor in the Warriors championship run. Iggy was averaging 8.7 points, 1.7 steals and 4.3 rebounds a game versus the Houston Rockets before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the series. Andre was one of the Warriors best defenders in this series and was bailing the bench out of many tough situations.

Much like last year, I expect Iggy to save himself for the postseason so that he can have a similar impact in this upcoming playoff run. He understands his importance to the team and is making sure he conserves his best play for when they need him most. This becomes more and more evident as he continues to sit out of games for rest.

So, despite Iguodala putting up career low numbers in many facets of the game, don’t worry about the former Finals MVP just yet. Andre Iguodala is still the Warriors secret weapon and will be ready to go when it’s time for him to be unleashed.