The Golden State Warriors have had one of the worst benches in the NBA, and it doesn’t help Andre Iguodala is in the midst of his worst professional season.
Andre Iguodala, the once steady scoring option and defensive menace for the Golden State Warriors, has taken a huge step back this season, and it’s unknown as to why. In his 15th season, father time might be catching the 2015 NBA Finals MVP.
Let’s preface this discussion with the fact that while Iggy is having some career lows. One of those not often discussed is his career low in minutes. He’s averaging under 25 minutes per game this season for the first time in his career.
However, in that almost two quarters per game that he does get, Iggy just doesn’t seem to have it. He’s averaging 5.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, all career lows for Iguodala. His defensive numbers, 0.8 steals per game, are also the lowest of his career.
The 34-year-old, 6-foot-6 forward has no good excuse for not playing well. He has been banged up, but he’s also been a complete non-factor in a few games where Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson desperately needed someone to step up.
Moving forward, that must be Andre Iguodala. He’s strung together a good stretch of games where he’s played reasonably well, and now he just needs to put it all together. He’s the leader of the second unit, a second unit that is one of the least productive benches in the entire NBA.
It’s usually the other way around, but Andre Iguodala might actually want to settle for more three-point attempts. Last season, he couldn’t stretch the floor, but almost like a reverse Draymond Green who has gotten worse from three, Iguodala has improved.
He’s shooting over 35% from deep. His career average is just above 33%, so Iggy, who has shot well this season, could actually pull the trigger more often from deep. That said, Iggy’s a special player because he understands and knows his role.
The Warriors may need Iggy’s help to take down a rolling LA Lakers team on Christmas Day. He’ll need to step up, and he must start to step up and score on a more permanent basis.