We had not seen Andre Iguodala on the court since February 7. And if we put aside the short five minutes he had played that day, he had not exceeded ten minutes in a meeting since January 20…
Hit in the back, the Warriors winger was finally returning to competition on Monday night in Memphis. In 16 minutes, he compiled 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. He is even the only Californian player, with Juan Toscano-Anderson, to present a positive +/-, in this heavy defeat of Golden State.
“I am 38 years old and few players are still playing in the NBA at 38”recalls Andre Iguodala, who records his 27th game of the season only, to NBC Sports. “I’m very lucky to be here and help my teammates. The evening was complicated, but I had fun. I saw good things and bad things. I saw some good things that I can talk about now, as I play. When you’re far away, it’s hard to say things. Now I can go deeper. »
His main subject is obviously defense. The Warriors have been struggling in this area for quite a while now, with injuries to Draymond Green and Iggy having naturally taken their toll on the squad.
“We struggle to put pressure on the ball carrier and we have a bad habit of making mistakes”analyzes the former Philadelphia and Denver. “That’s why we’ve conceded a lot of points in recent weeks. I think I gave the example, put the team in the right direction, on and away from the ball. »
Stop taking points
Andre Iguodala is always valuable in defense, especially in the playoffs, and now that he is back in the group, he wants to infuse his desire and his experience to raise the bar at the end of the regular season.
“When we take baskets, we are no longer angry. It’s the essence of our sport: we don’t want a player to mark us. We are in a league dominated by scorers, I know that better than anyone since I am a defender. But I will do my best to make life difficult for the attackers. »
The executives of the Warriors’ golden period (2015-2019) have all been affected by physical glitches this season. It was Klay Thompson at first, then Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala and finally, for a few days, Stephen Curry. Not being able to evolve together is therefore extremely frustrating for these club managers.
“Injuries are part of the game. We haven’t been complete this season,” regrets the MVP of the 2015 Finals. ” Never. Not for a second. I myself have sometimes wanted to rush things when you have to be smart. »
| Andre Iguodala | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2004-05 | PHL | 82 | 33 | 49.3 | 33.1 | 74.3 | 1.1 | 4.6 | 5.7 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 9.0 |
| 2005-06 | PHL | 82 | 38 | 50.0 | 35.4 | 75.4 | 1.4 | 4.4 | 5.9 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 12.3 |
| 2006-07 | PHL | 76 | 40 | 44.7 | 31.0 | 82.0 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 18.2 |
| 2007-08 | PHL | 82 | 40 | 45.6 | 32.9 | 72.1 | 1.0 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 19.9 |
| 2008-09 | PHL | 82 | 40 | 47.3 | 30.7 | 72.4 | 1.1 | 4.6 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 18.8 |
| 2009-10 | PHL | 82 | 39 | 44.3 | 31.0 | 73.3 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 5.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 17.1 |
| 2010-11 | PHL | 67 | 37 | 44.5 | 33.7 | 69.3 | 0.9 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 14.1 |
| 2011-12 | PHL | 62 | 36 | 45.4 | 39.4 | 61.7 | 0.9 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 12.4 |
| 2012-13 | DEN | 80 | 35 | 45.1 | 31.7 | 57.4 | 1.0 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 13.0 |
| 2013-14 | GOS | 63 | 32 | 48.0 | 35.4 | 65.2 | 0.8 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 9.3 |
| 2014-15 | GOS | 77 | 27 | 46.6 | 34.9 | 59.6 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 7.8 |
| 2015-16 | GOS | 65 | 27 | 47.8 | 35.1 | 61.4 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 7.0 |
| 2016-17 | GOS | 76 | 26 | 52.8 | 36.2 | 70.6 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 7.6 |
| 2017-18 | GOS | 64 | 25 | 46.3 | 28.2 | 63.2 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 6.0 |
| 2018-19 | GOS | 68 | 23 | 50.0 | 33.3 | 58.2 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 5.7 |
| 2019-20 | MIA | 21 | 20 | 43.2 | 29.8 | 40.0 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 4.6 |
| 2020-21 | MIA | 63 | 21 | 38.3 | 33.0 | 65.8 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 4.4 |
| 2021-22 | GOS | 26 | 20 | 39.2 | 23.0 | 81.2 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 4.1 |
| Total | 1218 | 32 | 46.3 | 33.1 | 70.9 | 0.9 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 11.4 | |