Kerr and his staff have largely put the burden on Iguodala and Thompson to hold down Durant and Westbrook, so the Thunder secondary players can’t run free.
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“He just sees everything kind of before it happens”, Kerr said of Iguodala, “and he’s blessed with great speed and length and strength”.
Iguodala is averaging 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 47.4 percent overall and 37.5 percent from three in 31.5 minutes per game in the Western Conference Finals.
While the dual stops at such a critical juncture of a Conference Final game might have been the highpoint in most careers, especially if you’re talking about the defensive side of the ball, exclusively, most players aren’t Andre Iguodala.
Then the second half came, and Kerr adjusted: He didn’t play Leandro Barbosa and Varejao in the second half, barely played Marreese Speights and Festus Ezeli, and limited Shaun Livingston’s minutes. Because that’s what was killing the Warriors.
Their trust in Iguodala allowed them to change their approach. The Warriors can live with 30 each from those two. He replaced Andrew Bogut in the lineup for those games though. And now he has to do it again in Game 7.
This has been about supreme talent, of course, most specifically Thompson’s singular 41-point performance in Game 6 and all the defining-moment contributions from Curry, Green and Iguodala.
Iguodala is hoping the next meeting doesn’t go like it did after his favorite defensive performance. Iguodala wasn’t in there, but Kobe left a message.
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When Andre Iguodala was moved from the starting lineup to the bench, it was because Steve Kerr believed the bench needed a veteran leader, someone who could call the plays on the court and make everyone around him a better player.
