Despite having a rookie coach in Steve Kerr and losing in the first round of the playoffs last season, the Golden State Warriors expect to contend for a title this season. They have one of the strongest starting fives in the league, but in order to strengthen the bench, Kerr may consider bringing Andre Iguodala off the bench next season.
The Warriors had a window of opportunity this summer to acquire Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves. But the organization was torn on giving up Klay Thompson because of his shooting ability and strong play on the defensive end. Now that Love appears to be headed to Cleveland, the Warriors will return the same starting five from last year: Steph Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, David Lee and Andrew Bogut. When healthy, that is as good a five-man unit as you can put together in the league.
Via Diamond Leung of the San Jose Mercury News, Kerr is open to bringing Iguodala off the bench if it’s beneficial to the team:
Klay Thompson and David Lee, who were players in trade talks involving Love, were named by Kerr as having “automatic” starting spots along with Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut when a boy at the Warriors Basketball Camp at Tice Valley Community Gym asked the coach about the lineup.
“Andre (Iguodala) started last year, which he probably will (again), but there’s a lot of options that we have because we’ve got really good players in Harrison (Barnes) and Draymond (Green),” Kerr said, adding that he would likely use the same lineup as last season. “But most of it usually comes down to how the combination fits. … How do the pieces of the puzzle fit?”
Even though Iguodala only averaged 9.3 points per game last season, the 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game were crucial especially since Curry and Thompson are more than capable of carrying the scoring load. Iguodala also shot 35.4 percent from downtown last year, which helps stretch the floor on the offensive end.
Green and Barnes are both entering their third season in the league. After an above average rookie season, Barnes scoring average fell off a tad last year, from 13.1 points to 12.1 points per game, but the biggest red flag may be his 39.9 percent field goal percentage. Green’s scoring numbers were similar to Barnes as he averaged 10.2 points and shot 40.7 percent from the field.
The decision on who the Warriors will start may come down to who is the strongest defensive player of the trio. Iggy has the reputation for being a lock-down defensive player on the perimeter, but he’s also turning 31 in January and may be on the decline. Meanwhile, the two younger options — especially Green — have the potential to become a factor on the defensive end on a night-to-night basis.
It probably makes sense for Kerr to continue starting Iguodala, so he has a proven player at the start of games to defend the elite wing players in the West. But he has options on the bench, and may tinker throughout the season to find the right combination as the Warriors look to make a deeper playoff run this time around.
What do you think?
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