Kurtenbach: Andre Iguodala’s gravitas won the Warriors three titles. His
return could bring a fourth
Golden State Warriors Playoffs: The steadying presence of Andre Iguodala
is back this postseason, and it's clear how much it's needed for the
Warriors to compete for a title.
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 7: Golden State Warriors’ Andre
Iguodala (9) bows his head while the national anthem is played before
the start of their NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, April 7, 2022. (Ray
Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 7: Golden State Warriors’ Andre
Iguodala (9) bows his head while the national anthem is played before
the start of their NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, April 7, 2022. (Ray
Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: April 23, 2022 at 12:21 p.m. | UPDATED: April 23, 2022 at
9:32 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/23/kurtenbach-andre-iguodalas-gravitas-won-the-warriors-three-titles-his-return-could-bring-a-fourth/

There’s something different about these Warriors now that the NBA
Playoffs are underway.

There are more than a few factors in play behind the change: A favorable
matchup with the Nuggets, a heightened sense of engagement, the return
of Steph Curry, albeit off the bench — there are countless contributors
to the Warriors’ 3-0 series lead.

But Thursday’s Game 3 showed another layer.

The Warriors showed calmness. It was the kind that we had seen countless
times before during this team’s dynastic run, but had never been tested
by this particular iteration of the Dubs.

And they would not have been able to come through without the presence
of the coolest dude on the court, Andre Iguodala.

Relentless credit is due to Curry, Jordan Poole, Draymond Green, Andrew
Wiggins and Klay Thompson — the Warriors’ closing lineup Thursday
(nickname pending) — for the Warriors being on the cusp of a first-round
series sweep, but Iguodala’s 16 minutes in Game 3 were immense.

>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 21: Golden State Warriors’ Andre Iguodala (9)
passes the ball against the Denver Nuggets in the second quarter of Game
3 of the team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff series at Ball Arena
in Denver, Colo., on Thursday, April 21, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area
News Group)

Don’t mind the box score. In a game that consistently felt on the edge,
Iguodala provided exactly what the Dubs needed during the most
challenging stretches.

His abilities might have diminished with age, but his superpower still
exists: just like back in 2014, Iguodala was the steadying force for a
Warriors team finding its way.

Iguodala is still the smartest player on any floor he takes and that
allows him to see the game with clairvoyance and orchestrate the music
that is a great game.

In Game 3, that meant providing a little bit of everything.

Indeed, Iguodala was playing so well Warriors coach Steve Kerr extended
his rotation in the fourth quarter.

“He made several great plays in a row. I felt really good about what he
was doing out there,” Kerr said after Game 3.

He was a defensive stalwart, guarding one through five. Nikola Jokic and
Bones Hyland snuggled against him, as did Demarcus Cousins and Bryn Forbes.

Iguodala’s defensive combination with Gary Payton II is so impactful
that it could be considered unfair to have it come off the bench.

And on the Warriors’ final defensive possession, there was No. 9,
closing out on Will Barton’s wide-open 3-point shot and blocking
Denver’s last attempt to continue the game.

Offensively, Iguodala was a perfect backup point guard for this team —
holding down the fort in harrowing moments.

He provided four points, four rebounds, three assists, two more screen
assists, a massive dunk and a pervasive sense that everything was going
to be OK.

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The Warriors were only able to win Game 3 because Iguodala
re-established control of a game that was tilted Denver’s way.

It won’t be the last game the Warriors need that from the veteran.

The fact that they even had Iguodala available in Game 3 was a bit of a
surprise in itself.

The 38-year-old, playing what he says is his final season, only played
31 regular-season games, with the majority of those games coming in the
first two-and-a-half months of the campaign. The wear-and-tear of nearly
1,400 NBA games made him a part-time player at best.

That was supposed to change in the playoffs — all that rest was supposed
to pay off come the “real” season.

But in Game 2, Iguodala was unable to play in Game 2 because of neck spasms.

And even in that game, which the Warriors won handily, his absence was
felt. Denver expanded an early lead to 12 points in the second quarter
Monday. The Warriors’ new three-guard death lineup erased that deficit
at the end of the frame, but would the game have been no the edge if
Iguodala was there, running the second unit?

I doubt it.

>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 21: Golden State Warriors’ Andre Iguodala (9)
dunks the ball against Denver Nuggets’ Will Barton (5) in the fourth
quarter of Game 3 of the team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff
series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Back in the 2014-15 season, Kerr called Iguodala the “adult in the
room.” The forward was 31 years old, but he taught Curry (26), Green
(24) and Thompson (24) how to not just win a playoff series, but how to
win the whole thing.

The Warriors’ star players still need that calming presence. Jordan
Poole (22), absolutely needs it, and we’re seeing Iguodala’s lessons to
him and Jonathan Kuminga (19) manifest on the floor. Poole, in
particular, has slowed his game down in recent weeks, and it’s taken an
already breakout season to an entirely different level.

As the Warriors progress through these playoffs, the competition will be
stiffer. Memphis or Minnesota await in Round 2, and both teams are
talented and brash. The weight of Iguodala’s presence could be the
perfect antidote.

Beyond that stage, gravitas is required to win.

And no one has more than Iguodala.