Skipping ahead a little bit, Andre Iguodala (whom the Warriors signed to a 4-year $48 million deal after working out an elaborate trade with the Utah Jazz) had this to say postgame, “I’m having fun playing basketball. After watching Iguodala in Philadelphia for the first 8 years of his career I can tell you this is sort of a revelation. After dealing with scrutiny from fans and media for being “overpaid” and expected to be the guy (something his game is not meant for) Iguodala is finally able to have fun playing basketball again.
Rewind back to the beginning; Thursday night, the table was set for an early season game against the team most predict as the team to go through out West on the road to the NBA Finals under the spotlight known as national television. Although that spotlight didn’t shine until the 1st Quarter was halfway through (the early game between the Rockets and Knicks pushed tip-off to 7:52 PST), both teams got off to a rapid start. Kevin Durant made his first 4 shots, Russell Westbrook started 5/5 from the field, and the duo of Stephen Curry/Klay Thompson made their first five 3’s from 3-point land. It seemed unsustainable, but these two powerhouses showed their might and fought throughout.
The game was tied 62-62 at half even though the Warriors were +7 in the turnover differential. Rationality says that differential would regress to the mean, especially gleaning in on the struggles the Warriors faced in the first spew of games this season. Fast forward again to the finish, the turnover differential grew to +12, yet somehow the Thunder were never really out of the game even when it appeared they were.
Andre Iguodala was everything Warriors fans, media, coaches, players, front office executive’s, et. al expected when the team signed him over the Summer. After a recent injury to Toney Douglas, Iguodala was thrust into the official backup PG role and has been superb in doing so. 11 assists against Detroit on Tuesday night against the Detroit Pistons followed up by 8 assists tonight and 0 turnovers tonight. CBSSport’s Zach Harper had a great prelude to tonight’s finish as he wrote this piece titled “Andre Iguodala’s offense is the perfect compliment to his defense” . Iguodala assured Harper’s assertion by scoring 14 points on 5/6 from the field 2/2 from 3 and a buzzer beater to put the Warriors back on top which turned Oracle Arena into Roaracle Arena. Postgame when asked after the game Iguodala was asked what made this game such an easy transition, his response, “Coach Jackson.”
Mark Jackson brought a culture change to this organization and it shows more and more each and every time this team is given the chance under the bright lights. The Warriors were up 10+ late and had yet to win a game by less than 10-points this season. The Thunder showing resiliency fought back late and never let the game get too far away. Serge Ibaka scored a career-high 27 points, Westbrook a season-high 31, and Durant managed 20 after going only 1/9 from the field after making his first 4.
The Warriors failed to bring the lead back to a 2-possession game after Curry missed a contested 3 with 12 seconds left in the 4th Quarter. Curry’s last made FG came with 4+ minutes left in the 3rd Quarter. With 4 seconds left on the clock Westbrook hit his second 3 of the game making things look grim in the Bay Area. Maybe this is who the Warriors are, a fun team that can’t seal the deal. We saw it in the playoffs against San Antonio several times, maybe seeing it under the spotlight of national television sealed the deal? Andre Iguodala was not signed to reinforce the Warriors are who everyone thought they were.
With 2.3 seconds left on the clock, Iguodala received the ball on the right baseline, went up for the shot, and the rest is now history. The Warriors are 6-3 and we have 73 games left in this long and grueling season. It was fun, it was reassuring, it was satisfactory, it was pretty much everything we could have asked for, but it’s only a silver ling at this point midway through November. None the less a great sign and a great win against a great team.
The Warriors next game is Saturday at Oracle vs. the Utah Jazz
Other Notes:
- Harrison Barnes looked great in this game scoring 16 on 14 shots, which doesn’t stand out, but it was good to see the Warriors running plays through Barnes and allowing him to post up with smaller defenders guarding him. Something to look for in the future.
- The Warriors long-armed wings of Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala showed their impact on the defensive end as they consistently were allowed to switch on play between guarding Durant and Westbrook voiding either from gaining the advantage on a switch.
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