About 15 minutes before tip-off, news broke that the Golden State Warriors were planning to start Andre Iguodala at point guard:
Point guard is traditionally Steph Curry’s position, of course, but injuries have hampered Curry over the last month or so. In his stead, rookie Quinn Cook has started, even performing well enough to get a multiyear contract from the Warriors. Risky move, though, to start a rookie in the first game of the playoffs, and especially so against the seasoned San Antonio Spurs.
So, Steve Kerr inserted Iguodala into the starting lineup, and the really remarkable thing here is that the Warriors’ starting lineup against the Spurs — Iguodala, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, JaVale McGee — has not played a single minute together this season.
Iguodala, of course, has the experience as a 14-year veteran, and just three years ago he was the 2015 Finals MVP. His statistical contributions are down and his shooting numbers are actual craters, but his game has always been predicated on contributions beyond the box score, and especially on stepping up the moment. He’s no Steph Curry, though.
So far, it seems to be working out well, as at the time of writing, the Warriors have an early first quarter lead over the Spurs.
