I had a very solid weekend. I went to both Sixers games. It was fun as hell watching them be on cruise control for wins over the Bobcats 89-72 and the Pistons 95-74. The Sixers are now 14-6 and have 4 game lead over Boston. The one guy I noticed the most this weekend was Andre Iguodala. The way he moves without the ball and the way he gets in passing lanes on the defensive end. He really does a lot of the little things out there.
Will he ever be Wade, Kobe or Durant? No, but he is a very nice player. I think it might be time that we start showing him some love. He has always been the whipping boy for this team in the past 5 years. Sometimes he deserved it, sometimes he did not. In all fairness, early in his career the Sixers asked him to be something he is not, a number one scorer.
We as fans, me included, got so caught up with him trying to be a scorer. As we found out he was not, we started to forget and not care about what he actually does well. He has become one of the best defenders in the league. In his three marquee matchups this year so far against Melo, Joe Johnson and LeBron he has been good against them defensively. Melo scored 27 points against him but shot 9-24 from the floor. Joe Johnson had a season low 8 points and shot 3-8 against him. LeBron was hard to judge.
The Sixers had Turner and Thad on LeBron as well as Iggy. If LeBron wants to get his there is NO one in this league that can stop him. Iggy sees the floor very well and Doug seeing that likes to use him at point forward at times. When Iggy is in the open court he is a Top 10 player. Exhibit A, when he was coming down the lane on a fast break against the Pistons he got caught in mid-air and decided screw it. I will throw the ball off the backboard and give my self an ally opp pass. Boom. One if the best moves I have ever seen in person.
Doug Collins took it another step further by saying if the Sixers are in first place by All-Star break Iggy should be an All-Star. Maybe? Personally I do not think he is an All-Star but who am I to tell Doug. Doug sees him play day in and day out. All I am saying is that we should start recognizing what he means to this team. He still should not take the last shot. Just saying. Like it or not he is the leader and best all around player on this team right now.
I will go out of my way and say that almost all NBA teams would love to have Iggy on their team. The best way to describes Iggy is that he is just a team player. Iggy is averaging 13 points 6.4 rebounds 5 assists and 2 steals a game. As of right now he is shooting a career high 38 percent from three point land. He just recorded his third triple-double of his career. He is also a finalist to make the Olympic Team.
Listen I am not trying to glorify him or anything like that. All I am saying is that it might be time for us as I said before me included to start showing him some love or as the Sixers say SHOWYALUV! By the way the fun begins this week with Orlando, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Lakers, Spurs and the Clippers all in a row. We are about to find out what this team is really all about. Let’s go!
Igoudala is a delusional idiot, & a mediocre player. Give it a rest already. He thinks he should be an All-Star & said that triple doubles come natural to him. Talk about a delusional, arrogant, egotistical bum. I can’t wait for the FO to wake up & trade this nitwit. We will never win anything with this line-up as it is currently configured. I give them credit for playing well right now, but when good teams come & playoffs come, they will have to play a half court game & it will kill them. They have no consistent go to guy & are soft in the middle at 4 & 5. They have to finish this rebuilding process & get rid of Brand & Igoudala.There is noway Meeks should be starting either. Jrue, Turner & Thad need to be out there the majority of the game, so they can get better, grow & gain confidence & chemistry.
ddcar ,let the season play out, for the first time in a long time the team is relevant, if hawes can get back on the court on a consistent basis, who knows how far they go, and I agree with the author, if Collins says he’s an all star, then he is, there is no bullshit with this coach, refreshing
DCar you are the number 1 hater on iggy. Lol. It is all good though. You are always talking about how they should just let blow this team up and they are going nowhere. This team is growing and they do have a future. Brand and iggy fit this team right now. Most likey they are not in the Sixers future plans. They are helping this team grow. I understand the contracts they have but there are so many bad contracts in the NBA. They help Holiday, Turner and Thad grow because they do not demaned the ball. And for the first time in a long time this team has a future. Let’s just enjoy the ride this season then next year we will worry about brand and iggy. Dcar I love the passion though even if we do not agree. Thanks reading my article to bro!
Iggy is a good player. He is a great defender and he is good at most parts of the game. Unfortunately, he is an inconsistent perimeter shooter and he tends to disappear at times. He also cannot be counted on to win a game for the Sixers. The problem that I have with him is that he makes way too much money for what he does. He makes superstar money, but doesn’t produce superstar numbers. With his contract and Brand’s it is really hamstringing this team. One of them probably needs to go for the team to take the next step.
Joe great article as always, but we agree to disagree. Iggy isn’t helping anyone grow, when he is taking minutes & shots away from Thad & Turner, & can’t consistently make them himself.
Dcar – if we’re strictly talking about end of game shots – let’s just say the final 3 minutes of a game – I’m with you on Iggy. But you seem to be undervaluing his defense, rebounding, passing, and poise on the floor (until the end). It’s just hard to agree with you when Collins clearly doesn’t. Iggy is really playing VERY good ball right now. That said, I NEVER want him on the court in crucial end of game situations.
DCar we would make a great radio show with the way we think of the Sixers. We would be going at each other the whole time. It would be fun as hell. LOL. Thanks bro!