Andre Iguodala stepped up last season for the Philadelphia 76ers
Andre Iguodala has his best season ever in the NBA as he took off after the trade of Allen Iverson to the Denver Nuggets. Iguodala played in 76 games last season and he averaged 40.3 minutes, 18.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He also shot the ball all right as he hit 44.7% from the floor, 31% from three point range and 82% from the free throw line. Look for Iguodala to even be a better basketball player next season for the Sixers.
Iguodala’s numbers are starting to spike upwards as the Sixers are depending on him more on offense. In 240 career games, Iguodala has averaged 36.8 minutes, 13.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game. His shooting percentages actually went down except for free throws. Iguodala has now hit 47.5% from the floor, 33.2% from 3-point range and 78.5% from the free throw line.
Iguodala could be a real gem for the sixers. It would have been nice to see the Sixers get a better pick then 12 in the draft but no such luck. Spencer Hawes might be there and he is big and possibly someone you can build around.
I think Samuel Dalembert is a pretty good center for the Sixers. What they really need is a power forward or a small forward/shooting guard that has good offensive skills as the Sixers have had problems scoring points.
I see that this franchise could choose to go in a few directions with Iguodala and this upcoming draft. On the one hand, I can see them trying to become a run and gun, high-flying offensive team based on steals and fast breaks. But what I’d like to see them do is to go back to their defensive roots, become a lockdown defensive unit and base their offense on a crisp halfcourt passing game. These are inevitably the kinds of teams that find success (Spurs, Mavericks and Pistons to name a few).
With that in mind, they have to choose carefully in this draft. The players that I can most see fitting that defense/passing team mentality are Jeff Green, Julian Wright, and even Joakim Noah. Let’s see which direction they go in.
It will be interesting to see if they go offense or defense on draft day, but I gotta think it will be a shooting guard or small forward in the first round.