In the fight for the first place in the West not so long ago, the Warriors find themselves unhooked today. An observation that led an important member of the workforce to push a certain rant towards the constitution of his team!
With 11 defeats in their last 16 games, their entire postseason course could be turned upside down in the days to come. Very close to the Suns in the standings in the West at the start of February, the Warriors are currently 13.5 games behind Chris Paul’s band. Worse: given their recent form, they could well let their home advantage slip away for the first round of the playoffs at the end of the regular season!
The setback suffered on Monday against Memphis, who stole their second place in the conference a few weeks ago, certainly did not help. Without Ja Morant, the Grizzlies easily got rid of the Dubs, for their part deprived of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Left to themselves, the young shoots of Golden State did not make the weight, which somewhat annoyed one of their veteran teammates.
Andre Iguodala castigates the Warriors group
Absent for almost two months, Andre Iguodala made his return to Steve Kerr’s rotation. His contribution was also felt during his 15 minutes of play, since he posted the best +/- of his team in this match (+2). An encouraging recovery, which did not, however, prevent him from being incisive at a press conference. The MVP of the 2015 Finals has indeed rebelled against the mixture of young players and more experienced elements in the Californian roster, which he considers… disrespectful!
It’s just, you know — it’s a little disrespectful to the older generation. But I also think it doesn’t help the new generation to grow up and be kids. Blaming it all on them when they don’t deserve it… That’s just my point of view. I may be wrong.
Clearly, Iggy considers that the in-between created by its leaders would not be a beneficial recipe for the team.
Recent results tend to confirm this, since the next generation does not seem to manage to take over when the older stars are not there. This does not take away from the nice progress made by some nuggets of the franchise, like Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga, whom Iguodala has also praised on an individual level.
Their value of yesterday is no longer that of today. It’s true for both of them. Especially for Jordan Poole. He had a certain contract lined up for him when he landed this season, and he’s raised his price, especially over the last few weeks. It’s exciting to see for me. I’m here for that, to make it happen. JK, we knew his potential, but we had to develop his fundamentals and make him more professional. And he does it well.
A speech which therefore does not erase the fears displayed by the 38-year-old winger, whose voice carries a lot in the locker room.
Worried about the state of the Warriors, Andre Iguodala wonders about the benefits of the cohabitation between the stars of today, and the talents of tomorrow. To see if this apprehension will prove legitimate during the postseason!
