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Tonight’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals is a must-win for the Golden State Warriors. A loss tonight would put the Warriors in a position where they would need to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in three consecutive games. The Cavaliers haven’t lost three games in a row since early January.
With his team’s season potentially on the line, it’s time for Steve Kerr to change things up. He can start by inserting Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup and moving Harrison Barnes to the bench.
For one, Iguodala has been better offensively. He’s shooting almost 30 percentage points higher than Barnes and is also averaging five more points per game. In a nightmarish Game 3, Barnes missed all eight of his shot attempts. He has also missed his last six attempts from long range. His last successful three-point attempt came in overtime of Game 1. After a strong Game 1, Barnes’ production has started to decline.
Iguodala has been a more efficient scorer and has also dished out 12 assists in the series compared to Barnes’ one. Iguodala can create and facilitate more offense than Barnes. Putting Iguodala in the game earlier may help the Warriors’ offense get off to a much better start.
More importantly, Iguodala in the starting lineup would help when it comes to defending LeBron James. Though he might not be the same defender he was a year ago — 2014 all-defensive first team — Iguodala is still the best option for the Warriors when it comes to defending James. Barnes guarding James is a colossal mismatch. Barnes is long, but James just uses his size to overpower him.
He may not shut him down, but Iguodala seems to make James work a little bit harder to score compared to others. He’s more physical and does a better job staying in front of James and limiting his drives. James recognizes it and has made it a point to attack Barnes early and often through the first three games.
James has scored a total of 28 first-quarter points so far in this series. With Barnes on the floor, James has scored 21 of those points while shooting 9-of-18 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. On the flip side, when Iguodala has replaced Barnes, James has scored just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting with zero free throw attempts.
Inserting Iguodala into the starting lineup may help prevent James and the Cavaliers from getting off to a good start. It would certainly force James to expend more energy earlier in the game. The earlier he has to work, the more likely that fatigue — or cramping — may set in late in the game which could compromise his ability to perform at an elite level. James has averaged over 47 minutes per game this series. Can he possibly keep that pace up at this point of the season and still perform the way he has?
The numbers don’t lie. Iguodala has outperformed Barnes so far in the Finals. Starting Iguodala would benefit the Warriors on both ends of the floor. It may also benefit Barnes, who could see a more favorable matchup coming off the bench and avoiding James.
Derek McVay is a Boston Celtics beat writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @mcvay34, or add him to your network on Google.
