The Miami Heat have quite a bit of veteran experience rostered as they head into the postseason. Andre Iguodala is a huge part of it and should have as big a role.
As the Miami Heat get set to head into the NBA postseason, look for them to take inventory of all of their tools so that they may be able to take advantage of them all as they look to make a run. Toughness and grit are a few of those weapons, a category that few teams and that’s if any, can outduel the Miami Heat in.
Another one of those tools that they may be well prepared to take advantage of heading into the postseason and especially in their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers is veteran experience and leadership. With an opulence of quality veterans along their roster, they should be in great hands there, especially with one former champion in tow.
That former champion is Andre Iguodala. Speaking of Iggy though, it’s worth noting that he should have a pretty big role for Erik Spoelstra and this Miami Heat team moving forward throughout the postseason.
There are three core reasons at the center of it all. Here they are.
The Miami Heat are gearing up for a playoff run. Veterans like Andre Iguodala should be a huge part of whatever it is to be for them.
The first is relating to what we have discussed throughout the entirety of this piece, his veteran presence, leadership, and stability. In the playoffs, where the moments are their most tense and when the pressure is at it’s heaviest, you need guys who can handle it and/or who have been in those moments before to get you through.
If all of the guys on the court aren’t those types of guys, then you at least want a guy or two capable of calming the others, leading them through it, while also getting the best out of them. Andre Iguodala has been through the fire with the Golden State Warriors and he is that type of dude.
The second reason is his versatility. The Miami Heat are a positionless basketball team when they can help it and Iggy only adds to the facilitation of that philosophy. Being readily capable of guarding the one through the four guy on any given possession, he will have immense value in any matchup as we progress throughout the postseason.
On offense, the same applies, but that segues into the third reason.
Lastly, Iguodala is capable of running the offense and creating for himself or others when things break down. There were a ton of times in Golden State where Iguodala was the guy tasked with creating the play, while leaving Steph Curry and Klay Thompson along the win to knock down open shots.
There will most certainly come a time in this postseason run, perhaps as early as the first series, where the Miami Heat will need Iguodala to step up and be that guy again. That is the third reason why he will be huge as the Miami Heat don’t have a true point guard or main ball-handler, so anybody that can, may be called upon in a crucial moment.
He can also set up along the wing or in the corner to knock down a three when you need him to. On occasion even, as we have seen once or twice during the eight seeding games, he can even still iso on the block and get you a tough bucket. He’s still got something left to offer to a title run from multiple areas on offense.
This goes exponentially for a guy with Iggy’s resume, credentials, and history. That is why these are the three reasons why he will be a key piece in the Miami Heat’s postseason run.
We can’t wait to see it all happen! It begins on Tuesday in Game One! See you there!