Inside the Sixers: Iguodala's game going way of Sixers - down

There have always been doubters, but Andre Iguodala could silence them with an almost triple-double, a game-winning jumper, or a high-rising dunk.

He could always produce just enough, and in just the right moments, to force anyone considering going on full blast, anyone preparing to cup their hands to their mouths, to sit back down and reconsider.

No more, not lately.

Iguodala has gone the way of his team: down, down, down.

And anyone concerned about the 76ers' future has to be wondering: Where does Iguodala go from here? Can he expunge this season from his memory, come back rejuvenated and ready next October?

Let's look at the numbers.

For the season, Iguodala is averaging 17.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists. He's shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 28.5 percent from three-point range - both the lowest percentages of a career that will be six years old when this season mercifully ends April 14.

Recently, Iguodala's shooting - always a point of concern within the Wachovia Center - has looked as discouraged as the team itself. Since March 3, not including last night's game against the Chicago Bulls, the Sixers are 2-10. Also since March 3, not including last night's game, Iguodala is 62 for 152 (40.8 percent) from the field, 3 for 31 (9.6 percent) from three, and 34 for 56 (60.7 percent) from the free-throw line.

Included in that three-point number is a 1-for-26 stretch from beyond the arc. Entering last night's game, Iguodala hadn't made a three-pointer since going 1 for 7 against Cleveland on March 12.

In that 10-game stretch, the closest Iguodala has come to a triple-double was against the Miami Heat on March 14, when he recorded 15 points, nine assists, and six rebounds but also finished with four turnovers in a 104-91 loss.

Basically, the in-depth numbers support what every Sixers fan has noticed - Iguodala is really, really struggling.

"It's been pretty bad," Iguodala said after Friday night's loss to the New York Knicks. Iguodala wasn't talking about his own situation, just the general direction of this season, but those four words seemed quite appropriate.

What will this mean for Iguodala and the Sixers? Can faith be reestablished - if it ever had been established - between Iguodala and season-ticket holders? Or between Iguodala and the front office, which has seen his poor shooting for far too long?

In a way, the answer is simple. Of course it can. It seems this team's fans don't so much dislike Iguodala's overall game, they just wish the guy would humble himself and recognize that he isn't an outside shooter.

And what's wrong with not being an outside shooter? Nothing, if you recognize you're not. Since the Sixers traded franchise player Allen Iverson in 2006, Iguodala has not finished a season with a three-point percentage higher than 32.9 percent.

So stop shooting so many.

There are only four players in the NBA who have attempted 200-plus three-pointers and are shooting worse than 30 percent: Iguodala; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (29.7); Boston Celtics big man Rasheed Wallace (28.4 percent); and Los Angeles Clippers guard Baron Davis (28.2 percent).

Anyone watching the Sixers recognizes that Iguodala's game is electric, but at times he seems too busy trying to prove people wrong - trying to will himself into being an outside shooter - when instead he should be proving people right by slashing to the rim for dunks and leading the break.

Read Kate Fagan's 76ers blog, Deep Sixer, at www.philly.com/sixers.

Posted 10:09 a.m. 03/17/2010

duder

Unfortunately I think Iguodala's mental development has been hurt by something (possibly having a different coach every year since God knows when?). He puts up great numbers but he has an awful attitude. The thing that really gets me is missing plays while he argues with the ref. It happens more than you think - watch him closely. A good coach would sit his behind down for pulling stuff like that. A good coach would also not make excuses for him jacking so many threes either - they would tell him to drive to the hoop, kick it out, or take a long shot as a last resort only.