Out of all the surprises with Team USA this summer, the sight of Andre Iguodala as Team USA's go-to defensive stopper had to be one of the most shocking to casual Sixers fans.
Iggy's been an above-average on-ball stopper for Philly for years, but no one was ready to compare him to 2005 Ron Artest any time soon.
Having just watched Iguodala harass Lithuania's leading scorer, Linas Kleiza, into a 1-of-11 shooting performance in the semifinals of the FIBA World Championships, I'm wondering how Iggy's defensive abilities have stayed under-the-radar for this long.
Regardless, Sixers fans can't assume that Iggy's performance at the World Championships will necessarily carry over to the NBA. As Kleiza and Luis Scola proved in this tournament, a superstar in FIBA play may only translate into a role player in the NBA.
If Iguodala does return stateside with his new defensive mentality, it'd only help the Sixers in the coming years. With the Sixers having just added Evan Turner with the No. 2 pick in the 2010 draft, Philly finally has a franchise cornerstone that will eventually be expected to shoulder the load offe ...
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Article written by Bryan Toporek
Can Andre Iguodala Translate His Team USA Performance to the Philadelphia 76ers?
September 13th, 2010 by Bryan Toporek Leave a reply »
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