Gobert explains decision to give Iguodala open 3-pointer originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
“Fate of the universe on the line — open shot … I want Iguodala taking that shot for me.”
Max Kellerman’s famous Andre Iguodala quote came to fruition Saturday night in the Warriors‘ 123-116 win over the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena.
Okay maybe not quite to that level, but nevertheless Iguodala hit an open 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter that helped seal Golden State’s impressive win over the Jazz.
“In basketball, you have to play the percentages,” Gobert told reporters postgame. “Obviously, I try not to give him the easiest shot so I closed out on him. He had to make a pump-fake and then he shot it. Everybody knows when you shoot like that it’s not the easiest of a shot but he made it. Once again, you’ve got to give him credit.
“My role was to make sure he’s not about to hit somebody on a backdoor or if he hands it off to Steph [Curry} I’m able to help. In basketball you can’t guard everything, you’ve got to give something away. We chose to give that away and he made us pay, so credit to him.”
Iguodala had noticed that Gobert was playing off him throughout the game and took advantage at the perfect opportunity.
“It was interesting,” Iguodala said postgame. “I normally don’t have too many threes like that this year. I hadn’t had a rhythm draining threes in-game but then in practice, I was shooting well … I knew Rudy [Gobert] was guarding me, he had been playing off all night. I knew the option would be there at some point, I just took advantage of it.”
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Iguodala is shooting an uninspiring 23.9 percent from the 3-point line so far this season but he’s still the same player to hit big shots when it matters most. Even without the fate of the universe on the line.