In adding Kevin Durant in the offseason to their star-laden cast, the Golden State Warriors were making peace with the fact the rest of their roster would be filled by veterans and untested youngsters. In winning 11 of their last games, the Warriors’ elder statesmen have made their presence felt as the team rounds into playoff form. Conner Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle has more:
The savvy of Shaun Livingston, David West, Andre Iguodala and 37-year-old Matt Barnes has been a driving force behind the Warriors’ 11-game winning streak. With Kevin Durant sidelined by a left knee injury, that cast has scrapped for loose balls, set textbook screens, made timely stops and shouldered heavier scoring loads.
After a nine-game stretch in which he averaged 1.8 points on 18.8 percent shooting, Livingston is averaging 7.3 points on 82.1 percent shooting over his past seven. West, who has missed only eight of his past 21 shots, is excelling as the offensive fulcrum of the second unit. Iguodala has been so indispensable on both sides of the court that head coach Steve Kerr has twice touted him for Sixth Man of the Year in the past four days. Though far from a scorer the caliber of Durant, Barnes has helped replace Durant’s defensive versatility.
“It’s exactly what we need down the stretch and going into the playoffs,” Kerr said. “We need everybody playing at a high level. It bodes well that those guys are in a good groove.”
The NBA is fickle, thanks to the annual influx of college players and international prospects. The average NBA career lasts 4.8 years.
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West, who is eight years removed from back-to-back All-Star appearances, has used his intellect to decipher defenses and find open teammates. Long after his days as a go-to scorer for Philadelphia, Iguodala pushes through an achy back and a nagging hamstring injury to lock down opponents’ No. 1 options. Barnes, one of the league’s most volatile players in his youth, is learning how to channel his fire.
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Once a potential franchise point guard for the Clippers, Livingston has found his niche as a leader of the Warriors’ second unit by playing to his strengths. He bypasses open three-point shots to hoist mid-range jumpers and post up smaller defenders.
“He’s one of the most resilient people I’ve ever met,” Green said. “He never gave up and continued to fight. I look at it from the standpoint of the entire body of work, from where he was to where he fell to, then to get back to where he is now. It’s amazing.”
Livingston, West, Iguodala and Barnes have logged a combined 3,548 NBA games. To play some of their best basketball so late in the season, they have been committed to self-preservation. Postpractice meetings with the training staff are their staples. When Kerr asks them to rest the occasional game, they don’t argue.
