Team Of Amish Horses, originally uploaded by trisheroverton.
Since it's timely, and way more sublime and first-hand than anything I could come up with, I point you first to the recent Basketball Reference blog entry regarding Andre Iguodala. Quick recap. Iggy's the leader in total minutes played over the last four seasons. Furthermore, only Allen Iverson, Joe Johnson, and LeBron James have averaged more minutes per game over that span. More.
He's also a top-flight defender, having posted the 4th-best raw on/off efficiency +/- score in basketball in 08-09 (a year after he was the league's top defensive SG). Plus he consistently ranks as one of the best players in the NBA by every plus/minus metric out there, he scores often enough, and with good efficiency, and he's one of the better rebounding wings in the league.The post goes on to say that Iguodala doesn't get as much love from fans and un-advanced critics. The main reasons are lack of team success, the fact that he effectively replaced Iverson, his un-boxscore filling contributions while on the court, and his lack of a consistent jump shot. BR notes that the solid free throw percentage indicates he could become a more solid jump shooter, which would wipe out any real criticisms of his game. Philly pushed Orlando in the playoffs, so the question is how close they are to breaking in to the elite. Elton Brand's supposed to be back this year. If they have a good year, could Iguodala become more universally accepted as one of the best playing? Ask again later.
Magic 8-ball, originally uploaded by hartboy.
So, instead let's give a quick official player website review. It's been awhile, and Iggy's site is primed for destruction!
- Accessibility/Layout: It's really quite confusing. I can't tell if it's a blog or actually a website or if it's just trying to sell me something. There are a bunch of links that look promising but don't lead anywhere. For example, there's a "Forums" link with nothing to discuss. Perhaps Andre's looking to get controversial sometime soon. I think this site is set up by an outside company. That can be a good thing, but the problem is that the layout is not geared to the specific athlete. Grade: D-
- Video: Youtube videos, a bunch of them, but nothing original. The player is a little unwieldy too. Next. Grade: C
- Photos: This is one of the links that goes to a blank page. Boo. Grade: F
- Up-to-date-ness: Props for having a couple of posts up in the last 5 days. The site seemed to flag in the summer and is picking up again now as the season approaches. Still, there could be more content beyond news and schedule. Again, the news is presented in blog-like form. There is an RSS feed available, and a related sidebar, but even my grandma has one of those at this point. Grade: C
- Marketing: Buy Andre's signature headphones or a t-shirt with his initials in black or white. You can even click on the "visit the store" link! Grade: B-
- Original Content: Not even a bio. I'm not an expert at...many things, but I know a website should have that, at least. The link that takes you to "Andre," only takes gives you the same thing as the "News" link. Some of the news is probably original, but not enough to redeem the site. Grade: D-
- Trivia: None. Grade: D
Andre Iguodala, originally uploaded by Chicago 2016 Photos.
