In what was a series shifting win for the Warriors, they found a balance when they made some key lineup changes. Taking out Andrew Bogut and inserting Andre Iguodala seemed like a big risk to take considering how they were going to matchup against Cleveland's bigs in Timofey Mozgov and Tristian Thompson. With Draymond Green at center, the Warriors seemed to be too quick for Cleveland and when Iguodala started to hit his threes (4 of 9 for the game) you could see disaster coming for Cleveland. This, along with David Blatt's unwillingness to go small with the likes of a Shawn Marion, added to the Cavs misery in Game 4. In fact, the Warriors disadvantage in length didn't seem as bad as it was. The Warriors were only outrebounded by five, something most wouldn't have predicted when they saw the lineups pre-game.
But the big X-factor and MVP for the Warriors has been Andre Iguodala. He has been given the job of guarding LeBron James, and he has done a decent job in stopping King James. With LeBron, you know he is going to get his points, you just have to slow him down and wear him out during the process. That is exactly what Iguodala has done. According to ESPN, James is shooting 35.3 percent from the field and the Cavs are minus-25 when Iggy is on the court. Talk about a game changer. Normally a bench player, Iguodala has embraced his role as a sixth man and has done it well the whole season and is showing that he can play well in a starting role. Steve Kerr and his staff trust Iguodala to be on the court. That's why in Game 4 he played the second most minutes on the Warriors. The only player ahead of him? Stephen Curry.
The Warriors also have a big advantage when Iguodala gets his shot going. Since the Warriors are going small ball, they spread the Cavaliers out. Mozgov and Thompson can't hog the paint anymore as they have to worry about Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, and now Iguodala sitting on the three-point line waiting to knock down an open three or drive right past them for a layup. Through four games, Iguodala is shooting 57.5 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from deep. If he can get his shot going in Games 5 and 6, the Cavaliers are in deep trouble.
If the Warriors go on and win the series, they will most likely look back at Game 4 as a turning point in the series. Steve Kerr made the bold decision of going small and inserting Iguodala for his first start of the season and it paid off nicely. In a series where Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have failed to look like their normal selves, Iguodala has stepped up and given an MVP-like performance for the Warriors.