Sixers’ Iguodala’s knee pain has been worse than he’s let on

Andre Iguodala has struggled through the playoffs.

The most explosive wing player on Philadelphia has shot just 31.6 percent overall and 25 percent from three. He is averaging only 8.8 points per game. He has looked like a shell of the guy who won gold with Team USA in Turkey last summer. That guy looked at home with the best in the NBA. Granted in the playoffs he had to track guys like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade out on the wings, but the drop-off has been more than that.

It has been his knee.

He admitted to the Philadelphia Daily News just how much it has been bothering him.

The chondromalacia in Iguodala’s right knee, a chronic condition that dates back more than 5 years, flared in mid-March. That’s right about the time Phillies second baseman Chase Utley was shelved with the same condition, possibly for as long as 3 months.

Because the injury flared in March, during the playoff chase, there was not such rest for Iggy. Then in the playoffs he has had the job of being an offensive focal point while dealing with LeBron and Wade. Good luck with that on two good knees.

“It hurts, because you can’t really lift,” Iguodala said. “You go into a jump shot and you feel like it’s going to give at times. You feel a pinch. You don’t know if the pain is going to come back. You’re thinking about it every shot. Every plant. That’s probably the toughest.”

After tonight, despite his and the Sixers best efforts, Iguodala will have a summer to rest that knee (maybe a long summer depending on the lockout). Next season he will be back to his old self. So long as his knee holds up.