You can find pictures of Doug Collins all over the place. The media guide. The team web site. Google images. Most of them are misleading. Where are the photos of him sweating and stressing out? Where are the ones of him worrying?
Thats what coaches do, Collins admitted. Thats what were made to do. Put a picture of a coach and put the word worry by them. Thats what we do.
He is a professional basketball coach. It is a job that comes with a hefty salary, but it should also include a prescription for extra-strength anxiety medication. Collins latest cause for concern? Andre Iguodala, who has patella tendinitis in his left knee.
Iguodala didnt play on Sunday in a loss at San Antonio. He didnt play in a 103-85 win over the Cavaliers at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday, either. Collins said Iguodala is day-to-day and that he hopes Iguodala will be back in the lineup when the Sixers travel south to D.C. to play the Wizards on Friday. Except, well, no one can be entirely sure. Knee injuriesas the amateur physicians otherwise known as Phillies fans have learnedare tricky and unpredictable things. What if it lingers? What if it nags Iguodala as the regular season funnels into playoffs?
Any time you have an injury thats a soft tissue injury, thats a wear and tear injury, I think you worry, Collins said. I dont think theres any question about it.
Collins is worried. He doesnt think there should be any question about that. You should worry too. There shouldnt be any question about that, either.
If youre one of the people who doesnt dig Iguodalaif you still think hes overpaid and under-talentedjust wait. Youll start to love him if he doesnt get back out on the court and stay there for the remainder of the season and especially for the playoffs. The Sixers have 16 games remaining, but only five of those will be at home. That is an ugly schedule, and it will become even more unfriendly if Iguodala is in street clothes instead of his uniform.
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Iguodala leads the team in minutes, assists, steals per game and assist-to-turnover ratio (by a lot) this season. Hes also third in points per game and fourth in rebounds. Take a guy like that away from a team like this for a little while and maybe they can tread regular-season water for a little while. But take a guy like that away from a team like this when the postseason waves come crashing down on their heads? Gurgle, gurgle. The Sixers and their hopes of getting out of the first round would drown without him.
We lose our best perimeter defender, Collins said about how the team dynamic changes when Iguodala cant play. Theres a lot of different versatility that you lose. Hes one of our better playmakers in the open court with his speed and quickness. Pick and roll: he has the size to see over defenses and find the open side. He does so many different things for our team. Over the last two years, weve grown, at least I have, to appreciate all the little things he does.
"And night in and night out he guards the other teams best offensive player on the perimeter. The Joe Johnson's and the Paul Pierce's. The other night it was Carmelo Anthony. Those are the guys he guards every night.
Oh, is that all?
Maybe Iguodala will be fine. Maybe this isnt a big deal. Maybe the Sixers trainers will lay their hands on him and fix him up quicker than Mr. Miyagi healed Daniel LaRusso. Except, again, knee injuries are hard to predict, and they have a way of sticking around. Dont forget, this is not a new issue for Iguodala. Hes had it for years. He had it when he played college ball at the University of Arizona. He had it last year when it prevented him from playing 15 games or, for the math lovers among you, more than 18 percent of the season. And he has it now.
On Monday, Iguodala revealed that his left knee started bothering him about two weeks ago and that he played through it. Thats encouraging. But then it evidently got bad enough, or painful enough, that he had to shut it down for a while and not play through it. That is somewhat less encouraging.
I think Dre is going to be OK, Collins said, perhaps trying to convince himself, as well as the reporters gathered around him. I think he caught it in time. I think maybe it was bothering him for a little bit, but I dont think it was like last year with the Achilles and the knee that came on later in the season that stayed with him a long timeat least thats what my prayers are going to be because we need him healthy and fresh.
That they do. If it doesnt unfold that way, Collins will have something significant to worry about.
E-mail John Gonzalez at jgonzalez@comcastsportsnet.com