Heat Vs. 76ers: Philadelphia Plays 'Andre Iguodala Blame Game' Again

NBA Playoff Memes celebrate the five stories everyone is buzzing about after each day of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. In Thursday's No. 4, we discuss Andre Iguodala's bad game and the entirely predictable reaction by many 76ers fans.

Andre Igouala is the highest-paid basketball player in a city that has a tendency to get very upset at its highest-paid basketball players. He's a small forward adept at doing everything but scoring and creating a good shot for himself. He also has played on a team without many other players adept at scoring and creating good shots for themselves for several years running. 

So, naturally, as the 76ers' chances to make it a series against the Miami Heat slipped further and further away one difficult Iguodala jumper at a time, the Philadelphia crowd decided to start booing Iggy. Nevermind the fact that he was playing on an injured knee. Nevermind the fact that, despite his awful shooting, he still managed to contribute 10 assists. Nevermind that he had to chase LeBron James around all game defensively, which tires anyone out. Iguodala is the highest-paid player on the team, dammit, and if he's not matching LeBron and Wade shot for shot, we're going to boo him! That's the Philadelphia way!

For the five thousandth time: here's the deal. Is Iguodala overpaid? Probably a little bit. Is he a bad basketball player? No, not even close. He's just miscast as a LeBron/Wade type, when he probably is better suited to being your third-best player. Those fans that were booing Iguodala should really direct their ire to management for constantly failing to bring in another elite scorer to allow Iguodala to play to his strengths.

(Worth noting: to their credit, the recap on SB Nation's 76ers blog Liberty Ballers gives credit to all the other things Iguodala did to help the team. I wish those fans that booed Andre saw that).