Andre Iguodala Comments on Heat Debut, Facing Warriors for 1st Time Since Trade

Andre Iguodala was happy with his performance Sunday with the Miami Heat, his first game since last June.

"Felt good tonight," the veteran said after the game, per Kevin Pelton of ESPN. "I wanted to get a feel for where I was at. Honestly, I haven't even played a pickup game or anything since the Finals. I was trying to get a feel for where my wind was. Overall, I felt really good out there."

Iguodala played 23 minutes, scoring two points with six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.

As we've seen over his past six years with the Golden State Warriors, he's capable of affecting a game even without scoring a lot of points. He finished plus-10 on the court despite the fact Miami lost 115-109 to the Portland Trail Blazers. 

The 36-year-old was traded from Golden State to the Memphis Grizzlies last offseason but never joined the team while he awaited a move to a more preferable destination. He's found it in Miami, which acquired him in a three-team deal before last Thursday's deadline.

While the Heat were already competitive in the Eastern Conference behind Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, Iguodala represents an ideal glue player who's had postseason success and could help the squad get over the top in the playoffs.

The forward also doesn't seem to have missed a beat despite being more than nine months removed from his last game.

"It was exciting to be out there tonight," he said. "It was like I was taking a sabbatical. Being away from the game makes you see how much you appreciate this game."

The debut was notable, but there is even more buzz for Iguodala's second game as the Heat travel to face the Warriors on Monday. Still, he noted he won't give extra thought to the city where he won three NBA titles.

"I've played a lot of basketball games in my career, so the emotional highs and lows I don't have anymore," he said. "Everything is just another game."