With the heavily structured salary cap in the N.B.A., depth is a luxury most teams cannot afford. The value of having options beyond your superstars was on full display in Game 4 of the N.B.A. finals on Thursday night when Andre Iguodala led the Golden State Warriors to a road win that evened the series at two games apiece.
For the injury-ravaged Cleveland Cavaliers, who have endured devastating injuries to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, Golden State’s ability to insert Iguodala, a former All-Star still in his physical prime, into the starting lineup had to be demoralizing.