Sweeping the San Antonio Spurs and earning 10 days of rest in between the West finals and the NBA Finals is paying off for the Golden State Warriors and particularly Andre Iguodala, who battled through injury in the conference finals and is now getting added rest in preparation of the season-defining series.
Iguodala played just 10 minutes in Game 1 of the conference finals with a sore left knee and missed Game 2 after undergoing an MRI that came back with no major concerns. He played limited minutes, by his standards, in both Games 3 and 4 as Mike Brown eased him back into action. And with the defending NBA champion Cavaliers looming, he's rounding into shape with an expanded role expected.
"I feel good," Iguodala told the Mercury News after practice on Saturday. "Right now, you have to block out everything."
Iguodala was the NBA Finals MVP in 2015 largely because of his contributions defensively against LeBron James and the Cavaliers. In addition to adding 16.3 points per game in that series, he was a dynamic player on defense who typically drew the assignment of James for long stretches -- an assignment he'll likely draw again if he can remain healthy.
Last season the Warriors blew a 3-1 NBA Finals lead to the Cavaliers. That development coincided with the decline of Iguodala's health, as he dealt with back issues down the stretch of the series despite remaining a constant in the lineup as far as minutes played.
Iguodala has averaged 25.3 minutes and 6.5 points per game in the playoffs for the Warriors, but was limited to 12.8 minutes and 2.8 points per game against the Spurs in the Western Conference finals.
