After missing the final four games of the Western Conference finals with a knee injury, Golden State's Andre Iguodala is doing his best to make it back on the floor for the reigning NBA champions. It's unclear when, or if, he might return for the Warriors, but Iguodala recently got a second opinion on the injury according to ESPN in hopes of identifying the exact nature of the injury.
Golden State has labeled Iguodala's injury as a left lateral leg contusion, but coach Steve Kerr couldn't say whether or not it would keep him out indefinitely or if he could return by the time the Finals start on Thursday when the Warriors play host to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"It literally is a day-to-day thing," Kerr said of Iguodala's status on TNT after the Warriors' 101-92 victory Monday vs. Houston in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. "He has not progressed, unfortunately, as well as we thought he would. Obviously, he's a huge factor against Cleveland. You've got to have a lot of bodies to guard LeBron, and Andre's been our main guy against LeBron the last three years."
Iguodala averaged 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game during the playoffs until his knee injury following a collision with Houston's James Harden during Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. If he's not able to recover and get back on the court for the Warriors, it could be a break for Cleveland, which has had trouble dealing with Iguodala in recent Finals series -- most notably in 2015 when he took home Finals MVP.
The Warriors, a heavy favorite to repeat as champions, will play host to Cleveland on Thursday for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which tips at 9 p.m. ET.
