The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers have injury concerns regarding key players heading into game 1 of the NBA Finals.
The Andre Iguodala knee injury has become the most recent prolonging injury issue for the Warriors this postseason run.
While the discussion just a handful of weeks ago surrounded when Stephen Curry would finally return from his injury, the focus has now shifted towards the uncertainty of Iguodala’s status.
Steve Kerr has contended recently that Iguodala remains truly day-to-day with his injury, but the team has received some bad news.
Iguodala has officially been ruled out of game 1 of the NBA Finals. Iguodala missed games 4-7 of the Western Conference Finals.
The team is sending a lot of mixed signals. They say that Iguodala has made progress with the left lateral leg contusion, yet he remains out for a fifth straight game when it originally wasn’t clear he’d ultimately miss any time.
This ordeal is probably an indication that the Iguodala injury was either more serious than the staff originally let on or that Iguodala suffered unforeseen setbacks at some point.
Iguodala will be re-evaluated by the team prior to game 2, and Iguodala even said that he doesn’t feel like he’s very far away from returning.
The team said that Iguodala was evaluated by their medical staff on Tuesday and that the nerve around the left knee continues to be inflamed.
It’s quite possible that Iguodala’s left knee simply reacted to the contusion more severely than the staff originally assumed it would when he first suffered it.
Meanwhile, the Cavs are dealing with the concussion suffered by Kevin Love back in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Dave McMenamin of ESPN has an interesting piece about it. Love is still in the league’s concussion protocol but took part in shooting drills with his team on Wednesday.
Tyronn Lue says that he’s not sure if Love will be able to play in game 1. Love has reportedly made progress these past four days after suffering the concussion, though.
What’s fascinating is that Love previously said before game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals that he’d be ready for the next round if the Cavs did advance.
It seems as though that possibly flawed prediction may end up being due more to over-enthusiasm than any physical setback.
Hopefully these two players return to the court sooner rather than later in order to make these Finals as compelling as they can possibly be.
Fans deserve to have the championship decided by two healthy squads. Iguodala and Love both make a tremendous impact for their team.