The Golden State Warriors will once again be without the fifth piece of their Hamptons Five lineup with their season on the line.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters Andre Iguodala will sit out Monday night’s Game 7 matchup against the Houston Rockets with a knee injury. Iguodala will miss his fourth straight game after being injured late in the Warriors’ Game 3 victory.
“It’s a bone bruise, and those are hard to predict,” Kerr said Saturday. “Until he’s able to run without pain, I can’t play him.”
Kerr said after the Warriors’ Game 6 victory that the team was preparing under the assumption Iguodala would miss Game 7.
Kevon Looney should get the start, but Iguodala’s minutes will probably wind up going to the hot hand. Jordan Bell played 21 minutes in Game 6, while Looney played 19. Nick Young and Shaun Livingston should also see 15 to 20 minutes each, but Kerr will likely play things out and see how his role players handle the spotlight.
Iguodala hasn’t been at his best all season, due in part to injury, but his absence creates a trickle-down effect. Looney, Bell and Young are unproven commodities in these big spots, and Kerr clearly feels more comfortable keeping Livingston under 20 minutes at this stage of his career.
Unless one of the wild cards pulls through, the Warriors will have to rely on their four stars again. We’ll have to see if they can—sarcasm font—grit it out and pull out the win.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
