Andre Iguodala has been ruled out for Wednesday’s Game 5 first-round playoff between the Warriors and Nuggets with a neck injury. You can hear the 7 p.m. PT tip-off on 95.7 The Game:
The injury is listed as a left cervical disc injury, which is different from the neck spasms that sidelined him for Game 2 of the series.
“The neck is bothering him again,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s disappointed he can’t play.”
Golden State said Iguodala will be re-evaluated in a week, so this issue could linger into at least the second round if the Warriors close out the series. The NBA has announced that the Warriors and Memphis Grizzles would begin their second-round series on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. PT if both teams close out by Friday.
Iguodala, 38, is the NBA’s second-oldest player behind the Miami Heat’s Udonis Haslem (41). The veteran forward was limited to just 31 games during the regular season while dealing with knee, hip and back issues. At this rate, this is probably Iguodala’s last NBA playoff run.
Andre turned back the clock with a high-flying dunk and game-sealing block in Game 3 at Denver, so he’s still got the athleticism in spurts.
Though the numbers aren’t impressive (4.0 points, 3.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds per game), Iguodala’s mere presence and basketball IQ helps the Warriors machine hum. He is also a valued and versatile defender that Kerr likes to use in key situations.
“It’s a huge loss for us,” Kerr said. “He’s a guy who has been through everything and seen it all in his career and played in a million playoff games for us and knows exactly what’s going on. We can use him in a variety of ways. We played him at the smallball five last game. He’s one of our best passers, one of our best defenders. It’s a big loss.”
Kerr didn’t divulge whether he would increase minutes among the current rotation or give more playing time to upstart rookie Jonathan Kuminga.
“Just depends on how the game is gonna go,” Kerr said. “We just have to get a feel for everything.”
