SAN FRANCISCO — The plan all along accounted for Andre Iguodala finding convenient, strategic times to save up his health for a playoff chase months down the road. But on Friday night, his absence extended into its fifth game.
Iguodala, 37, has been suffering from swelling in his right knee, coach Steve Kerr said. Despite the 18th-year veteran’s increasingly long absence, which is expected to continue for at least another two games, Kerr said the ailment isn’t a long-term concern.
“When you get older, things take longer to heal,” Kerr said. “This is what happens when you have that much mileage Something happens and it keeps you out a little bit longer. It’s not a long-term concern. Just wait ’til the swelling goes down, it’s going down and then he’s got to get on the court for a few days.”
Iguodala will travel with the Warriors on their upcoming two-game road trip to Los Angeles and Phoenix but Kerr said it’s “unlikely” that he’ll play.
Inactive again Friday, Iguodala has missed the Warriors’ past five games and hasn’t played in 10 days, after logging a productive 19 minutes in their win at Brooklyn.
In 12 games this season, Iguodala is averaging 3.8 points, 3.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 20.8 minutes, while teammates rave about playing alongside him.
The Warriors’ bench was extra short-handed against the Trail Blazers, with Damion Lee out for personal reasons and their pair of rookies, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, on a G-League assignment.
That left Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Chris Chiozza as the only players available off the Warriors’ bench.
“We feel like we have enough tonight to accomplish what we need to accomplish,” Kerr said. “We’ll play our usual rotation. … We’ve got a very deep team and this is one of the benefits. We can take advantage of that depth on a night like tonight.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com