The Golden State Warriors have been without the services of Andre Iguodala for the last two games of their Western Conference Finals tilt against the Houston Rockets. Unsurprisingly, the Warriors have struggled with the veteran forward on the sideline, losing both games they’ve played without him against Houston to fall behind 3-2 in the series.
Iguodala has been out due to a knee injury, and heading into Saturday night’s crucial Game 6, he was listed as questionable. As it turns out, “questionable” was a bit generous, as Chris Haynes of ESPN brings word that Iguodala will have to miss his third game in a row due to the injury.
ESPN Sources: Golden State forward Andre Iguodala will miss Game 6 of the WCF. It will be his third consecutive game sidelined with a leg injury.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 26, 2018
Warriors coach Steve Kerr then confirmed that the team will, indeed, not have the services of Iguodala.
Steve Kerr confirms no Andre Iguodala for Game 6
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 26, 2018
While Iguodala hasn’t exactly been the best player on the floor in the series — he averaged 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.7 steals in 27.2 minutes per game — he’s still a crucial piece to the Warriors on both sides of the ball. His playmaking and calming presence on offense opens things up for his teammates, while his ability on the defensive side of the floor has been evident throughout his NBA career.
But unfortunately, the Warriors won’t have Iguodala on the floor as they face elimination. The fact that Chris Paul isn’t playing as he deals with his own injury makes the pill a little easier to swallow, but even though they’re playing on their home floor, this is a tough loss for Golden State.
