Gregory Shamus/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports
TORONTO – It was a rough night across the border for the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. Not only did the reigning champs lose the series opener to the Toronto Raptors, but their 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala came up limp after a play in the final minutes of the game, holding his left hamstring and grimacing.
During a media session on Friday morning Steve Kerr said that Andre Iguodala got an MRI earlier in the day. Almost immediately after the interview Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported that Iguodala’s MRI came back clean, and he is expected to play during Game 2 of the Finals.
Andre Iguodala’s MRI was clean, team says. Expectation is he will play in Game 2.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 31, 2019
If there was any chance that Iguodala would be able to play game two we would expect him to suit up, even if he had to play injured. Iguodala basically told reporters as much Thursday night.
“I’ll be alright,” Iguodala said Thursday night. “Just bumps and bruises of the game. Different guys going through different things. Can’t use it as an excuse, just keep going.” When a reporter asked Iguodala if he thought he’d be held out of practice the rest of the series he replied “Nah I’ll be fine.”
The news was not as good for Warriors forward Kevin Durant. Kerr officially ruled out the two-time champion for Game 2 on Sunday.
“We’ve been holding out hope, but I might as well say it now. He’s not practicing today,” Kerr said Friday. “We’ll have a practice tomorrow but he’s still progressing. It’s near impossible for him to play on Sunday.”
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported earlier in the day that the Warriors are expecting Durant to make a return to the series – most likely during Game 4 at Oracle Areana. Kerr said that when (or if) Durant returns a minutes restriction would come from conditioning concerns, not anything due to the injury.
“When he’s ready to play we’re going to play him,” Kerr said. “Maybe there will be a minutes issue based on his conditioning on not having played in a month or whatever it is. But we’ll just have to wait and see.”