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PORTLAND, Ore. — In hopes to improve his health for a presumed NBA Finals run, Andre Iguodala will sit out when the Warriors play the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday because of tightness in his left calf.
“He has a sore left calf,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “So he’s not going to play.”
Iguodala received an MRI on Sunday, and the result came out clean. Still, the Warriors have handled the 35-year-old Iguodala with care all season. He missed a combined 11 games this season for minor ailments and rest purposes.
Kerr declined to reveal his starting lineup. But he said that Alfonzo McKinnie, Jonas Jerebko and possibly Quinn Cook will have increased playing time when accounting for injuries to Iguodala, Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins.
“Everybody has to be ready,” Kerr said. “We have a lot of guys down right now. The whole team has been doing well the last couple of weeks. The bench theme has to continue tonight.”
Iguodala exited the game with 7:50 left in the Warriors’ eventual Game 3 win over Portland on Saturday. Iguodala, 35, appeared in a good mood afterwards and did not walk with a noticeable limp, but he has missed a combined 11 games this season for minor ailments.
He finished with only two points while going 1-of-5 from the field and 0-of-3 from 3 along with five rebounds, two assists and two fouls. Otherwise, Iguodala has averaged 10.6 points on 53.6 percent shooting along with 4.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 30.2 minutes during the postseason. Iguodala also sealed the Warriors’ win over Portland in Game 2 by stripping the ball from Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard before taking a potentially game-tying 3 on the final possession.
After recording a career-low in minutes played in the regular season (23.2), Iguodala tied a career-high in shooting percentage in the regular season (50) and a career-high in the postseason (57.9 percent). Through three postseason appearances, Iguodala has recorded his highest scoring average through the Warriors’ four postseason runs (10.7 points per game).
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