Andre Iguodala injury update- Reports indicate veteran forward has undergone successful surgery and should be back in the lineup soon
The Golden State Warriors announced on Tuesday that veteran forward Andre Iguodala has undergone successful left wrist surgery. He will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Andre Iguodala injury update: https://t.co/QULAnuTL3h
Iguodala suffered the injury on March 13 against the Phoenix Suns when he tumbled to the ground during a drive to the basket.
Andre still has it https://t.co/1R9T9MQOip
Iguodala has only played eight total games this season due to prior conditioning issues and a hip injury. Given that he will miss at least four weeks, and the season ends on April 9, Iguodala’s season is effectively over. However, depending on how fast he recovers, Iguodala could still be available for a potential playoff run.
The Warriors (37-36, sixth in the West) are currently half a game ahead of the seventh-placed Dallas Mavericks (36-36). So they are just narrowly avoiding the play-ins as of now. In addition, only 1.5 games separate Golden State from the 12th-placed New Orleans Pelicans (35-37). So with just nine games remaining, the Warriors could still miss the playoffs entirely.
The loss of Andre Iguodala likely won’t impact Golden State’s playoff chances too much given the limited number of games played. However, starting forward Andrew Wiggins remains sidelined indefinitely due to personal reasons. Meanwhile, defensive-oriented guard Gary Payton II is still recovering from an abdominal injury. So the Warriors’ defense will remain shorthanded for the foreseeable future.
The Warriors are 3-5 with Iguodala this season and 34-31 without him.
Iguodala is averaging 2.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game on 46.7% shooting through eight games this season.
Draymond Green on the Warriors’ playoff chances without Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II
During a recent episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” Warriors forward Draymond Green spoke about the Warriors’ playoff chances if they remain shorthanded. Green explained that it would be difficult for the Warriors to contend without the defensive presence of Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II.
"It'd be tough, (being without) two of your best wing defenders,” Green said.
“You're talking two guys, super athletic, two of the more athletic guys on your team — let's not understate that because that's huge, especially when you get in the playoffs," Green continued.
Wiggins has been out since February 13 due to the aforementioned personal reasons. At this point, it is unclear whether he will return this season. Meanwhile, Payton still hasn’t played a single game for Golden State this season after being re-acquired by Portland at the trade deadline. However, he has been making progress in his recovery from an abdominal injury. The Warriors are reportedly optimistic that Payton will make his return before the end of the season.
Andrew Wiggins is averaging 17.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.8 bpg, and 2.4 3pg on 47.3% shooting through 37 games.
Gary Payton II averaged 4.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, and 1.1 spg on 58.5% shooting in 15 games with Portland earlier this season.
The Warriors (37-36, sixth in the West) are 19-18 with Wiggins and 18-18 without him this season.
Also read: “We’d rather not be in this mix”- Steve Kerr admits that the Warriors aren’t used to fight for a playoff spot