STAYING ON INJURY LIST
Cleveland Kevin Love stays in concussion protocol and it’s still unclear if he can suit up for Game 1 of NBA finals Golden State’s top defender Andre Iguodala, suffering from bone bruise, can play if he can run without pain
Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love remains in concussion protocol and his status for Game 1 of the NBA Finals is still unclear.
Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue gave an update Tuesday before the team flew to San Francisco for Thursday’s opener. The Cavs are playing the Golden State Warriors in the finals for the fourth straight year.
Love missed Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals at Boston after banging heads with Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum in the previous game. Jeff Green started for Love in Game 7 and finished with 19 points with eight rebounds in Cleveland’s 87-79 victory.
Love has played center and forward this season and is averaging 13.9 points and 10.0 rebounds this postseason. He sat out the 2015 finals with a separated shoulder.
Klay Thompson sat on the floor in the middle of his teammates and pointed to his “2018 NBA FINALS” hat during a locker-room photo.
An important face was missing from the moment: Andre Iguodala.
In a postseason defined by uncertainty for the defending champions, Golden State could be without one of its top defenders as the Warriors chase a repeat title — taking on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a fourth straight NBA Finals matchup.
Iguodala’s status for Game 1 on Thursday night is a question as he recovers from a bone bruise in his left knee, which caused him to miss the final four games of the Western Conference finals against Houston. Cleveland’s Kevin Love is in concussion protocol, so he might not be ready, either.
Coach Steve Kerr has said Iguodala, the 2015 Finals MVP, will return when he can run without pain. The Warriors sure could use his presence against King James, who is making an eighth straight Finals appearance.
Last month, Kerr became concerned his team’s defense wouldn’t return to its top form after Golden State struggled late in the regular season and even endured a particularly poor stretch in which the Warriors dropped seven of 10 games. /
We’re still without Andre, which is a big blow for us. In a different way. He’s not a scorer for us as Chris (Paul) is for Houston, but a huge component. So you go through the playoffs and things happen, and you’ve got to be able to bounce back no matter what and keep going. STEVE KERR GSW coach