Steve Kerr Expects ‘brilliant Basketball Mind' to Be Good to Go for Warriors in Game 1

OAKLAND -- The Warriors realize they're going to need Andre Iguodala this postseason and they anticipate they'll to have him Saturday for Game 1 in their first-round series against the Spurs.

"I expect Andre to play," coach Steve Kerr said after practice Thursday.

Iguodala, 34, missed six of the final seven regular-season games with tendinitis in his left knee but participated in a spirited afternoon practice at the team facility.

Iguodala's return is significant largely because he is the primary link between starters and the bench. The 6-6 wing generally is the first reserve to enter games, usually midway through the first quarter, with others following shortly thereafter.

With both Stephen Curry and Iguodala out of action over the last two weeks, Kerr's playing rotations have been a game-by-game experiment. Iguodala's return would restore a level of normalcy.

"He's one of our glue guys, one of the smartest players I've ever been around at both ends of the floor," Kerr said. "He ties things together. He closes up some holes, he fills in the blanks, or however you want to put it.

"He's just a brilliant, brilliant basketball mind and he just helps everybody else play better."

Though Iguodala's value can't be quantified by basic statistics, his plus-275 plus/minus ranks third behind Raptors teammates Fred Van Vleet and Pascal Siakam among players starting fewer than 10 games this season.

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