OKLAHOMA CITY — If Jordan Poole was in an apocalyptic situation 54 years from now, he’d want his two cats to be by his side to fend off zombies.
If he had to choose one of his current teammates to join him, it’d most likely be Andre Iguodala.
“He would probably come up with random questions to keep us engaged and not lose our sanity,” Poole said Monday after practice. “He definitely keeps us engaged. He’s a pretty wise, mysterious individual. So it would be good company if I was fighting for my life.”
But Iguodala might not even be available for the Warriors’ next game (let alone an apocalyptic crisis).
Iguodala and Draymond Green are listed as probable for the Warriors’ upcoming game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Iguodala, 39, is dealing with hip soreness after appearing in his first game Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers since Jan. 13. Green, 33, has been playing through soreness in his left hand — an injury that required an X-ray during the first quarter of Sunday’s loss.
Iguodala was seen on the court Monday afternoon at optional practice in Oklahoma City. By the time he was finished putting up shots alongside Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole, Iguodala was drenched in sweat, but there’s no word on whether he’ll be good to go for Tuesday’s game.
Green’s status for Tuesday is also up in the air after he spent Monday on the training table receiving treatment.
Green left the first quarter to get an X-ray on his left hand. The scan came back negative and Green eventually returned to the game at the tailend of the opening quarter wearing a large white pad on his injured hand. Green later ditched the support and finished the game with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes.
Green brushed off the pain after the Warriors’ loss, saying, “It is what it is.”
“Nobody’s that healthy at this point of the season, so just keep pushing,” Green said.
And that’s what the Warriors will continue to do — with or without their two key veterans.
The 34-31 Warriors are in fifth place in the Western Conference playoff race. They sit five games back from second place but are only three games out of missing the playoffs altogether. The closeness of the standing has caused an uptick in the team’s urgency over the final 17 games.
“You can definitely tell a different level of competitiveness after the All-Star break,” Poole said. “All teams know that they need to make a push, teams know that they need to win games or put themselves in situations to be successful and we’re no different than that.”
While Poole acknowledged that it’s the time of season where the wear and tear starts to take a toll on guys, he said it’s time to buckle in and grind through the final month.
“Just gotta be tough,” Poole said. “We’re finding ways to battle through to put us in a situation to make the playoffs, and try to play as many games to help us win.”
That toughness will help them carry into the postseason. Shoot, it might help them withstand a cataclysm, too.
This and that
- Andrew Wiggins will miss his ninth straight game due to an undisclosed family matter. The All-Star wing has been away from the team since Feb. 14. And while coach Steve Kerr said he periodically checks in with Wiggins, there’s still no timeline for when he could be back.
- Stephen Curry came away from his first game back in a month feeling good. “He told me this morning and when I saw him at practice that he felt great,” Kerr said of Curry. “Good sign for him. [He] said he thought he was gonna be sore and he really wasn’t.”
