Warriors vs. Cavaliers Injury News: Andre Iguodala Out, Kevin Love Uncertain

Ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, both the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers might be without a key player in Andre Iguodala and Kevin Love respectively.

Iguodala is confirmed to be ruled out after a left lateral leg contusion suffered during the Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets will keep him out of Game 1. The injury occurred in Game 3 against the Rockets after he bumped knees with MVP frontrunner James Harden with Iguodala missing the last four games of the series.

The 34-year-old forward was evaluated Tuesday by the Warriors' medical staff and while he is making progress, there is still pain and inflammation with the nerve surrounding his left knee as he will be reevaluated prior to Game 2 which takes place Sunday.

"Based on how long it's been and when it happened, I'm not that far away," Iguodala told reporters Wednesday, as per ESPN. "Grinding away at the process. Just trying to figure out how to move in general. Making some progress, [but] it's slower than we expected."

Though he is a sixth man for the Bay Area side, he will still be a big miss in Game 1 as while the Rockets were rueing the absence of Chris Paul for the last two games of the Western Conference Finals, Warriors coach Steve Kerr felt with Iguodala fit, the series wouldn't have gone past Game 5. Iguodala currently averages 7.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists in the postseason.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are still uncertain as to whether All-Star Love will feature in Game 1. The former Minnesota Timberwolves man suffered a head-to-head collision with Boston Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals which led to him missing Game 7.

Averaging 13.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists during the postseason, Love is still in the concussion protocol as of Wednesday and while he could not speak to reporters as a result, he did participate in shooting drills during the NBA Finals media day.

"I hope so," Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue said of whether Love can play in Game 1. "I'm still not sure. He's going to go do some things today and see how he feels. But he is in the protocol still, so we'll see how he feels."

According to a Cavaliers spokesperson, Love is progressing well in concussion protocol and could advance through it on Wednesday which could see him feature in Game 1.

In Love's absence in Game 7 against the Celtics, Jeff Green did a good job filling in as he contributed with 19 points and eight rebounds as LeBron James inspired the Cavaliers to their fourth straight NBA Finals appearance. However, Green is not worried about whether he will start in Game 1 against the Warriors.

"I don't even think about that, whether I'm starting or not," Green explained. "I don't even think that far [ahead]. I just think about what I need to do to impact this series, to impact the game, to help my team. I mean, I think that's up to T-Lue and what's going to happen with Kev, I haven't asked about it."

"I know he looks great. So, whether it's starting or coming off the bench, I'm not concerned with that. My concern is how can I impact this series to help my team win a championship," he said.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals will take place at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.