With Curry out, return of Iguodala is critical

Overshadowed by Stephen Curry’s left MCL sprain has been the extended absence of Andre Iguodala.

In the Warriors’ 126-120 loss Saturday night to New Orleans at Oracle Arena, Iguodala returned from left knee soreness that sidelined him for five games, posting four points, five assists and three rebounds in 22 minutes. Though he shot just 2-for-6 from the field and missed all four of his threepoint attempts, Iguodala was a steadying force for a team that has endured plenty of turnover in recent weeks.

“He’s had a great second half of the season, and I thought he played well tonight,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “I’m glad that he’s back. That’s the main thing.”

Without Iguodala, Curry and Patrick McCaw (lumbar spine contusion) in recent days, Kerr had to get creative with his backcourt rotation. In Tuesday night’s win over Oklahoma City and Thursday’s loss to Indiana, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green initiated the offense at times.

Iguodala took turns bringing up the ball Saturday with Quinn Cook, Durant and Green. Kerr expects to sit Iguodala in Phoenix on Sunday, giving Iguodala one more regular-season game — Tuesday in Utah — to settle into a rhythm before the playoffs. Point guard Shaun Livingston, who sat out Saturday with right knee soreness, is poised to return Sunday against the Suns. Casspi waived: The Warriors waived little-used forward Omri Casspi after Saturday night’s game.

With their backcourt thin heading into the playoffs, the Warriors needed to open a roster spot in order to accommodate Cook, a two-way player who spent much of the season with the Warriors’ Santa Cruz affiliate in the G League. Casspi, a 29-year-old who played for six teams and averaged 5.7 points in 53 games this season, was deemed expendable. Center rotation: For the second time this season, Kevon Looney started at center.

Kerr decided to start Looney at center because New Orleans went small. A versatile big man adept at defending guards off screens, Looney was better suited to keep up with the Pelicans’ up-tempo lineup than Zaza Pachulia or JaVale McGee.

“It’ll change from one game until the next,” said Kerr, who didn’t play Pachulia or McGee on Saturday.