The Golden State Warriors will be without Gui Santos and Stephen Curry on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving them shorthanded in their final home game of the regular season at Chase Center. Santos was ruled out with a pelvic contusion, while Curry, who was initially listed as questionable, was later ruled out as well.
Santos’ absence is his second straight. The 23-year-old had been in a breakout stretch over recent months and came in as one of Golden State’s biggest positives, but the injuries are piling up at a bad time for a team trying to build rhythm before next week’s Play-In Tournament. The Warriors have already lost Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody to season-ending knee injuries.
The setback lands after a short run in which Santos kept showing why the Warriors had leaned on him. Last week, he played against the Cleveland Cavaliers even though he was less than 100% physically and finished with 25 points, four rebounds and four assists on 9-of-14 shooting. On Sunday, in Stephen Curry’s return against the Houston Rockets, Santos added 15 points and four rebounds in 32 minutes.
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Curry’s status moved from questionable to out, but the team said the 2x MVP is likely to return against the Sacramento Kings on the second night of a back-to-back. For Golden State, the timing matters because Thursday’s game is the last one at Chase Center this regular season, and the club is trying to settle in before the postseason chase turns urgent.
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The Warriors enter that stretch with more questions than they had a week ago. Santos’ second-straight absence removes another steady piece from the rotation, and Curry’s likely return Saturday offers only a brief relief before the schedule tightens again.
