The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers meet at Chase Center on Thursday night in what will be the Warriors’ final home game of the regular season. Both teams are heading into it short-handed.
Golden State has no fewer than ten players listed on the injury report. The Lakers will be without two of their most important players. It is a matchup defined as much by who is missing as who is playing.
Here is the full breakdown.
Warriors Injury Report
GettyStephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Stephen Curry is listed as questionable for Thursday’s game. With a back-to-back on the schedule against the Sacramento Kings on Friday, the Warriors are keeping their options open on whether to rest their franchise player on one end of the stretch. Curry has played just two games since returning from a 27-game absence due to a knee injury, and protecting him heading into the play-in tournament remains the priority.
Gui Santos is also questionable after missing Tuesday’s win over the Kings with a pelvic contusion. Charles Bassey is questionable as well after turning in a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double in his second game with the franchise, now dealing with an ankle issue. The Warriors will be hoping Bassey is available given that Kristaps Porzingis is out with illness, joining Al Horford and Quinten Post on the sideline for the second straight game.
Will Richard is doubtful after being a late scratch on Tuesday with back soreness. LJ Cryer is probable to return after missing the last two games with illness. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody remain out as they continue their respective recoveries from long-term knee injuries.
Lakers Injury Report
GettyLuka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Los Angeles arrives at Chase Center without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the two players who defined their season before injuries derailed the final stretch. Doncic suffered a hamstring strain last week and there are real doubts about whether he will return at all before the playoffs begin. Reaves is sidelined with an oblique strain and faces a similar timeline uncertainty.
Jaxson Hayes is also out with a foot injury. Marcus Smart is questionable due to an ankle contusion, leaving LeBron James as the last healthy member of what was supposed to be a formidable Big Three.
What It Means for the Warriors and Lakers
The game carries different weight for each franchise. The Warriors are locked into the tenth seed and cannot move up or down in the standings. The focus for Golden State is building chemistry and confidence ahead of the play-in rather than the result itself.
The Lakers, meanwhile, are 50-29 and still fighting for seeding. A slip from fourth to fifth would cost them home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. With Doncic and Reaves unavailable, Thursday represents another test of how far James can carry this team on his own at 41 years old.
Final Word
Two injury-depleted rosters. One final home game for the Warriors before the postseason push begins.
Whatever happens Thursday, the real games are just around the corner for both teams.
The play-in starts next week. The stakes get real.
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