The Golden State Warriors will be incredibly short-handed for Thursday night's matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, having suffered another untimely injury blow to one of their key players on the eve of the postseason.
Gui Santos was questionable to return against the Lakers, but has now been ruled out in what will be the Brazilian forward's second-straight absence as he deals with a pelvic contusion.
Gui Santos injury adds frustration to Warriors ahead of Play-In
After enjoying a breakout period in recent months where he's been arguably Golden State's biggest positive, Santos' injury threatens to be a frustrating end to what's been a fantastic third season in the league.
Santos will hopefully return over one of the final two games of the regular season, but this is still a less than ideal position when the Warriors are trying to build a rhythm ahead of next week's Play-In Tournament, especially when the 23-year-old has been one of the only constants for the team over the past 30 games.
Santos was clearly less than 100% physically during last week's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that didn't stop him from dropping 25 points, four rebounds and four assists on an efficient 9-of-14 shooting from the floor.
That was Santos' third game of at least 25 points in his previous four outings, before having 15 points and four rebounds in 32 minutes during Stephen Curry's return against the Houston Rockets on Sunday.
Since then Santos has succumbed to the pelvic injury, leaving Golden State with little in the way of wing/forward options considering they've already lost Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody to season-ending knee injuries.
Warriors are decimated for home finale against Lakers
After initially listing Curry as questionable, the Warriors have also ruled out the 2x MVP from Thursday's game which will be the last at Chase Center this regular season. Curry will likely return against the Sacramento Kings on the second night of a back-to-back as Golden State manage their superstar following a 27-game absence due to a knee injury.
The Warriors will also be without all three of their primary centers in Kristaps Porzingis (illness), Al Horford (calf) and Quinten Post (foot), while the recently signed Charles Bassey has been upgraded to probable.
Golden State can't move from their current 10th-seed in the Western Conference, but their ongoing injury troubles makes it incredibly difficult to prepare and build confidence as they hope to forge through the Play-In.