Stephen Curry will miss a third-straight game when the Golden State Warriors visit Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Saturday night, while fans will also have to wait for the anticipated debut of Kristaps Porzingis after Wednesday's big trade.
The usually star-studded matchup between the two teams will be much less so, with Lakers superstar Luka Doncic also out after leaving during his team's victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night.
Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic will both be sidelined on Saturday night
Both teams will enter with some momentum after the Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak against the Phoenix Suns, having produced a stunning 22-5 run to close in a 101-97 victory over their pacific rival.
Saturday's contest presents as another crucial one as teams jostle in the Western Conference standings, with the 31-19 Lakers sitting fifth and four games above the eighth-ranked Warriors.
Warriors injury report
Golden State will obviously remain without Jimmy Butler and Seth Curry, the latter of which has now missed 29-straight games due to a sciatic injury. His older brother is a far bigger absence, leaving the Warriors with a big challenge on the offensive end.
Curry left late in the third-quarter of last Friday's loss against the Detroit Pistons and has since been diagnosed with 'runner's knee'. After Saturday's game, there will only be two more for Golden State before the All-Star break, meaning the franchise must surely be considering keeping Curry on the sidelines for an extended break.
There were early reports that Porzingis could debut for the Warriors against the Lakers, but the Latvian big man has been ruled out with achilles tendon injury management. Porzingis had missed 12-straight games with the injury while with the Atlanta Hawks, yet was slated to return on Tuesday night before being a late out due to illness.
Speaking of illness, Brandin Podziemski was under the weather and played only 12 minutes (where he was a -21) on Thursday against the Suns, having now been listed as probable to face the Lakers.
Lakers injury report
It's a short injury report for the hosts, but the absence of Doncic due to a hamstring strain is massive nonetheless. The Slovenian star has had another huge season, averaging 32.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.6 assists on 47.3% shooting in his 42 games.
Luke Kennard is questionable as the Lakers finalize his trade arrival, while rookie Adou Thiero remains out with an MCL sprain. Kennard appeared in 46 games with the Hawks before this week's trade, with his biggest performance coming in a 22-point outing on 6-of-9 3-point shooting against Golden State last month.
The Warriors will enter as underdogs to win a second-straight game without their stars, but the Doncic absence certainly gives them a chance of pulling off a surprise victory.