Gui Santos will miss a second straight game when the Golden State Warriors host the Miami Heat on Thursday night, trimming Golden State’s rotation for a matchup that already matters because the Warriors are trying to keep a five-game winning streak alive.
The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. PT on NBA TV and NBC Sports Bay Area, and the timing is the reason the injury report is drawing attention now. Golden State has been rolling after a slow start earlier in the season, while Miami comes in 3-5 and is playing the second game of a back-to-back after an overtime game last night.
For Golden State, Santos is the notable absence, and the longer he stays out will determine whether this is just a one-night adjustment or something that starts to affect the way the Warriors manage their bench minutes. The rest of the list is shorter but still matters: Jimmy Butler III is out with right ACL repair surgery, Moses Moody is out with left patellar tendon repair surgery, and Kristaps Porziņģis is out because he is not with the team.
Miami’s side is more encouraging on paper, even if the physical toll of playing twice in two nights is not. Giannis Antetokounmpo is available despite a right wrist sprain, and that is the key detail for anyone looking for an immediate answer on whether the injury will keep him out or limit him. Based on the report, it will not stop him from playing.
That leaves Golden State in the strange spot of being the healthier team in the standings but the less healthy one on the floor. The Warriors have won five in a row, yet they still have to work around absences while Miami, despite the fatigue of overtime on Wednesday, brings only one listed issue and that player is available. Santos’ absence is the one that could linger beyond Thursday, but for now the next thing that matters is simple: whether Golden State can keep the streak going without him.
