
The Golden State Warriors are coming off an emphatic victory against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. In a 119-116 victory, multiple players contributed across the board to snap the Warriors' three-game losing streak.
After one day off, the Warriors are now looking to get back to .500 with a win against the Orlando Magic tonight. The injury reports for both teams skew in favor of the Warriors, but the Magic are still a capable team that should not be underestimated.
The Warriors have been enjoying a relatively clean bill of health over the past few games, and that continued in their injury report for tonight's game.
The only two players listed as out on the report were Al Horford and Seth Curry. The latter played in his first two games after signing with the Warriors, but has since been out of the rotation and dealing with a left glute injury. Even if Curry was healthy, it seems unlikely that he'd get consistent minutes, considering the number of guards already in the rotation.
Horford, on the other hand, is a player that Steve Kerr and the coaching staff are likely hoping returns sooner rather than later.
It was reported last Tuesday that the veteran big man was back on the court in practice and was fully healed from the sciatic injury that has kept him out for a handful of games this season, but he has yet to make an official return, likely continuing to ramp up his conditioning to be fully prepared for his role in the rotation.
Tonight's game against the Magic will be the seventh straight game on the sidelines for Horford, and his 11th in the past 12 games. However, with Quinten Post playing so solidly, the Warriors are content with allowing Horford to get back to full health.
The Magic have had injury issues all year with many of their starters. The last time the Warriors and Magic battled, star forward Paolo Banchero did not play. This time around, Banchero is healthy, but he'll have to partially carry the team with his running mate, Franz Wagner, listed as out.
Wagner is set to miss his fifth-straight game with a left ankle sprain that he suffered two weeks ago in a game against the Knicks. The initial injury looked to be worse than it actually was, but Wagner will still likely be out at least another week or two to fully recover.
The Magic are 2-2 over the past 4 games that Wagner has sat out, and also lost the Knicks game, where Wagner only played the first 7 minutes.
Alongside Wagner on the bench will likely be two more of the Magic's young players: Jalen Suggs and Tristan da Silva. Suggs is listed as doubtful with a left hip contusion, while da Silva is questionable to play with an illness and a right shoulder contusion.
If both of them are ruled out, it would be their third-straight missed game. In the absence of these three starting-level players, Tyus Jones and Anthony Black would likely continue to start alongside Banchero, Desmond Bane, and Wendell Carter Jr.
It'll still be a tough game for the Warriors, even with the Magic depleted. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. PST at Chase Center.