NBA

Why the absence of Warriors striker Gu Santos is always a ‘big loss’ for the team

ballervisions 2026年1月16日

Why the absence of Warriors forward Gui Santos is always the team’s biggest loss came from NBC Sports Bay Area.

SAN FRANCISCO – Steph Curry limped off the court Thursday night after playing 34 minutes and scoring 27 points in the Warriors’ win over the New York Knicks at the Chase Center. Fortunately for the Warriors, there is nothing to worry about and Curry will be ready to go Saturday night against the Charlotte Hornets.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, however, they will be without forward Gui Santos, who exited the game in the first quarter with a sprained left ankle after he and Knicks forward Josh Hart collided in the hall. Santos told coach Steve Kerr at halftime that he didn’t think rushing was a bad thing, which was sad after seeing him need help getting up and off the field.

Santos will miss at least Saturday’s game and possibly the remainder of the Warriors’ eight-game back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday against the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors, two teams Golden State suffered heavy losses earlier this season. The official update is expected to come in the next few days.

Always a force to be reckoned with, Santos has recently seen his role and position in the rotation skyrocket.

“It’s a big loss,” Kerr said Friday after the Warriors’ practice. “Strength, attacking revenge but also size. If we go to him and Gary [Payton II] we usually play him in the 4 next to Draymond [Green] at 5. He is a rebounder, especially on the offensive end, and a great scout. But the size he will bring will be missed.”

If you look at Santos’ Basketball Reference page and his actual measurements from the Warriors it shows a difference of 33 pounds. While Basketball Reference has Santos at 6-foot-7 and 185 pounds, the Warriors are listed at the same height but at 218 pounds. How much strength and muscle has Santos added to his body transformation since being selected by Brazil in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft.

Losing that kind of size on the wing and in the frontcourt changes the equation of where Kerr and his coaching staff will go.

“We have to consider whether we will play small games with our guards or we will play two big players,” said Kerr. “Maybe Quinten [Post] and Al [Horford] together. Slide for Moses [Moody] up to 4 a bit. Those are all options except for Gu. “

The health and development of Horford has long been a priority for the Warriors. Horford has played in 10 of the last 12 games for the Warriors, and the only two he missed were the second night in a row. The 39-year-old has been on one side of the backline all season and is expected to stay until the end.

Horford in his last 10 games averaged 8.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks while playing 16.5 minutes per game. He is shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point range in that stretch and has four games with multiple blocked shots. The 19-year-old center has blocked one shot in five straight games and has scored one in 15 of the 23 games he has played with the Warriors.

This is the type of Horford the Warriors expected when they prioritized him in the offseason as a rim-protecting center who can stretch the floor from downtown. Hidden in those skills is how much his passing opens up in Kerr’s system.

“If you’re going to play two big players today, one has to be able to shoot and the other has to be able to pass,” said Kerr. “With Al, you get both skills in one.”

Pairing with Green gives the Warriors two top players on the court and one who can be counted on behind the three-point line. Putting Jimmy Butler and Post on the floor with Horford allows Butler to attack the rim and find spacers who bring size.

Still, whether Kerr decides to do something small or big, Santos’ absence will be felt. Just five minutes into the last game as one of the first two players coming off the bench, he made his one shot attempt – a 3-pointer – grabbed the rebound and blocked the shot. After a slow start shooting the ball, Santos is up to 36.2 percent from long range on the season.

It’s all the little things that don’t always show in the box where he makes his impact. Since becoming a healthy DNP-CD (Does Not Require Coach’s Decision) in two straight games, a Christmas Day win and a tough overtime loss at Toronto, Santos has played in each of the Warriors’ last 10 games. In the nine straight games he played before his injury, Santos had a positive plus/minus in seven games and was plus-64 overall.

Santos seems to have avoided serious injury and playing without him should be a temporary problem for the Warriors. The impact he will make will be difficult to replicate yet.

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