Who will stop Siakam as short-handed Warriors face Pacers? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
With eight names on the NBA injury report, including four starters, three of which have been declared out, the Warriors (19-18) will be severely shorthanded against the Indiana Pacers when the teams meet Friday.
The Pacers (20-18) also have a long list of names on their injury report, but it does not include their most productive player.
Pascal Siakam is fit and ready as Priority One for the undermanned Warriors, who frankly, have no obvious candidate to slow the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward.
Both of Golden State’s starting forwards, Draymond Green (back) and Andrew Wiggins (personal reasons), are out. The same applies to the first forward off the bench, as Jonathan Kuminga (right ankle sprain) could miss the rest of the month.
So the Warriors, who also will be without leading scorer Stephen Curry (soreness in both knees), will go after Siakam with the likes of Kyle Anderson, Lindy Waters and perhaps Moses Moody, who is listed as probable with left knee soreness.
The fourth member of the default infantry that will be chasing Siakam is seldom-used forward Gui Santos, who leapt off the far end of the bench Thursday to give the Warriors a tremendous lift in a 107-104 victory over the Pistons in Detroit.
Siakam, a two-time All-Star, is averaging a team-high 19.8 points per game, shooting 52 percent from the field, including 42.4 percent from distance. He leads Indiana in field goal attempts but could have more shots than usual. Starting point guard Tyrese Haliburton (right ankle sprain) and starting center Myles Turner (illness) are listed as questionable, so the Pacers could be without two of their top four scorers.
With center Trayce Jackson-Davis, who in Detroit produced his fourth double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) this season, listed as questionable (left eye contusion), the Warriors will try to generate offense behind guard Dennis Schröder, the only starter not on the injury report, and Buddy Hield, who scored a team-high 19 points in the win over the Pistons.
In a meeting of wounded teams, the Warriors are heavy underdogs because they’re more deeply affected. And because the Pacers are the hotter team, having won four straight and 10 of their last 13.
The Warriors, who have lost nine of their last 14, also have a recent history working against them. They have lost five of their last six games against the Pacers.
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