Steph Curry, Gui Santos Injury Updates Revealed for Hornets Game

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Friday that Stephen Curry is good to go for Saturday's game against the Charlotte Hornets.

Curry was seen limping after the Warriors' win over the Knicks on Thursday, and he told ESPN's Anthony Slater that he had a quad contusion.

Meanwhile, Kerr said Gui Santos is out for Saturday's game due to the ankle sprain he suffered against the Knicks. Santos is likely to miss more than one game.

Santos' Absence Makes Warriors Small on the Wing

Santos has been playing almost all of his minutes as a 4, and he's been holding his own with his strong, 6'7" frame. Without him, the Warriors will have to play more small ball.

That's because outside of centers Quinten Post, Al Horford and Trayce Jackson-Davis and power forward Draymond Green, they don't have anyone big enough to play the 4.

In many lineups, Jimmy Butler (6'6") ends up as an undersized 4, which a team could probably live with if the three Warriors guards on the court were all 6'5" and rangy. But instead those three spots are often being filled by a combination of Brandin Podziemski (6'4"), Will Richard (6'3"), Stephen Curry (6'2"), De'Anthony Melton (6'2") and Gary Payton II (6'2"), and they can't cover for Butler's lack of size down low.

This is why the Warriors need a trade for a big wing. Of course they'd love to get Trey Murphy III or Michael Porter Jr., but even Jerami Grant (6'7") or Naji Marshall (6'6") would make a difference.

Charlotte Is Playing Better Than Record Suggests

The Hornets are 15-26, but they've won four of their last seven, including a shocking blowout win over the Thunder and a dominant 135-117 win over the Lakers on Thursday.

LaMelo Ball had nine three-pointers, including eight in the second half, en route to 30 points and 11 assists against the Lakers. Brandon Miller had 26 points, Miles Bridges had 25, and Kon Knueppel added 19.

That's a lethal quarter that could give any team problems.

The Warriors (23-19) are also hot, having won 10 of their last 14 games.

This could be a shootout, which means Curry and Butler will need some help.

They got that help Thursday, when Moses Moody had seven threes and Brandin Podziemski had 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting.

More of that would put the Warriors in position to improve to 5-1 on this eight-game homestand.