Warriors Starter to Miss Suns Game with Knee Injury

After Sunday's win over the Clippers, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Gui Santos would not play in Monday's game against the Suns.

Santos has been dealing with knee tendinitis. He played nine first-half minutes on Sunday before sitting the entire second half.

Golden State is expected to provide an update on Santos' knee on Monday.

Aside from Santos being out, Brandon Williams is questionable with a quad contusion, and Al Horford is resting on the back end of a back-to-back. The Warriors are otherwise healthy (with the exception of the long-term absences of Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porzingis).

Phoenix will be without center Mark Williams (shoulder surgery) and two-way forward Drew Timme (on G League assignment).

Santos' Absence Provides Opportunity for Niang

Santos had started four consecutive games until Sunday, when Kerr chose to have him come off the bench to limit his minutes. That allowed Georges Niang to make his second start of the year.

Niang didn't thrive, going 1-of-7 from the floor in 21 minutes.

The Warriors didn't need a great Niang performance, as they beat the Clippers 124-112 behind 37 points from Yaxel Lendeborg.

They might need a solid Niang performance on Monday.

The Suns (1-3) are off to a slow start, but keep in mind a) they made the playoffs last year and b) all three of their losses have come to teams that also made the playoffs last year.

The Suns have more collective size and talent than the Clippers. Niang has the size (6'7") and shooting ability to connect a lot of Warriors lineups.

How he plays will be a key aspect to Monday's game.

Warriors Have Chance to Do Something They Never Did Last Year

There are plenty of facts that show how Lendeborg is changing the Warriors' aspirations this season, and here's another one.

The Warriors did not have a single five-game winning streak last season. They have a chance to get one on Monday in their eighth game of the year.

Lendeborg has been front and center in the winning streak, scoring 31, 26 and 37 in three of the wins.

Against the Clippers, he became the first Warriors rookie to score 37 or more in a game since Stephen Curry in 2010. I argued here that his three-point shooting (40.9 percent so far this season) isn't a fluke.

Lendeborg had 26 points in his first game against the Suns this season, a 131-122 loss in which Curry, Draymond Green and Brandin Podziemski were out.

It will be interesting to see if the Suns give him more defensive attention and how he responds to that if so.

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