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The Golden State Warriors will not have Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green or Andrew Wiggins on Friday night when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans. All four players are being held out on the second night of a back-to-back despite the team's current four-game losing streak.

While the Warriors are using this as a load management situation, all four players do have official injury designations to abide by the league's policies. 

  • Curry: Right elbow soreness
  • Thompson: Achilles injury management
  • Green: Lower back injury management
  • Wiggins: Left foot soreness

Injuries aside, this is a shame because on paper this was set to be one of the most exciting early-season match-ups. On an indivudual level, Curry and Zion Williamson are two of the most unique talents in the league, and at a team-level you had the defending champs against an up-and-coming young team looking to steal their throne. Fans in New Orleans who already had tickets were looking forward a game of stars versus stars. 

Then, there's the Warriors' current run of form to consider. It would be one thing to pack it in and essentially throw away a game if you were off to a terrific start, but it's quite the opposite. The Warriors have lost all four games so far on this road trip, and only the last-place Houston Rockets have a longer active losing streak. What's worse is the Warriors aren't getting beat by elite teams; they've dropped games to the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic during this skid. 

Given their talent and championship pedigree, the consensus is that the Warriors will eventually turn things around, but every game matters in the tough Western Conference, and it's a surprise to see them give one up to a playoff rival so early in the season. 

Missing Curry will be the biggest loss for the Warriors, as they are minus-22.4 points per 100 possessions when he is off the floor. Without any of the top-four guys it will be even worse. Their six most-used lineups have all had at least one of Curry, Thompson, Green or Wiggins on the court. The only five-man lineup to play more than 10 minutes without any of those players featured Jordan Poole, Donte DiVincenzo (currently hurt), Jonathan Kuminga, JaMychal Green and James Wiseman. In 12 minutes over two games, that group is minus-14 with 12 turnovers.