Who will stop Siakam when the undermanned Warriors take on the Pacers? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With eight names on the NBA injury report, including four starters, three of whom were declared out, the Warriors (19-18) will be severely shorthanded when the teams meet Friday against the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers (20-18) also have a long list of names on their injury report, although not their most productive player.

Pascal Siakam is fit and ready as priority one for the undermanned Warriors, who frankly don’t have an obvious candidate to slow down the 6-foot-2, 220-pound forward.

Both of Golden State’s starting forwards, Draymond Green (back) and Andrew Wiggins (personal reasons), are out. The same goes for the first striker coming off the bench as Jonathan Kuminga (right ankle sprain) could miss the rest of the month.

Therefore, the Warriors, who will also be without top scorer Stephen Curry (pain in both knees), will face Siakam, along with players like Kyle Anderson, Lindy Waters and perhaps Moses Moody, who is likely suffering from left knee soreness.

The fourth member of the standard infantry to pursue Siakam is rarely used forward Gui Santos, who leapt from the other end of the bench on Thursday to give the Warriors a huge lead 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 and shooting 52 percent from the field, including 42.4 percent from distance. He leads Indiana in field goal attempts but might have more shots than usual. Starting point guard Tyrese Haliburton (right ankle sprain) and starting center Myles Turner (illness) are listed as questionable, meaning the Pacers may be without two of their top four scorers.

With center Trayce Jackson-Davis, who recorded his fourth double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) of the season in Detroit, listed as questionable (left eye bruise), the Warriors will try to play behind guard Dennis Schröder, the only one starter, generating offense not listed on the injury report, and Buddy Hield, who scored a team-high 19 points in the win over the Pistons.

In a clash of wounded teams, the Warriors are heavy underdogs because they’ve been hit harder. And because the Pacers are the hotter team, having won four straight and 10 of the last 13.

The Warriors, who have lost nine of their last 14 games, have also been working against themselves recently. They have lost five of their last six games against the Pacers.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast