The Suns host the Warriors at Footprint Center on Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 10:00 PM ET.
The Suns are 31-20 (6th in the West), and they’ve been strong at home (17-7). The Warriors are 27-24 (8th in the West), and they’ve struggled on the road (10-15).
The Suns just outlasted the Blazers 130-125 on Tuesday, while the Warriors got drilled by the 76ers 113-94 in a game where the offense never found oxygen.
This is the first meeting, and it comes at a weird time because both teams are missing the stars who usually decide this matchup. The Warriors are without Stephen Curry, and Jimmy Butler is done for the season, while the Suns are without Devin Booker tonight.
For the Suns, it starts with Dillon Brooks (21.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists) as the tone-setter wing scorer, and Mark Williams (12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds) as the glass and rim-finishing anchor.
For the Warriors, the offensive burden shifts hard onto Brandin Podziemski (12.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists) and Draymond Green (8.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists) to manufacture enough structure to survive.
This one matters because the Warriors are coming off last night’s Kristaps Porzingis deal, which flipped their frontcourt rotation overnight.
Injury Report
Suns
Devin Booker: Out (right ankle sprain)
Jalen Green: Questionable (right hamstring; injury management / left hip contusion)
Warriors
Jimmy Butler III: Out (right ACL tear)
Stephen Curry: Out (right patellofemoral pain syndrome)
Jonathan Kuminga: Out (left knee bone bruise)
Seth Curry: Out (left sciatic nerve irritation)
LJ Cryer: Questionable (left hamstring; injury management)
Why The Suns Have The Advantage
This starts with availability, but it’s not just “who’s out.” It’s what the absences do to the shape of the game. The Warriors are already a mid-pack offense by season efficiency (115.7 offensive rating), and now they’re missing their primary creator, a secondary creator, and another downhill scorer. That usually turns into long possessions and forced late-clock shots.
The Suns are also built to win the “effort math” possessions that decide games like this. They’re top-10 in defensive rating (112.3), and the whole profile is geared toward pressure, contests, and turning possessions into messy sequences for the opponent.
Then there’s the home/road split. The Suns at 17-7 at home versus the Warriors at 10-15 on the road is a real signal for who controls pace and confidence early. If the Suns win the first six minutes and make the Warriors play from behind, the Warriors’ current shot-creation situation gets ugly fast.
Why The Warriors Have The Advantage
The Warriors still have a path, but it’s narrow: defend, run, and win the three-point math. Even with everything that’s happened, they’re still top-10 in defensive rating (112.4). If they can keep the Suns out of comfortable early offense, they can turn this into a grind where one hot shooting stretch flips the game.
And the Suns are dealing with their own high-usage hit. Booker being out removes the easiest “give me a bucket” option late in the clock, which increases the odds the Suns have a couple of dead stretches if the Warriors can force Brooks into tougher self-created shots.
The problem is the Warriors basically have to play a near-perfect “low turnover, high 3-point volume” game to make that advantage show up. Without their stars, that’s hard to bank on.
X-Factors
For the Suns, Collin Gillespie is the control knob. He’s at 13.8 points and 4.7 assists, and he’s coming off a huge scoring night against the Blazers. If he keeps the ball moving and gets the Suns into actions quickly, the Suns won’t miss Booker’s organizing as much as you’d expect.
Grayson Allen is the spacing swing. He’s at 16.9 points and 4.0 assists, and if he’s hitting early threes, the Warriors can’t load up on Brooks drives or Williams rolls without paying for it immediately.
Jordan Goodwin is the possession thief. He’s at 8.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and his value here is pure disruption. If he turns a couple of Warriors possessions into live-ball chaos, that’s how a 6- to 10-point cushion becomes 15.
For the Warriors, Moses Moody has to punish the attention vacuum. He’s at 11.2 points, and with the offense short-handed, his shot volume and confidence matter more than usual. If he gets to 4+ made threes, the whole game changes.
Podziemski is the other swing, and it’s simple: can he create real advantages without coughing the ball up? His season line (12.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists) says he can contribute, but this is the kind of matchup where “contribute” isn’t enough. He has to tilt the defense at least a little.
Prediction
I’m taking the Suns. The combination of home edge (17-7), a top-10 defense, and the Warriors missing their primary shot creation is too much to ignore. If this stays close late, I trust the Suns’ healthier two-way options more than a Warriors group that’s trying to invent offense on the fly.
Prediction: Suns 114, Warriors 103
