The Golden State Warriors face off against the Dallas Mavericks in a must-win game tonight. When the day began, only Steph Curry was listed on their injury report. Now, one other starter is joining him – Draymond Green.

Draymond Green was suddenly listed as a game-time decision due to lower back soreness. Now, he’s been downgraded from the game-time decision to being out against the Dallas Mavericks. On the other end, the Mavericks have both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving available against the Warriors.

Green’s injury couldn’t come at a worse time for the Golden State Warriors. If there’s one team they’ll need his defensive prowess against, it’s the Dallas Mavericks. Not only that, but from a standings perspective, the Golden State Warriors really need to win this game. The Warriors are currently 2.5 games behind the Mavericks for the 8th seed and 1 game away from the Lakers for the 9th seed. A win tonight could put the Warriors only 1.5 games away from the 8th seed and give them two chances in the play-in tournament.

While a loss tonight wouldn’t 100% seal the Warriors’ play-in tournament fate, it would certainly make it very difficult to rise up above out of the 9th and 10th spot. When it comes to the play-in tournament, teams need all the chances that they can get.