The Toronto Raptors are back in the Bay Area.

For the first time since last June’s NBA Finals, the Raptors will face the Golden State Warriors. This time around, both teams look a whole lot different.

Catch the action live Thursday night on TSN1, TSN4, TSN.ca and TSN Direct starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt.

Only four Warriors who played in last year’s Finals remain on the roster. Of the remaining players, five-time All-Star Klay Thompson (knee) remains out for the season. Centre Kevon Looney (hip) is out Thursday, while three-time All-Star Draymond Green (knee) is questionable. The Warriors have had the most missed games in the league due to injury in 2019-20.

One Warrior who will return from injury Thursday is two-time MVP and six-time All-Star Steph Curry. Curry will see his first game action since October, when he broke his left hand. If Green and Looney don’t play, then Curry will be the only Warrior from last year’s Finals to play Thursday.

Despite the departures of Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and starting shooting guard Danny Green, most of the Raptors’ rotation from the Finals remains intact.

But the Raps have been no stranger to injuries this season, either. Their latest maladies include a hamstring injury that has kept Marc Gasol out since late January, along with knee soreness for Serge Ibaka and a banged up shoulder for Fred VanVleet, forcing the latter two to miss the team’s last three games.

All three of Gasol, Ibaka and VanVleet are listed as questionable on the NBA’s latest injury report — an upgrade for Gasol, who was ruled out early for most recent games. Each of those players average over 27 minutes per game, so any or all of them returning to the lineup would be crucial for Toronto.

With so many key pieces sidelined, the Raptors have simply been trying to survive. So far, they’ve managed to split the first two contests of a five-game Western Conference road trip.

Earlier this week, the banged up Warriors — who boast a league-worst 14-48 record — somehow managed to do what the Raptors couldn’t: beat the Denver Nuggets. Golden State came into Tuesday night’s game as a 16-point underdog, yet it turned that around and pulled out a 16-point win on Denver’s home court, where the Nuggets are 24-8.

Two days prior to that, the Raptors had their chance to do the same thing. But Toronto’s injuries were too much to overcome, as Nikola Jokic dominated with a triple-double against the Raptors’ depleted centre rotation. The Raptors allowed 133 points in a disastrous defensive performance, starting their road trip with a double-digit loss.

Many Raptors fans may be keeping an eye on two of Golden State’s standout performers from its upset win over Denver: Ontario natives Andrew Wiggins and Mychal Mulder.

Wiggins, the Warriors’ big-name trade deadline acquisition, had 22 points and 10 assists Tuesday night. Mulder, meanwhile, made his first career NBA start in that game, scoring 15 points on five three-pointers. Mulder had recently signed a 10-day contract with the Warriors and was playing in only his fourth NBA game. The pair of Canadians may both play a key role in Thursday’s matchup against the team from their home province.

Wiggins is averaging 20.1 points and 4.3 rebounds, shooting 46.5 per cent from the field in nine games so far for the Warriors. Thursday night’s game will give Canadian basketball fans their first look at how the former No. 1 pick fares alongside a superstar in Curry.

Last season, the Raptors went 4-0 at Oracle Arena in Oakland. They beat the Warriors in their lone regular-season matchup in the Bay Area, then won all three road games during the Finals, including the clinching Game 6 — the final NBA game ever played at Oracle.

This time around, the game will take place at the Warriors’ new arena, the Chase Center in San Francisco. The team moved there over the summer after playing in Oakland for nearly half a century.

The Warriors are looking to end a nine-game home losing streak. At 14-48, they have three more losses than any other team, with a sharp decline after the team made five consecutive Finals appearances from 2015 to 2019.

The Raptors, meanwhile, are hoping to strengthen their hold over the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Heading into Thursday night, Toronto holds a one-game lead over the Boston Celtics in the standings, with 21 games remaining for each team.

The Raptors host the Warriors at Scotiabank Arena in another rematch on Monday, March 16.