One game left to go in the 2026-2027 NBA preseason, and while the Golden State Warriors don’t have everything figured out, some patterns have emerged from these handful of games. After ramping up the minutes for key players in the last game, coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors have indicated that we won’t see much of the top of the lineup tonight. While some extra repetitions could indeed be helpful for a team that has looked a little bumpy, health - especially at the top of the depth chart - remains the priority.
So tonight’s final tune-up against the Portland Trail Blazers won’t feature the biggest names, but given how thin this roster is while awaiting the return of various players, there’s plenty to see in regards to rotation-caliber players.
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors (3-2) vs Portland Trail Blazers (3-0)
WHEN: Friday, October 16th, 2026; 7pm PDT
WATCH: NBCSBA
Word of the preseason: tenuous
For those who have watched this team during the preseason, there have certainly been flashes that waft the balloons of hope a bit higher, but it is equally clear that this team is going to have to figure some stuff out this season. With Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody expected to be out through the new year, and Kristaps Porzingis1 remaining out indefinitely, this roster is already painfully thin.
Peeling back the veneer of the remaining core of stars and burgeoning young talent reveals both how dangerously thin the margins are at the top, and how little wriggle room there is going to be within this season. Stephen Curry is still quite capable of being the best player on the floor on any given night, but there is a finite limit to how many times you can summon buckets out of that well of greatness. Draymond Green is even more tenuous. While still able to positively impact games, there’s a growing sense of physical decline that appears to be getting harder to overcome.
This is a season without a safety net. The Porzingis situation was updated earlier this week, but is no closer to resolution.
“Hello people, I’m working with doctors and experts to figure out how to be fully back to good health asap. Honestly, I’m getting better and better. I just have to stay patient, and I believe I’ll be feeling great again soon,” he wrote.
“It has definitely been frustrating dealing with some health stuff that you can’t exactly pinpoint, on top of injuries throughout my career, so it has added up for sure, but we will get through it. Health is wealth. Thank you for all the support.”
While our first thought goes out to a young man fighting a private health battle, it’s hard not to think about what his ongoing lack of dependability will mean to this roster this year.
The team’s portion of the update didn’t do much to assuage any concerns:
“An update on his status, including the potential resumption of practice, playing status or timeline, will be provided when available and appropriate,” the team said in a statement.
At 31 years, Porzingis is in what should be the prime of his basketball career. It’s not clear how much conditioning work or practice he is able to undertake while in this limbo, but if there’s a silver lining here, it’s that the condition he has shouldn’t physically limit him once he returns. It’s also important to note that while that two-year, $40 million contract looks big on paper, next season is only lightly guaranteed - so should a pivot be needed, there is some flexibility here.
Which brings us back to tonight’s game. The Warriors parted ways with Trayce Jackson-Davis and Quinten Post over the off-season. Neither player had exactly entrenched themselves in the rotation, but both had proved valuable throughout the long season. Al Horford - the best option at center outside of Green right now - is 40 years old and comes with his own durability concerns. Presuming that Horford will again play the season on a minutes restriction as well as not playing back-to-backs, Golden State knows they’ve got some trepidatious vibes here. It’s not so much that the overall model can’t work, it’s just that the odds feel real steep.
Brandin Podziemski will fill some of these holes, and guys like De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton, and Brandon Williams are going to chip in at the guard positions. Likewise, the team is probably feeling good about what they’ve seen from Yaxel Lendeborg, and Gui Santos seems poised for a breakout year. But the center position is going to be a long headache unless someone like Charles Bassey takes a huge leap.
It’s tenuous, but not impossible. This team isn’t aiming for sky-shattering excellence any more, they just want to be in the conversation. To do so, it’s going to require a lot of things going right.
Tonight’s game may not be a marquee talent showcase, but these are the sorts of edge battles that this team is going to need to win this year. Scrappy, surprising contributions from up and down the roster.
Not impossible. But definitely a tenuous hold on relevance.
But hey, this is what the tail end of Curry’s career with the Warriors is going to look like. We’ve had the Cinderella story, the dominant era, the surprising “what they gonna say now” win. All that’s left is this last gasp. It’s not trepidation, there are still miracles to be found, but the margins are infinitesimal. And it’s kinda fun.
Prediction
Warriors win, Bassey plays well, and we get a ton of Brandon Williams and Will Richards as a warmup to what this season may well hinge on.
asd
I really don’t understand how Substack spell check treats accent marks.
>>> it’s hard not to think about what his ongoing lack of dependability will mean to this roster this year.
Not writing this to be a contrarian troll, as I've already earnestly expressed this sentiment in a previous comment thread, but it's quite easy for me to not think about KP's lack of dependability and what it will mean for the roster.
The guy has played only 15 games for GSW. To my mind, he may as well not be on the team - and if he does come back, it's just a bonus. They have what they have unless and until they make some other moves. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"But hey, this is what the tail end of Curry’s career with the Warriors is going to look like. We’ve had the Cinderella story, the dominant era, the surprising “what they gonna say now” win. All that’s left is this last gasp."
Soon to be released on Netflix - Warriors 2026 Documentary: The Last Gasp.