At 4pm in California today, the Golden State Warriors will open the 2026-2027 preseason against the Los Angeles Clippers. This one will be played in Hawaii, so look for those pre-game news snippets early!
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors (0-0) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (0-0)
WHEN: Sunday, October 4th 2026; 4pm PDT
WATCH: You will have to be in Hawaii to see this one
RADIO: 95.7 The Game
Starters are set, for now
This season kicked off with an unusually high number of openings in the starting lineup. With Curry and Green locked together (Kerr has reiterated his intent to pair Green with Curry’s playing time as much as possible), and Al Horford the incumbent starting center, the Warriors still have some open decisions.
But the first volley of an answer was delivered late yesterday, with Kerr confirming that shooting guard Brandin Podziemski, and rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg will fill out the starting five for this first game. It was the same unit that was slotted into Friday’s inter-squad scrimmage, and probably makes the most sense on paper - at least until Porzingis becomes available, or Horford needs some time off.
Personally, I have some questions. Who is the primary point-of-attack defender here? While Podz has built a reputation on collecting charging calls, neither he nor Curry pencils in as an especially persky defender.
Speed is the other issue. If this team is really playing a five out style, they will have plenty of shooting, but between Horford and Green, it seems like a squad that will be vulnerable to cutters and quicker guards once switches are needed on the perimiter.
Thankfully, Kerr and the Warriors know a whole lot more about basketball than I do, and maybe those old school defensive worries won’t materialize - certainly not a concern in the preseason.
So for this afternoon - or whatever time it may be where you are - settle in with a beverage and the radio broadcast, and feel the spirit of another season with Stephen Curry and crew chasing dreams. Aloha!
Prediction
Podz will be the teams leading scorer. Yaxel will play the most minutes.
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Aloha my fellow DNHQers! I am here to represent the fandom. Thrilled to see my team playing on island. Miss you all. Go Dubs!
Brandon Williams looks really good, his speed is going to play really nicely off of a more spread out offense, and he’s got some ability to create for others off dribble penetration. Also didn’t seem like a bad defender or undersized for a combo guard. He and Richard/Payton were very pesky defensively on the perimeter when sharing the floor.
Yaxel is a lot of fun to watch. The jumper is super smooth, his handle held up pretty well to ball pressure, and he created some nice shot attempts for others.
Yaxel’s defense was improved from summer league, although there are still things to work on. Seems like his conditioning/ankle are in a good place now, because his activity on the boards was wayyyy higher than summer league, and it felt like a habitual, built-in part of his game.
There wasn’t a whole lot else that was notable - they’ve had what, 5-7 days of training camp so far? Quick hits though:
- Podz is still a very good young player, and his game is 5-10% less annoying aesthetically now that he doesn’t have a shrub perched atop his head
- Gui, Richard, and Payton all look good and I still love them all
- I’d like to see more minutes with Gui and Yaxel on the floor together, and their shots are good enough that I think you can safely put them with Butler once he’s back and have a really interesting jumbo wing/small ball lineup
- Melton’s shot wasn’t dropping but it will, and he looked fully healthy
- Bassey was a bit up and down, but I think he’ll have a good season for us
- Niang is a good fit
- I hope Cryer plays more next game (I’m sure he will), but some combination of him, Williams, and Melton is a really nice backup guard rotation