It’s game day again for the Golden State Warriors and will be the first chance to watch this team play live for many fans. There’s a couple of new flavors to both of these teams this year, with Luka Doncic taking over for LeBron James to become sole figurehead of the franchise. And no, I do not count Austin Reaves amongst the same rarified air of greatness.
In Golden State, Stephen Curry remains stable. A big cliff that will eventually succumb to father time, sure - but for now continues to take the pounding of the Ocean’s waves with poise. His co-star is hobbled but expected back, and that gives Curry and the rest of the Warriors time to incorporate some of their new elements.
Oh, and the mad scientist/coach, Steve Kerr? He has a whole new concept to roll out. It’s not preseason, it’s experimentation season!
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors (0-1) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (0-0)
WHEN: Tuesday, October 6th, 2026; 7pm PDT
WATCH: NBCSBA, NBATV
New Era, New Problems
There’s something extra fatiguing about walking into work every day and facing the same problems. Not to praise the concept of new tire fires either, but the little interview snippets and quotes I’ve heard this year seem to carry an extra dose of… not optimism… maybe energy? There’s something fresh and sunny here as the season begins.
The Golden State Warriors didn’t have a huge off-season - but they did make some moves. As the rest of the NBA reshaped itself the Warriors came out of the summer dust storm looking mostly the same, but those “replacement pieces” are dynamic in new ways. The first game of their preseason showed why they’ve been seemingly content with such minor moves. Get younger, be faster. They’ve been chipping at the edges of this problem more and more heavily over the past few offseasons and I’m excited for my first live glimpse of whatever this version of now is for this team.
It’s a new era in Los Angeles too. LeBron James gave them almost a decade of service and one championship. It was a weird one. It’s unlikely that the team will say they’re happy to lose a player of James’ caliber, but it is a fresh page flip. This is now Luka’s team.
Amidst the restructuring, this game is going to be the first testing of the waters for a matchup that will really matter to both of these teams in the regular season. With the San Antonio Spurs and OKC Thunder both in the West, the Warriors and Lakers may both find themselves at that painful cusp of the Play-in Tournament cutoff. With the Clippers and Kings out of consideration due to historic pattern analysis, it’s going to be a blood bath in the middle of the West.
I was not lucky enough to see the first preseason game, but I want to pull in some players and rotation decisions to be aware of:
The offense has significant new wrinkles. While Kerr preaches lower turnovers, expect some hiccups. This isn’t just a new roster, the Warriors have some new structure to their offense.1
Lendeborg was busy on the boards (nine rebounds) but only managed four points on six shots. He’s predicted to be a critical element of this team’s early season success - and late season too. Be patient.
Charles Bassey looks like the default center - so far. Without Porzingis, and Horford playing on a minutes limitation, the center position will be one to watch all season. Kevon Looney is on the Lakers now, and will assuredly get an extremely warm welcome from the crowd and former teammates.
Brandon Williams is going to get minutes on this team. That’s it. That’s what to watch. I’m intrigued by the way folks who have watched him play describe his impact:
> “We haven’t had anybody like Brandon here since I've been here,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters in Honolulu. “Just the on-ball speed and the ability to get into transition . . . he’s a real weapon.”
Prediction
I predict that me and my perfect wife are going to go out and watch this game at our favorite local pizza and beer place, since we cancelled our streaming (we like to rotate them around, Apple TV is Ted Lasso, so mandatory switch).
Also, the Warriors will win. And Kerr keeps the starting lineup the same as the first game.
[building a small prayer vigil for E1P to explain the new adjustments to the offense to my smooth brain]