Preview: Hopes and unheralded players

Warriors getting lift from old bench fringe as contributors become critical

There’s no firm timetable for the return of either Stephen Curry, or newly acquired big man Kistaps Porzingis. After a whirlwind closing of the NBA’s trade window, the Golden State Warriors find themselves looking around at a simplified roster - but one still mostly defined by the health of their top players. Mostly.

This stretch isn’t about surviving a few games without Stephen Curry. It’s about whether the Warriors still recognize themselves when he isn’t there. With the roster stripped down, the timelines collapsed, and the safety nets quietly removed, Golden State is staring at a version of itself that feels unfamiliar - but maybe more honest. The next few weeks will determine whether this is a temporary detour, or the beginning of something sturdier than anyone expected.¹

There will be plenty of time for creased eyebrows and hand-wringing later - after all, the two highest picks of the second timeline experiment are now gone, leaving few positive memories and a lingering whiff of ineptitude. For now, the Warriors are going back to their small ball roots, embracing the best, most impactful players they can put on the court.

De'Anthony Melton, and Pat Spencer are just over 12 feet tall, if you combine them.² What Melton and Spencer lack in size, they make up for in constant disruption. They move, they pressure, they force decisions earlier than opponents want to make them. They’re the kind of guards who don’t let a game settle into something comfortable, and right now, discomfort might be the Warriors’ greatest weapon.

Next up: the Warriors walk into Los Angeles early this evening³ to take on a Lakers team that is playing without Luka Doncic - just a minor hamstring thing. This should be a powerhouse battle, with two old rivals like LeBron James and the Warriors playing against each other, there’s always a bit of extra intensity in the air. Add in the playoff implications in any battle between the 5th-seeded Lakers and the Warriors team that is clinging to 8th, and this sounds like an exciting Saturday night!

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GAME DETAILS

WHO: Golden State Warriors (28-24) at Los Angeles Lakers (31-19)

WHEN: Saturday, February 7th, 2026; 5:30pm PST (←early game alert)

WATCH: ABC / ESPN

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Forget everything else, and stare at the games prior to the All-Star break

There has been a new order emerging for Golden State, even prior to the roster changes that were far closer to Plan Z than Plan A.

Plan A was growth. Plan B was patience. Plan C was upside. Somewhere along the way, all of those plans became moot. Plan Z, it turns out, is simpler: competence over potential, reliability over reach, players who know exactly what they are and don’t pretend otherwise. It’s not romantic, but it’s functional; and for a team that has spent years trying to bend timelines to its will, functionality suddenly feels refreshing.

The Warriors aren’t trying to be clever anymore. They aren’t trying to future-proof the roster or win theoretical arguments. They’re trying to win basketball games with the players they trust (and have available), the concepts they believe in, and the reality in front of them. For now, that’s enough.

Curry’s injury is one of those nagging injuries that has to be dealt with carefully, and given the team’s upcoming schedule, will likely keep him out for the next three games ahead of the All-Star break.

In a must-read article from Anthony Slater’s one-on-one sit down with Curry, it sure sounds like a return to court is far from imminent.

“It’s trending in the right direction. It’s different than last year, but something that will heal.

Based on his following quote, it sounds like Curry could be out until after the All-Star break.

“It’s a matter of learning as I go what works rehab-wise,” Curry said. “Because it’s still painful. You have to try to get rid of all the inflammation and pain. It’s something we still have to monitor and injury-manage, but it’s something where, if I come back too early, it could flare up.”

Ironically, the team’s first game after the break is none other than the Boston Celtics - the last team to successfully employ the frontcourt tandem of Al Horford and Porzingis that the Warrior just spent the last eight months or so acquiring. Maybe that’s the next phase of this pivot. But between now and February 19th (or whenever Curry and Porzingis step on court together? The Warriors are far more certain of how the remnants of this roster should come together.

Golden State has been looking to this model for a while - where a number of players all chip in rather than having a secondary primary scorer take over when it isn’t Curry. Sure, there was a lightning in a bottle ephemeral vibe to the massive comeback win over the Suns, but it does prove that this model of a team can work.

It’s Gary Payton soaring out of the crowd to claim a rebound and then dump it out to Pat Spencer, who aggressively jiggles his way into the teeth of the defense before kicking it out to Horford for a three - or maybe it’s in the post and he gets to the line. Regardless, this can’t truly be called small ball, but neither is it the sort of height-favored roster that has become the norm around the league. So not small ball, but whatever ball. Whatever or whoever works.

And this can still work.

From that same Slater article above⁴ everyone gets that this wasn’t the initial plan, and it’s far from an ideal outcome:

Is Curry content with the state of the situation?

“No,” Curry shot back. “I’d rather have Jimmy Butler playing basketball. But it’s our hurdle to overcome as a team. Three weeks ago, we were heading in a certain direction. The record scratched and stopped, and now you’re trying to figure out how to get it going again.”

While the Warriors didn’t make contact on their home run attempt, they’ve got something left that works a bit. The players that have stuck in Kerr’s rotation have stuck because of their positive impacts.

Yes, they will need to be scrappy. And no, Will Richard and Pat Spencer aren’t always going to be the answer. But this is a Warriors team that doesn’t need to win every game. The stretch goal of getting to the 6th seed and thus avoiding the dreaded single-elimination Play-In Tournament may be harder, but not impossible.

Golden State has three games coming up now. Three chances to double down on whatever this weird new reality is. Forget size, the Warriors are just going pure athleticism and heart. De’Anthony Melton and Pat Spencer are a throwback, Nellie-ball era backcourt. There’s no long range wing playing chin high to the rim - but that’s never been one of coach Kerr’s priorities. Maybe it was too personal with Kuminga, or maybe there’s something to be said for player:system fits.

Much like the common misunderstanding of Charles Darwin’s famous “survival of the fittest” trope, Kerr and the Warriors have found that it is much more about finding the correct shape of a puzzle piece than it is to get a dude that looks like a video game create-a-player override outcome.

So for better or worse, Warriors (and their fans) are in for more Brandin Podziemski, more Gui Santos. Pat Spencer is now all but locked to sign a contract that will convert his two-way contract at least through the end of this season. These are players that might not check off every box on the checklist, but they work well here, now. And that’s all that matters - not just for these next three games, but through the end of this season.

And you know what? I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I’m here for this. That roaring comeback win over jerk face Dillon Brooks and the Phoenix Suns was visceral. A cathartic healing of wounds and slamming of doors on the ultimately unsatisfying end to the Kuminga saga. Fine. Everything’s fine.

This is a callback to the dark days that many Warriors fans found themselves in when first rooting for their local teams. It wasn’t always Steph Curry. For a while, Speedy Claxton was the point guard. I was personally old enough to mentally throw up in my mouth as the team moved mountains to sign ex-Laker Derek Fisher. There’s a second timeline coming all right. A dark era that doesn’t include Curry - but one where you probably still can’t afford lower bowl seats. And if you were there for those years, you remember the feeling. The bad rosters, the cheap hope, the way every unexpected win felt like stealing something you weren’t supposed to have. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was yours. This doesn’t feel that bleak - not yet - but it does feel familiar in a way that longtime Warriors fans haven’t felt in a while.

It’s important to know that we are not yet there, Dub Nation. Yes, the curtain will close soon on this era, but there’s still a last act or two. Maybe that last championship was the encore, the final wave as the second timeline exits off the side stage. But maybe not.

The Warriors aren’t worried about their roster for the rest of this season. Big picture questions can be addressed later. Now we ride, for better or worse.

So here it comes. Tonight against the Lakers, Monday versus the deconstructed Grizzlies, and then a final matchup against Wemby and the Spurs ahead of the All Star break. It’s not going to define the season, none of these are necessarily make or break contests; but picking up another win or two sure would feel huge.

I’ve believed in less.

Prediction

Warriors win this one. The Lakers will struggle to keep up with the frenetic, balanced Golden State approach.

Nights like this are how you find out if an idea is real. Can this version of the Warriors defend without fouling? Can it survive scoring droughts without panicking? Can it dictate tempo instead of reacting to it? The Lakers game isn’t a referendum on the season, but it is a stress test for everything Golden State thinks it can be right now.

1. NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!

2. God, did this team need that last win over the Phoenix Suns…

3. Note the pre-dinner start time for tonight’s game!

4. Re-iterating that you should read the Slater sit down with Curry. It’s short, and very good.