Welp. Opening night was a rough one for the Golden State Warriors.
The missing salaries can certainly help explain it: $57 million tied up with Jimmy Butler, $20mil for Kristaps Porzingis, and Moses Moody at a reasonable $12.5 mil. None of them available. Add in trusty reserve/starting guard, Brandin Podziemski, and you have the recipe for a disaster. It was a tough watch.
The season is long, and the well of hope is deep here in Golden State, so it’s right back into the mix for the Warriors - this time against a rebuilding Memphis Grizzlies team that traded away both Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.
At time of writing, Podz is still listed as questionable, but some reporting has him as day-to-day, so though unlikely, there is still an outside possibility he plays tonight.
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors (0-1) vs. Memphis Grizzlies ()
WHEN: Friday, October 23rd, 2026; 7pm PDT
WATCH: NBCSBA
Blip or pattern - Warriors have plenty to fix whether or not first game is any indication
Everyone knew that Golden State was in a precarious situation, so a loss to start this regular season isn’t a disaster. The team knows they’ve got plenty of those headed their way. What was troubling was how disheartened the Warriors looked as the game went along. Draymond Green was a step slow all night - or maybe it was just an implicit acknowledgment of how much ground there is to cover out there.
It was a good analogy for where the team is at this season. Already behind the curve, but hoping that the mid-season injury returns of Moody and then Butler could send them launching into the post-season. The model coming together just in time for the big show.
Instead, they enter their first game with a rash of little injuries. Podz tweaks his back the day before the season starts. Charles Bassey, penciled in for a lion’s share of the minutes at backup center suddenly pops up on the injury report with a sore knee.
Stacked on top of the Porzingis news, it just feels like so much weight. Curry summed it up in his post game comments, when asked about Porzingis’ long absence (and potential separation) the core of this team spoke slowly but eloquently about what this means to the people, as well as what it does to the team.
We always said availability was a big factor for our team with the guys we already had out. So it’s no secret that spot was an important one for us, especially with his skill set. It’s hard to talk about it without keeping the humanity in mind, but it is a tough one to figure out for the now, for the future. You had a good look of what we were supposed to be as a team. We have to overcome that obviously, but we would love to have him here.”
So there I was out with Mrs. Dubs at the local. Having a beer and watching the game in a loud bar. There’s no sound from the game and I missed a few of the early moments - or even throughout the game as we all chatted. In the background, the Warriors were slowly getting stomped. First quarter was okay, but then a couple of really bad quarters torpedoed any chances they had.
Curry had 23 points on 15 shots, but was a minus 22 on the night - more indicative of the blowout around a core of Green (-22 in 21 minutes) and Yaxel Lendeborg (-21 in 29 minutes). The Warriors know they want those three to play a lot of minutes together, but it wasn’t the answer on opening night.
The cool thing about basketball is that none of this may actually matter in the long run. As someone who grew up watching a lot of really bad basketball and praying for a player like Curry, I can assure you, dear reader, that there is a floor here for how bad this team will be. Call me delusional or gold-blooded, but there is a kernel of hope inside of me that is taking the heat like a popcorn kernel that refuses to pop.2
There was a design here, but it’s not the only viable version of how this season could successfully unfold. It’s the difference between a season going according to plan and a season having nowhere left to go. What if two-way contract guy Graham Ike becomes one of those huge bargain revelations that turns into a season highlights this year? What does actually happen to this team’s outlook when Moody and Butler eventually return?
Look, the Warriors could very well get waxed again tonight. The reasons teams like the Grizzlies rebuild is that it works. They’ve quickly re-tooled around young players, and started the season off with a bang courtesy of a franchise record opening night 45-point game from ex-Warrior Ty Jerome. But there’s a reason the Warriors have had to let players like Ty Jerome go - other priorities. Until Curry retires, he is the priority here, and that means some design concessions. Some gambles.
If Porzingis really is done, then that’s a gamble lost - a fairly brutal and disheartening one because of what a home run swing a healthy Porzingis represented. Curry said it:
“you saw a good look at what we were supposed to be”
Squint hard and just look at the first and fourth quarters of opening night, and the pattern is detectable. Yax had solid stretches of defense on Luka Doncic, one of the toughest covers in the league. Curry did his part. Gui Santos had 12 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.
There’s hope here. And even if you are short on hope, it’s at least early enough in the season for delusion!
The opener was not good. I was playing Golden Tee with my buddy at the dive bar as the game rolled to a close. I was indifferent, but not because I didn’t care. Things could be worse.
But the reason to keep watching isn’t that Curry and Green will never quit; it’s that, for as long as Curry is here, there’s still a chance this team finds a version of itself nobody saw coming. Maybe it won’t. That’s the gamble. And it’s riveting.
Prediction
Dubs win on huge night from Curry at home.
Music Friday
Ahh, I’ve missed these! How’s life treating you, Dub Nation? The world’s sharp edges feel extra exposed these days and I sincerely hope you are all staying as upright as possible in these trying times.
For this week, here’s a song that is extremely stuck in my head. Maybe I’m not cut out for corporate America, or maybe my new boss is especially lame. One way or another, let’s try to not let them dull out our shine!
The people have spoken, injury listing is back in game details! Click on the embedded link in “Injuries” header to access most recent NBA report.
Self edit to remove a long segue here on popcorn that doesn’t pop and fans that refuse to give up. You’re welcome. But like… think about it. Why don’t those kernels pop? Why are some of us so resilient? Or is it broken?
Ode to the Unpopped Kernel
One of Robert Burns' lesser works, I think.
I much prefer Address to a Haggis.