With seven straight wins, the Golden State Warriors have leapt into fourth place in the West - actually it’s a weird three-way tie for fourth through seventh place - but the important thing is that the Warriors are back.
This will be an intense week of games: first the Dubs face the Pelicans at home tonight to end their long (and extremely successful) home stand, and then finally back to the road to face the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, and then the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. If the Warriors are able to stamp an extension onto this already impressive win streak through what is sure to be a challenging week of basketball… oh man!
Unfortunately, as I may have found some breaking news while prepping this article. I’ve got the baked potatoes in the oven, the steak bubbling away in the sous vide, so I sat down around five to make the header image and game details section. It appears as if Will Richard is out, and may be out for a while. According to the injury report posted at 5pm Sunday, he’s listed as “out - left thumb UCL tear.” It doesn’t look like he was listed in the earlier injury reports.
If confirmed, this sounds like the sort of thing that may well require surgery, but we’ll wait for additional details tomorrow once the Warriors have media availability. For now, just send hope. Richard has been phenomenal. The return of Gui Santos1 softens the impacts of this a bit, but Richard’s defensive intensity and flexibility will be sorely missed. Heal fast please!
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors (7-3) vs New Orleans Pelicans (4-6)2
WHEN: Monday, November 9th, 2026; 7pm PDT
WATCH: Peacock/NBCSBA, NBATV
Injuries: Posted above, see most recent news here.
What if Curry and the Warriors aren’t done yet?
Steph Curry continues to make history. His most recent accolade? With the big night over the Orlando Magic. Curry passed LeBron James for the most 40-point scoring nights after the age of 35. It’s one of those weird records that probably doesn’t count as much as more traditional ones because it’s not the way that we tend to think about a player’s greatness. But Curry rushed over after that final buzzer in OT to be sure to grab that game ball. It’s passing LeBron on an all-time list, after all.
Curry’s showing both longevity and a current relevance that is at the core of what the Warriors are doing so far this season. He’s already passed both Dominique Wilkins and Oscar Robertson on the All-Time scoring list and could climb as high as 12 or 13 if season trajectory holds. This man is still breaking records left and right. And it’s hard not to notice this season out of Curry.
“It’s kind of a weird one,” Curry said of his latest record. “But it makes me super proud of the work that’s gone in, especially with some injuries and all that. But just the idea that I can still get to a certain level, you kind of feed off all that. Especially when it’s in a winning fashion like tonight where we needed all of them. I appreciate the longevity, y’all know that.”
He’s averaging 31.3 points per game while playing less than 30 minutes per contest. The shooting is crazy across the board: almost 50% (49.7%) from the field, 44.7% of his shots from deep, and 98.5% from the free-throw line. It’s a ridiculously elite .708 True Shooting percentage.
I just went down a statistical rabbit hole. Some things I learned from bball reference: Curry is scoring the highest points per 36 minutes at the highest TS% of his career, with the lowest turnover percentage he’s ever had. That 44.7% from deep is the best he’s shot in a decade.
Curry really is having that crazy of a season. He’s showing that he’s still one of the best in the league right now, no question.
But Curry is far from the only factor - and that’s what’s so exciting about this team. There’s an additional rising tide. with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody looming like a Kelvin wave in the new year.3
The loss of Will Richard, if true, will be a big blow. But it’s the plethora of other options that’s been such an unexpected boon for the team this season. When overtime came against the Magic, and coach Steve Kerr decided to give Curry and Green some rest on the bench it wasn’t a desperation play. Kerr knew they could at least hang in the game for a bit, and keeping Curry’s minutes low would pay dividends throughout the season. In a way that they struggled to do in the past, the team seems okay without Curry for stretches.
A unit of starters Yaxel Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski, and reserves Charles Bassey, Brandon Williams and Georges Niang gave the Warriors a four-point lead in what would be a 126-119 win…
It was only a minute, but it was a loud vote of confidence. Yaxel is special. He struggled a bit in the early stages of the game, but ended up with seven of the team’s points in overtime and was incredible late. Podz has cemented his spot as the starting two guard, and like Curry, he’s scoring more - and more efficiently - than ever before. Charles Bassey has been a revelation. I’ll have to do a full feature on him soon because he reminds me a lot of a young Biedrins. Cautionary tale aside, the combination of size and speed with the ability to convert layups, play defense, and inhale rebounds is exactly the sort of young talent teams invest in.
Curry is still playing at a level that makes the whole enterprise worthwhile, but the Warriors aren’t asking him to do absolutely everything. That’s not new, but it’s refreshed this season. They’re finding contributions from players who weren’t supposed to be central to the story, and they’re getting enough from that group to make the nights when Curry does take over even more valuable. It’s not a new version of the old championship formula, exactly, but it’s a team built around the same basic understanding. Give Steph a chance, and make sure there’s enough around him to matter.
So no Will Richard. A loss of a special addition to this roster.
“He’s kind of the perfect guy for that role,” Kerr said Nov. 2, on Richard’s changing stay-ready minutes. “Just really smart, and simple game. Doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, can guard multiple positions.”
Another setback. But this season feels different. It’s a firm handshake rather than a deep sigh and skyward glance as the team asks Podz for more. Brandon Williams and GP2 actually can mostly cover for Richard, and this feels more like an opportunity for players who are also doing well to add some additional minutes - especially if Gui Santos is heading back towards health. Richard has been one of the team’s best point of attack defenders, and started twice recently in big games against the Suns and Heat. So changes will be felt, for sure.
But this is a team that can handle it. Big week coming up, but a team with a deep, deep understanding of how to push through. This core has already known that this is how roads to championships are built - and while it’s way too soon to talk like that, this season has given more than enough reason to keep my delusions afloat.
Tonight, the Warriors have another opportunity to show that this isn’t just a hot streak built on Curry catching fire. This team has found ways to win, ways to survive the inevitable absences, and ways to keep contributing players involved. A little harder? No worries.
Prediction
Curry continues to go crazy, and the rest of the roster again demonstrates that they are increasingly capable of making the most of it.
Warriors get enough help from around the edges to keep the streak alive.
Santos is probable. Will Richard covered for Santos recently, and hopefully this doesn’t put more pressure on Gui to push past any lingering knee problems.
The Pelicans will be coming in on the second night of a back-to-back after facing the Clippers in Los Angeles Sunday night.
Too obscure of a reference? It’s been big news in California. I’m in the (anti) global warming business and I don’t think I was aware of this term until a month ago.