#golden-state-warriors

#golden-state-warriors

The Warriors, riddled with injuries, have barely survived an opening gauntlet that has seen them play 11 games in 21 days. A tough schedule is about to ratchet up in difficulty. Their opening stretch looks like a cakewalk compared to what is to come. The next nine days will see the Warriors travel from Oklahoma City to Miami for a six-game trip that features five games against probable playoff opponents.

SAN FRANCISCO With back-to-back away losses behind them and a brutal six-game road trip lying ahead, the Warriors took advantage of the team's only home game in a 16-day stretch on Sunday evening. Golden State won 114-83 in what was, mostly, a rock-fight of a basketball game until late in the third quarter. Jimmy Butler led the team with 21 points, while Moses Moody scored 13, Brandin Podziemski had 14 and Quinten Post scored 14.

DENVER Effort. There is no stat to measure it. It cannot be felt, moved or heard. But it can be seen. And it certainly can be noticed, both in its abundance, and in the case of the Warriors' 129-104 shellacking on Friday night at the hands of the Nuggets in an Emirates Cup group stage matchup, in its absence.

When you're a kid, when you'd watch it, you'd definitely want to be in it, Podziemski said before Thursday's game against his hometown Bucks. I had that dream for sure.

A substantial number of the Milwaukee faithful attended Thursday night's game at Fiserv Forum dressed in colorful Halloween costumes. But nothing in the stands were as frightening as Milwaukee's offense in the Warriors 120-110 loss. Even without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, a late scratch with a left knee injury, the Bucks got whatever shot they wanted. And it was a long-forgotten Golden State castoff who led the way.

They just thought the way Steph was going, with Jimmy out there, we were going to score," Kerr said. "That was my biggest concern: Can we execute? And they just reminded me: We have Steph and Jimmy. They'll find a way to score. And they did. It was fantastic to watch the defense with that kind of size and length.

LOS ANGELES The Warriors begin the 2025-26 season in Los Angeles with the same, identical goal that every other Golden State iteration has: to win a championship. Although the ultimate goal remains unchanged, the possibilities that exist between Tuesday's regular-season opener and a hypothetical fifth title of the Steph Curry and Steve Kerr era are almost limitless. With the season beginning, here are five predictions for the Warriors' season between now and then.

"We're looking at different things," said Toussaint Potter. "We have large, different ethnic groups. San Francisco is known for its food, and the pressure is always there to up our standards to meet the expectations of the fans." Some fans got to try the new menu items Monday, which include a Korean spin on the Philly cheesesteak, Mexican street food, vegan dishes and Japanese sake.

Guard is the Warriors' biggest strength and arguably their largest question mark. Depth abounds in the backcourt. Megastar Steph Curry is aging as gracefully as a bottle of his Gentleman's Cut bourbon and is still one of the game's elite players. But the shooting guard spot is unsettled. While the team potentially has five different players who could realistically start games at the spot this season, each comes with their own strengths and weaknesses.

A decade after winning the first of four titles to start a dynasty, the Golden State Warriors have seemingly been passed by the rest of the Western Conference. According to ESPN BET, the Warriors have just the seventh-best odds to win the West this season, behind the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and LA Clippers.

With one deft change to the starting lineup, Warriors coach Steve Kerr demonstrated the biggest difference between this season's roster and this year's iteration. Out went the returning 6-foot-4, 205-pound Brandin Podziemski, and in went the 6-9, 260lb newcomer Al Horford. The new lineup saw Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler moved to guard and wing respectively, and Draymond Green shifted to his more natural power forward position and away from guarding 7-0 giant Donovan Clingan.

Golden State had the first-round draft capital -- the Warriors can trade up to the maximum four first-round picks and also swap in the next seven years -- to make a significant trade during the season. But, unlike the sizable contracts available in the Jimmy Butler trade last February ( Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson), that did not exist this season. Curry, Butler and Draymond Green combine to earn