The Warriors have steadied themselves, but the road back to the postseason still looks crowded and unforgiving.
After an 0-3 start that had panic setting in, Golden State has answered with three straight wins over expected playoff teams. Rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg has made his presence felt, Stephen Curry is posting stat lines no guard his age has ever produced, and the team suddenly looks less like a sinking ship and more like one trying to find its course.
Even so, the margin for error is tiny. The Warriors are trying to thread the needle between aging veterans and young players on the rise, and the teams around them are not waiting around. Several younger, deeper, and more explosive groups are pushing hard for the same playoff real estate.
Memphis is one of the biggest problems in the way. If Lendeborg has the inside track on Rookie of the Year, it is only barely over No. 3 overall pick Cam Boozer, who just posted his first triple-double and is already affecting winning at a high level despite being the youngest player in the league.
The Grizzlies have depth everywhere, including former Warriors point guard Ty Jerome, who is making a case for Most Improved Player with his floaters and jumpers. Cedric Coward, Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells give Memphis a young two-way core that looks built to keep improving.
Golden State already felt what that looks like when Memphis closed strong and beat them in the second game of the season.
Dallas is another team with a different kind of edge: a true star who can tilt everything. Cooper Flagg has wasted no time looking like one of the league’s best players.
The 19-year-old is doing it all - scoring, passing, rebounding, defending and making sharp decisions - and the source material puts him in the Top 20 already, with a case for Top 10. It also says he will make his first All-Star Game this season.
The Mavericks have won their last three, taking down the Miami Heat, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets, and they’ve done it with Flagg going head-to-head with multiple MVP candidates and coming out on top. With Kyrie Irving healthy beside him and first-year coach Dusty May providing offensive creativity, Dallas has become more than just a promising team.
Portland, meanwhile, has refused to slide backward after making the playoffs last season as the No. 7 seed. Adding Ja Morant over the summer looked like it could upset the balance, but the Trail Blazers have held together.
Morant has been locked in, Damian Lillard is hitting threes, and Deni Avdija is still steering enough of the offense to bring out the best in everyone else. Donovan Clingan is a towering presence in the paint and has added a better 3-point shot, while Toumani Camara has been the league’s best perimeter defender through four games.
Even with Morant now out for weeks because of injury, Portland’s depth gives it answers: Lillard, Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday can all handle the backcourt load.
That’s the kind of depth Golden State is chasing, and it’s why the standings picture remains so tricky. The Suns and Jazz would have offered some breathing room, but both have stumbled out of the gate.
Utah’s issues are tied to injuries, even if its healthy young players have shown life. Keyonte George has been balling out, and Ace Bailey has looked better on both ends.
Still, with the entire starting frontcourt hurt, the Jazz may already be in too deep a hole.
Phoenix has its own mess. The Suns’ only win came against a short-handed Warriors team, and the source points to poor offseason decisions rather than injuries as the main reason for their rough start. Trading for Miles Bridges and continuing to start Jalen Green has not worked, especially after defense, energy and a lack of egos helped carry them into the playoffs last season.
Golden State still has time, and there is at least some hope if Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody return later on. But the challenge is clear: just getting into the field will be a battle, and the teams chasing the same spots are younger, deeper and hungry enough to make it miserable.
In Other News...
Warriors Center Problem Looks Worse As Former Big Man Thrives Elsewhere
Quinten Post is wasting no time making his new team look smart. After leaving Golden State in restricted free agency, the big man has started the season strongly with the Memphis Grizzlies, helping fuel their undefeated start and giving them another useful piece on a defense that has been tough to crack. Memphis signed Post to a three-year contract, a move that stands in sharp contrast to the Warriors decision not to keep him around.
For Golden State, the timing only sharpens the concern in the middle. Kristaps Porzingis is still away from the roster, and his absence has left the Warriors thinner than they want to be up front. Watching a former center thrive elsewhere while the current rotation remains unsettled does not make the situation any easier, especially with the season already offering an early reminder of how much the position still matters. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Turned An Ugly Lakers Night Into A Statement Win
The Warriors turned a rough opening against the Lakers into one of their most complete wins of the young stretch, erasing a 23-point deficit and rolling to a 112-95 victory. Steph Curry led the charge with 31 points, and in the process moved past Dominique Wilkins on the NBAs all-time scoring list, while Brandin Podziemski and DeAnthony Melton gave Golden State a much-needed lift off the bench after an error-filled start.
It was the kind of night that could have spiraled quickly after the Lakers fast first quarter and Golden States early turnovers, but instead the Warriors settled in and took control the way contenders do. The comeback delivered a third straight win and offered another reminder that, even on a night when the opening minutes go sideways, this group still has enough shot-making and depth to flip the script. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Suddenly Face A Brutal Test Without Curry And Draymond
The Warriors are heading into a tough spot against the Clippers with two of their most important veterans suddenly unavailable. Stephen Curry is out with a right knee injury, while Draymond Green will miss the game because of a bilateral low back injury, leaving Golden State to regroup after a win over the Lakers in which Curry poured in 31 points and Green handed out nine assists.
For a team that leans so heavily on Currys shot-making and Greens orchestration at the other end, the timing makes this a far more difficult test than it looked a few days ago. The injury report has turned a marquee matchup into a chance for the Warriors to show how much depth they can summon without the two players who usually set the tone for everything they do. [Read more 🡒]