The Warriors open the season with a problem they can’t solve cleanly: how to deal with Luka Doncic without putting Yaxel Lendeborg in the blast radius right away.
Golden State went into the second preseason meeting between the teams planning to use Lendeborg on Doncic, but Doncic ended up a late scratch. That idea could resurface Wednesday night, yet it comes with real risk. The matchup might make sense on paper, but the Warriors have reasons to be cautious about asking a rookie to handle one of the NBA’s toughest offensive players in his first game.
Lendeborg does give Golden State something it otherwise lacks. At 6’9”, he offers size that matches Doncic better than smaller defenders like De’Anthony Melton or Gary Payton II.
His lateral quickness has been a little shaky in summer league and preseason, but Doncic is not the kind of scorer who simply outruns everyone. He beats defenders with timing, touch and footwork, and that’s a brutal assignment even for veteran stoppers.
The foul issue may be the bigger concern. Doncic is one of the league’s best at drawing contact, and if Lendeborg gets stuck alone against him too often, that could turn into quick whistles and an early exit from the game.
That’s especially dangerous for Golden State because Lendeborg has become an important piece for them on offense. With Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis sidelined, the Warriors can’t really afford to lose him to foul trouble for long stretches.
So the smarter play may be variety. Golden State likely needs to keep changing the picture in front of Doncic, mixing up defenders and coverages under Frank Vogel to keep him from settling in. Staying out of foul trouble and keeping Doncic off the free-throw line has to be the priority.
It will be interesting to see whether the Warriors try to live with Doncic scoring and focus on cutting off everything around him, or whether they send hard doubles and blitzes to force the ball out of his hands. That approach could leave teammates in four-on-three situations, which is its own danger.
Either way, Golden State’s margin is thin. With Butler, Porzingis, Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody all out, the Warriors may need to find a way to limit both Doncic and Austin Reeves just to stay in range, because the firepower shortage on their end could make the night a grind otherwise.
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