The Warriors may still walk into Los Angeles as underdogs on opening night, but they just got a break that changes the mood of the matchup. LeBron James won’t be on the other side.
That matters because James has remained a nightmare for Golden State even late in his career. The legend, now heading into his forties, has continued to punish the Warriors in recent meetings, which is exactly why his absence takes some of the edge off a trip that would otherwise carry a lot more dread.
Over his last 10 games against Golden State, James has put up 30.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 10.1 assists per night while shooting 56.4% from the field and 53.8% from 3-point range. Those numbers stand well above what he has done across the past three seasons overall, when he’s averaged 23.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists on 52.3% shooting from the floor and 37.4% from deep.
Golden State has seen enough of James to know the threat he still brings. That may help explain why the Warriors went after the 41-year-old hard in free agency before he turned them down and made a stunning move to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Now, instead of dealing with him four times in the regular season as they did when he was with the Lakers, the Warriors will only have to see him twice.
The Lakers are still going to draw plenty of attention after losing James and reshaping the roster, but the matchup against Golden State no longer carries the same one-man danger. Even with Luka Doncic now at the center of everything, the Lakers have lost the kind of offensive force that made them especially intimidating in head-to-head battles.
Doncic does bring plenty of firepower. He’s averaged more than 30 points in his last 10 games against the Warriors, but he has done it far less cleanly, hitting below 33% from 3-point range. Across his last three seasons, he’s posted 32.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 8.7 assists, numbers that show his production against Golden State is not some wild outlier compared with what he does against everyone else.
Los Angeles may be better on the defensive end after parting with James and adding former Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, but the offensive ceiling is no longer the same without the trio of Doncic, James and Austin Reaves.
The Warriors still have their own problems, with injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody putting them in outsider territory for opening night. Even so, not having to face James gives Golden State a better shot at starting the season with a win.
In Other News...
Warriors Fans Will Hate Where This Latest Spurs Hype Went
Charles Barkley already has the basketball world talking again, this time with a comparison that will land hard in the Bay Area. After praising Spurs guards Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, Barkley floated the idea that San Antonios young backcourt could grow into something reminiscent of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, a bar so high it practically comes with a warning label. The Spurs do have reasons to dream, with Victor Wembanyama anchoring a promising core and a pair of talented guards giving the franchise a new kind of upside.
For Warriors fans, the bigger issue is how casually those comparisons get made before anything has been earned. Curry and Thompson helped define an era, and matching even a slice of that success is a long way off for any young pair, no matter how much talent they show early. San Antonio also has its own roster questions to sort through as this core develops, and until those pieces settle, the new Steph and Klay talk feels more like a provocation than a prediction. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors May Have Avoided A Ben Simmons Role Problem
Ben Simmons latest stop came with a familiar wrinkle, as Sacramento officially signed him and listed him as a 6-foot-10 guard, keeping the conversation around his best NBA role alive. Rich Paul has suggested Simmons could be used more like a center in pick-and-roll looks, but the Kings current roster does not appear built to make that experiment easy, which makes the fit feel a little awkward before the season even gets going.
For the Warriors, the intrigue had looked a bit different. Golden State had shown interest in Simmons and could have tried to use him as a backup point guard or a versatile forward, the kind of Swiss Army piece that sometimes finds a lane in their system. Even then, he would have had to win a preseason roster spot over Brandon Williams, so the path was never going to be automatic, and the latest Sacramento move suggests the Warriors may have sidestepped a role puzzle before it reached their own locker room. [Read more 🡒]
Jimmy Butler Return Hope Just Got Tougher For Warriors Fans
Jimmy Butlers road back is still a long one, and for Warriors fans hoping to see him help sooner rather than later, the latest update is a reminder to keep expectations in check. Butler is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in January, and the reporting around his rehab points to a return no earlier than January or February, which fits the usual recovery window for an injury of this kind.
Golden State is clearly not treating this like a race against the calendar. The organization is expected to keep the focus on Butlers long-term health rather than forcing an accelerated comeback for the sake of the current season, and that cautious approach leaves the Warriors waiting while the rest of the year unfolds around them. [Read more 🡒]