The Lakers open the 2026-27 season with Golden State on the other side of the floor, and once again the NBA has dropped these California rivals into the spotlight on opening night. It’s the second year in a row that Los Angeles gets the Warriors right away, and the fourth time in the last six seasons.
Los Angeles is listed as a 6.5-point home favorite, but that edge only matters if the Lakers clean up the details that can flip a game fast. The clearest place to start is with the ball.
In the preseason, the Lakers were a mess in that department, coughing it up roughly 23-25 times per game. That number left them near the bottom of the exhibition standings at 28th.
Their most recent meeting with Golden State in Las Vegas was even uglier, with Los Angeles turning it over 29 times.
Luka Doncic did not play in that game, but Austin Reaves did, and he had a rough night handling the ball. Reaves finished with seven turnovers, the most on the team. If that kind of sloppiness shows up again, the Warriors will be ready to turn it into points.
Stephen Curry is the other major problem the Lakers have to solve. The future Hall of Famer is heading into his 18th season, and he still has the kind of game that can take over from anywhere on the court. If he gets rolling, the margin for error disappears quickly.
Golden State comes in shorthanded, with three core players out because of injuries: Brandin Podziemski (back), Kristaps Porzingis (undisclosed) and Moses Moody (knee). All three bring offense, which makes Curry even more central to what the Warriors try to do. That means Los Angeles has to force him into tough looks and make everyone else carry the load.
The Lakers also have to finish the job on the glass. Walker Kessler was added to give them an elite interior defender, and this matchup is a chance to show how that changes the team. Los Angeles needs to end possessions with rebounds, cut down Golden State’s second chances and create extra opportunities the other way.
There’s another wrinkle in the rebounding battle: the Warriors won’t have a player on the floor who is seven feet or taller. That should put even more pressure on the Lakers to not just control the boards, but dominate them.
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