After a summer of significant and surprising movement, the Warriors are among the few NBA teams to stir broad curiosity and even some confusion. They will open training camp under a million microscopes.
That number will increase exponentially beginning opening night when the Phoenix Suns invade Chase Center.
These Warriors are difficult to project. They’re coming off a season that simmered with discomfort. They have a new general manager, Mike Dunleavy Jr. His decision to ship out gifted but mercurial young star Jordan Poole and bring in cantankerous but earnest veteran Chris Paul sent shock waves through the league – and is the primary source of intrigue.
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It's impossible to know who the Warriors are, but here are 10 regular-season games that should provide a good indication of what they can be:
Game 1: Oct. 24 vs. the Suns
Why waste time with trivia? There can be no better way to start this season than to toss Paul into the pit against his former team. He revived his career in Phoenix, spent three seasons there and reached his first NBA Finals. As if that were not enough the extraordinary former Warrior Kevin Durant will be leading the Suns, who many consider superior to Golden State. Can’t say the NBA doesn’t have a sense of the dramatic.
Game 2: Oct. 27 at Sacramento
Golden State Warriors
This is the perfect tonic for a Warriors team coming down from an opening-night high at home. The upstart Kings bruised the Dubs before falling in a fantastic seven-game first-round playoff series in April. Less than two weeks later, the dropping Warriors were going home. The Kings want more because they believe they can take it, especially at home. The winner of this game makes an early statement.
Game 9: Nov. 8 at Denver
The Nuggets will be defending their first NBA championship against the team of the 2010s. Moreover, they are the only Western Conference squad to own the Warriors last season, winning all three games. Golden State was 0-2 at Ball Arena last season and are 1-4 in their last five games there. It’s only two weeks into the season, but a victory would buoy the Warriors. A loss would chase them back to the Bay Area.
Game 30: Dec. 25 at Denver
If you’re wondering why no games between Nov. 9 and Dec. 24 measured up, it’s because 14 of 20 are in the comfort of Chase Center. Much of this season will be about the Warriors trying to recapture their road teeth. A win at Ball Arena always is a statement. Beating the defending champs, on their court, in the marquee game that is Christmas Day would be cause for high-fives on the early evening flight home.
Game 39: Jan. 13 at Milwaukee
The Warriors have lost six of their last 10 overall against the Bucks and have not won in Milwaukee since Dec. 7, 2018, with Jonas Jerebko and Durant combining for 23 points. The Bucks have the same Giannis and the same core but a new coach. Insofar as they are one of five teams oddsmakers favor over the Warriors in the championship chase. It’s the second part of a back-to-back road set, so this will be a Saturday night grit game.
Game 47: Feb. 2 at Memphis
If it’s Warriors-Grizzlies, the air will be heavy. Ja Morant’s suspension will be ancient history, Dillon Brooks won’t be around to break the Grizzlies’ offense and Marcus Smart will have had time to generate his leadership abilities. It’s the first part of a back-to-back road set, so the A-team will get the call. Want more motivation? The Warriors will enter the season having lost seven of eight (including the 2022 playoffs) in Memphis.
Game 61: March 3 at Boston
Warriors-Celtics at TD Garden happens only once each season, and the series has evolved into an annual national television event. It’s a place where the Warriors have memories both bitter (most provocatively crude hecklers in the league) and sweet (Game 6, clinching 2022 NBA Finals victory). Despite the Celtics failing to reach the 2023 Finals, they are co-favorites to win it in 2024. This smells like a big game because it is.
Game 71: March 24 at Minnesota
Why the once harmless Timberpups? Because they’re growing up. Because it’s young mastodons vs. old thoroughbreds hanging on. And because Minny broke Golden State twice last season – once in overtime at Target Center and again by delivering a gut-punch loss to the Warriors Chase Center in the heat of the race to the playoffs. May all eyes find the matchup featuring ex-Timberwolf Andrew Wiggins and budding star Anthony Edwards.
Game 76: April 2 at Dallas
This matters because it’s April and competition in the West will be savage and postseason positioning will be on the line for both teams. The Mavericks rearranged some furniture around Luka Doncić and Kyrie Irving, but they owe their fans a better finish than the dive (losing 15 of their last 21) they took last season. If the Warriors are who they think they are, they’ll finish in the top four in the West and could see the Mavs in the first round.
Game 79: April 9 at Los Angeles Lakers
Remember how last season ended for the Warriors? With back-to-back losses at the building formerly known as Staples Center. This is about taking care of business in yet another game destined to have consequences. Oddsmakers see both teams as second-tier contenders, each will try to prove otherwise. Besides, this might be the last chance for a late-season battle between Stephen Curry and LeBron James.
Note: Nine of the 10 games are on the road. As it should be, for a Warriors team that last season posted an abominable 11-30 record away from Chase Center. There can be no happy ending without a comeback.