Two Lakers Games Matter Less Than the Week That Follows
Wednesday's opener gets the lights, but the stretch through Denver will show whether this thin roster can carry its stars.
Golden State plays four games in six days, starting at the Lakers on Wednesday, with Butler, Porzingis and Moody all out. The week is a test of depth, and the answer will come from the back end of the schedule more than the opener.
What the opener offers
The Warriors open Wednesday, October 21, at the Lakers on ESPN. They beat Los Angeles 101-89 in the preseason, which tells us little about October 21 but something about the matchup: Podziemski and Lendeborg each scored 17 that night. The Lakers are the newer rival, and the game will draw attention. It should not decide how we read the week.
Who is actually available?
Kerr says Curry is fine after the ankle scare at Sunday's practice, and NBC Sports Bay Area reported he will play Wednesday. Podziemski and Bassey are day-to-day, both listed to return the same day. Butler is out until January 2, and Porzingis and Moody until December 1. So the best lineup of last season, Curry, Butler, Green, Kuminga and Podziemski, is not on the floor. Neither is the Curry, Butler, Green, Moody, Post group that struggled, at minus 6.5 in 125 minutes.
The back end is the real test
Then comes the schedule: Grizzlies at home on Friday, October 23, at the Suns the next night on NBA TV, and at the Nuggets on Monday, October 26, on Peacock and NBC Sports Network. The Friday-Saturday pairing is the week's back-to-back, and it is where a 38-year-old's minutes get decided. Denver, with the Warriors on the road again, is the opponent that matters most: it is the first real measure of whether this group can defend and score without its second and third options.
The minutes tell the story
Santos has played 29.6 minutes a night over his last 10 games, against 20.5 for the season, and Bassey and Nate Williams have both picked up extra work with teammates out. That is how a roster this thin gets through four games: by asking role players to carry real minutes. If Kerr can keep Curry under 31 and Green fresh while Santos and Bassey hold up, the week works. If not, the cost will show up in November.
When do the Warriors open the 2026-27 season?
They open Wednesday, October 21, at the Lakers, with the game on ESPN.
Will Stephen Curry play in the Warriors' opener?
NBC Sports Bay Area reported that Steve Kerr said Curry will play against the Lakers, and Kerr called the ankle scare at practice fine.
