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Golden State Warriors: Don’t judge this team off the regular-season opener

By Nathan Beighle

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 10: Stephen Curry #30 and Marquese Chriss #32 of the Golden State Warriors high-five during a pre-season game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 10, 2019 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 10: Stephen Curry #30 and Marquese Chriss #32 of the Golden State Warriors high-five during a pre-season game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 10, 2019 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Golden State Warriors should not be judged too harshly if they fail to play a terrific season opener, taking on the LA Clippers Thursday night.

There’s no denying that this Golden State Warriors team will hit a few bumps.

The Warriors only retained a handful of players from last year’s roster so the comradery may be difficult to find a first, and it doesn’t help that their first game is against arguably the league’s best team.

The Clippers are coming off a double-digit victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, their season opener. They are widely considered one of the title contenders in 2020. While the Dubs are also among those top teams, they won’t hit that elite tier until Thompson returns.

Without Klay Thompson all season, this team may end up at the bottom half of the Western Conference, potentially just barely sneaking in the playoffs. If Stephen Curry misses over a few weeks, they may miss the playoff completely.

That said, if the Warriors get blown out to start their season, do not overreact. I repeat: do NOT overreact.

The Warriors will always be a top threat with Curry leading the way, but aside from Curry, D’Angelo Russell and Draymond Green, this team is void of talent. They do have a few capable athletes, but nothing compared to what they stockpiled last season.

Their depth will catch up with them, and they will drop games against the top teams in the West. This first game will show them what they need to work upon, but in the grand scheme of things, it’ll mean very little.

One loss won’t end this team’s title chances.

Klay Thompson’s return will. Curry’s health will. There’s no reason to get heated up over just one game. Given their lacking depth, this Clippers roster, one of the league’s deepest, will be a difficult matchup. They will give their all, but don’t be upset if it isn’t enough for now.

The Warriors, for the grand opening of the Chase Center and official merge of the new arena and Golden State, need to ball out. But, it seems difficult to assume a single Warrior can guard Kawhi Leonard on this roster.

Top 25 Golden State Warriors in franchise history. dark. Next

This will be a telling showing, but this team is still far from a finished product.

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