What To Watch For As Warriors Open 2023-2024 NBA Season
The NBA is officially back.
Tonight, the reigning champion Denver Nuggets headline the first official game of the 2023-2024 season, with their ring ceremony preceding a Western Conference Finals rematch - which hopes to be a lot less lopsided this time - against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The second game of the night has plenty of interest drummed up itself, where the new-look Phoenix Suns enter the Chase Center for Kevin Durant’s first game in San Francisco since departing the team after the 2019 NBA Finals. And if Denver’s got the target on their back now after what can only be described as a dominant playoff run, there are few teams more eager to take the shot than the Golden State Warriors.
It’s been awhile, but the hunted are back to being the hunters.
Last season was a bit messy for the Dubs, to say the least. Between questions of extensions for dynasty mainstays, a lack of cohesion on who plays what role, and of course a punch that shook the NBA world just before it all kicked off, a second-round loss to the Lakers could even be considered an overachievement. It was the sheer force of nature called Stephen Curry that got them past the Kings in a first-round matchup that was one of the more entertaining playoff series in recent memory, and while Curry has only seemed to get better with age, this supporting cast is much more suited to the task of making sure things don’t fall apart when he takes his seat on the bench to rest.
Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul has joined the team, a scoring void on the bench has given Jonathan Kuminga a much greener light (which he showed off with some gaudy preseason scoring and shooting splits), there are proven vets with extensive playoff resumes on the roster, and there’s a much more cohesive vision that can be seen by anyone who’s kept their finger on the pulse of Golden State’s training camp: It’s all about number 5 for Curry and company.
The Suns are a bit of a headcase coming into their first game. Much like the Brooklyn Nets of the short-but-entertaining Durant era, they have three high-level scorers who have proven they can be viable first options on offense when they’re given at least a little help: Their third best player averaged 30 points a game just three seasons ago and was the runner-up to Curry’s second scoring title. The problem is that only one of them (KD) is a proven defender, and they’re all high-usage guys with varying levels of efficiency. Plenty of questions to be answered about how many points they can put up when they’re all sharing the same volume of shots.
There’s a prevailing sense around the league that surrounding Devin Booker with one of the most unguardable players ever and another three-level-scoring all-star will open up some serious room for him to get practically whatever he wants, and that he'll take a leap. The Warriors will be looking to test that tonight, and they’ll be doing so without Draymond Green. This leaves the task up to Andrew Wiggins and some combination of Gary Payton II, Jonathan Kuminga, and Kevon Looney to take on the three-headed monster that is Phoenix’s offense.
But it’ll also be a bit of a litmus test for Klay Thompson, who’s lost some speed but still has a high defensive IQ, and his ability to guard the best. Head coach Steve Kerr has said over the offseason that Klay could see minutes defending the 4, and on this team, that’s none other than his former teammate Durant. If Thompson can make KD work for it at least a bit, that’s a positive sign on Kerr’s vision. Thompson will probably see some time on Booker as well, who he has a bit of a four-fingered history with when it comes to trash talk. While Klay’s shot selection will certainly be something to watch, his defensive aptitude against an offense he’ll likely get caught on an island against will be the key takeaway to see how ready he is for those tough assignments.
The obvious thing to watch for is Chris Paul’s debut against his former team, and more importantly how he meshes with his new one. With no word on who Kerr has in the starting unit just yet, CP3 drawing the start for the fanfare is not out of the realm of possibility at all: While a super-undersized backcourt of him and Steph could give the Suns a door to an early lead, it’ll be the minutes he shares with the non-starters that will probably end up the difference-maker. Historically the Dubs have always had a strong bench when it came to championship runs… and an abysmal one was usually the difference between stellar and not-so-stellar years. Paul’s impact will be important to monitor, although Phoenix’s band of minimum contracts and depth pieces might not be the gauntlet to see if it’ll really work out.
While the Point God’s command of the bench mob as a whole is of note, how him and Kuminga synergize - and where Kuminga fits into the plan as a whole - is probably the most intriguing. As mentioned before, Jordan Poole’s offseason departure to Washington has left about 20 points per game (give or take, very much dependent on the kind of night Poole was having) on the table, the most sensible candidate to take the lion’s share of that is JoKu. It often felt like he was held back by Kerr’s rotations last season because one of the things he does best is score, and that’s not what the team needed from him. Now that scoring is harder to come by with this particular roster when the starters go out, Kuminga’s combination of a vastly-improved jumper, newfound patience off the dribble, and an unstoppable caliber of athleticism provides the toolkit for the third-year wing to take the leap sooner than previously possible.
There are a few supplementaries to keep an eye on for night one - namely how much run rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis get after standout preseason performances - and plenty of mistakes and miscommunications that will likely happen, and will just as likely need to be taken with a grain of salt, but between how the Warriors defense functions in Draymond Green’s absence against an offensive juggernaut of a potential postseason opponent, Chris Paul’s early integrations into the system, and Jonathan Kuminga coming out of the gates swinging, there’ll be plenty to overreact to with Warriors basketball back in full swing.
(Photo credit: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)