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Brandon Williams takes advantage of opportunity in Warriors' short-handed loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

There will be plenty of opportunities for Warriors role players to go around in the upcoming 2026-27 NBA season. 

Steph Curry will miss a handful of games, as will fellow veterans Draymond Green and Al Horford. The Warriors hope the reason is for rest, not injury. They’ll have the same hope that De’Anthony Melton can play most back-to-backs, too. 

Anybody can play the guessing game of Kristaps Porziņģis and his availability. The Warriors already are in their own game of it right now before the real games begin. 

This isn’t even including the injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody. Golden State is down to a 12-man team two weeks ahead of the regular-season opener in Los Angeles. On Wednesday night in Portland, the Warriors were a nine-man team against the Trail Blazers’ regulars. 

After playing the night before at Chase Center in San Francisco, which followed a week of NBA training camp in Hawaii, the Warriors opened the floor to players on the bench, on two-way contracts and in the G League to have the stage and give a show. Brandon Williams grabbed the lead role and never let go of it in the Warriors’ super short-handed 123-118 loss to Damian Lillard, Ja Morant and the Blazers at Moda Center.

Williams scored 17 points in 17 minutes on 7-of-11 shooting with four rebounds and three assists. His plus-1 was the only positive plus/minus among Warriors starters.

With Curry, Melton and Brandin Podziemski not even traveling, the ball instantly was in Williams’ hands. Keeping Yaxel Lendeborg back home gave Williams even more chances to be a lead playmaker and a top scoring option. He did both from the opening tip. 

A full picture of a Williams-led offense was painted. He scored 10 points in the first quarter and was up to 15 at halftime. Williams was a perfect 4 of 4 on 2-pointers in the first quarter and missed his two 3-point attempts. The first missed the rim completely and hit the bottom right side of the backboard, and then the second barely pecked the front of the rim. 

He was wide-open each time, especially the second. But he also hit a pull-up jumper from the free throw line, a fadeaway from the left baseline, a floater on the right side of the paint and a three in the first half. 

Speed is the name of Williams’ game, and he used that to his advantage too, getting downhill and to the rim. The new wrinkle to the Warriors is being talked about by everyone. Fans also have taken quick notice of it. 

His quickness isn’t solely a scoring weapon. Williams repeatedly got two feet into the teeth of the defense and made a play for a teammate. He set up multiple threes that way, and the Warriors already are benefitting from Williams having something that has been lacking lately on their roster. 

While Williams did have three turnovers, two in the second quarter and one in the third after none in the first, he should have had far more than four assists if his teammates converted pinpoint passes. 

Williams wasn’t the only Warrior to capitalize on a big chance. Miles Kelly scored a game-high 24 points and was 6 of 11 from 3-point range. The 23-year-old 6-foot-4 guard also had seven rebounds and six assists as the most impressive stat line of the night. Dalen Terry was right behind him. 

Terry, 24, scored 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting and was 4 of 5 from deep. The 6-foot-6 wing nearly had a triple-double, adding eight rebounds and nine assists. He and Kelly will be names to watch in Santa Cruz as part of the Warriors’ G League affiliate. 

These kinds of games are great to see players like Kelly and Terry catch some eyes. They’re just much more about players like Williams. Through training camp and three preseason games, Williams has shown how he can be the microwave scorer off the bench when the Warriors need to get hot in an instant. 

That’s still going to be a must on nights when the Warriors are healthy, and Williams already is earning his way up the pecking order in games where the main names aren’t on the court. 

A competitive loss where the Warriors didn’t have Williams in the fourth quarter, and more of their players were in the Bay Area than the Pacific Northwest, was another example of his importance.

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Mark my words: This is going to be the best NBA season yet for Luka Doncic.

He should win the MVP award. Or be the runner-up if the Lakers can’t make enough noise in the very- crowded Western Conference. 

The pathway is primed. Let’s break it down. 

Doncic is mad. 

He’s still reeling from the shock of being traded by the Mavericks to the Lakers in February 2025. He was stunned. Humiliated. What other top-four player has been dealt in their prime? He has a vendetta. Something to prove to the league. 

He has a sense of ownership. 

The Lakers are now his team. LeBron James left in free agency for the 76ers. The success or failure of a 17-time championship franchise now rests squarely on his shoulders. That means something. 

He has his fingerprints on everything. 

During the offseason, he put his stamp on the squad. He had a big say in who he wanted to play alongside, including the Lakers re-signing Austin Reaves and acquiring center Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade from Utah. 

He’s ready. 

He’s arguably in the best shape of his career. Lakers coach JJ Redick recently said he “worked his butt off all summer,” adding that he “actually did sprints and stuff.” He’s noticeably slimmer. 

He’s acting like a leader. 

Doncic recently hosted a four-day minicamp in Slovenia to help build chemistry. He has never done anything like that before in his career. He paid for everyone on the roster to fly to his home country. He really wants this to work. 

And in many ways, he was spurned last season. 

Let’s not forget that Doncic actually fell in NBA.com’s MVP Ladder in late March from No. 2 to No. 4 following a six-game stretch in which he averaged 40.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.6 steals, becoming the first player to average 40 points over six road games since Michael Jordan in 1986. 

“The better I play, the more I go down in ratings,” Doncic said at the time. “So I don’t know what more I can do.”

Over the month of March? 

Doncic averaged 37.5 points, 8 rebounds and 7.4 assists, leading the Lakers to a 15-2 record before suffering a strained hamstring on April 2. 

And yet, Doncic finished fourth in MVP voting behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic. 

The case could’ve been made for him to finish higher. Voters knew that. It was an impossible task trying to rank those guys for the league’s most prestigious individual award, especially considering there are no distinct specifications for it. The bar keeps endlessly moving for how voting is justified. 

So, all of this to say, Doncic is next. 

The kindling is on the floor. The logs have been stacked. Gasoline has been poured over it all. A lit match is about to be dropped. 

Right now, basketball is everything for Doncic. His daughters are in Slovenia. He’s engaged in an ongoing custody battle with his ex-fiancée over them. Pouring himself into his sport is the only thing that’s going to keep him sane. 

That’s powerful. 

Last season, Doncic declined to advocate for himself to win the MVP award, something Wembanyama successfully did to his advantage. 

Doncic led the league in scoring (33.5 points) and finished third in assists (8.3). The only things that could be held against him in such a tight race? The Lakers finished fourth in the West behind the Thunder, Spurs and Nuggets. And Doncic’s defense lags behind Gilgeous-Alexander’s stellar two-way play and Wembanyama’s wizardry on the less glamorous end of the court. 

But standings aren’t always taken into consideration for the MVP award. For example, Russell Westbrook won MVP in 2017 even though the Thunder finished sixth in the West. Jokic won the award in 2021 even though the Nuggets finished third in the conference. 

Defense isn’t always taken into consideration, either. See guys such as Jokic, Steph Curry and James Harden winning MVP. 

In other words, it’s all subjective. 

Voters do the best they can, including this one, who voted for Doncic to finish fourth for MVP last season. But we all know when our decision was decided by millimeter margins. 

Doncic is primed to have an explosive season. 

All of the ingredients are in the pot. We’re all waiting to see how the dish turns out. 

But really, we know what to expect. 

And it’s going to be nothing short of incredible.

No rest for the weary, even in the preseason, as the Golden State Warriors travel up north to play against the Portland Trail Blazers for Wednesday’s second night of a back-to-back. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM PT in Portland and can be watched on NBA TV.

Previously with the Warriors:

The Warriors showcased another starting lineup in Tuesday night’s 124-98 blowout victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. With center Al Horford a late scratch, Golden State opted for size and versatility around guards Steph Curry and Brandin Podziemski, with Draymond Green starting at center alongside rookie Yaxel Lendeborg and Gui Santos to round out the rest of the front court.

Lendeborg impressed once again, leading the team with 17 points in 21 minutes on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting from the field. His nine rebounds also led the Warriors for the second game in a row. After the game, Lendeborg discussed why he believes he’s having so much success crashing the boards in the NBA.

What to watch for tonight:

In perhaps one of the strangest scheduling quirks in recent preseason memory, tonight’s game wraps up a busy stretch of three games in four days for the Warriors, one that began Sunday in Hawaii before taking them back to San Francisco on Tuesday and now up to Portland for the second night of a back-to-back.

If this were the regular season, the Warriors would almost certainly rest several of their veteran players. Given that this is only the preseason, that’s expected to be the case tonight, with a long list of players not even making the trip to Portland. That’s good news for the bottom half of the roster, which should get plenty of opportunities to showcase themselves, but bad news for anyone hoping to see the Warriors’ stars on the court.

Regardless of who’s playing, enjoy the game Dub Nation. GO WARRIORS!!! 

Projected Starters

Warriors: Brandon Williams, LJ Cryer, Will Richard, Malevy Leons, Charles Bassey

Blazers: Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan

How to watch Preseason Game 3

Who: Golden State Warriors (1 – 1) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (0 – 0)

When: Wednesday, October 7th, at 7:00 p.m. PT

Where: Moda Center — Portland, Oregon

TV and Streaming: NBA TV

SAN FRANCISCO — The Lakers’ trip to Northern California displayed the duality of preseason basketball.

Because for as good as Monday night felt, Tuesday night was equally as dreadful. 

Within 24 hours, the Lakers went from looking like world-beaters against a Kings team that’s expected to finish the 2026-27 season toward the bottom of the NBA standings to getting run out of the gym by a Warriors team that’s fighting to stay relevant behind aging four-time NBA champions Steph Curry and Draymond Green. 

The up-and-down nature of the last few days epitomized why making grand conclusions from preseason exhibitions about a team’s full-season outlook is a foolish exercise. 

Player availability changes nightly, which was the case for the Lakers when Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle and Collin Sexton sat out against the Warriors.

Both teams only have a handful of training camp practices before having to play against another opponent and are lucky if they’re able to crack a double-digit number of practices before the regular season starts.

In order words, no team is — or at least should be — at its best during preseason. 

But what preseason exhibitions should provide is an insight into what a team has been focusing on since putting together its roster over the summer and honing in on since practices officially began as summer turned to fall. 

And for the Lakers, proof of concept was provided when they played the Kings. On Monday, LA at least had a reasonable number of players available who’ll play meaningful minutes when the games count.

Yes, Kessler not playing either game meant the Lakers lacked the rim protection they coveted when they acquired the 7-foot-2 big man from the Jazz. And it showed.

Reaves and Sexton being sidelined removed the team’s main ball handlers behind Doncic. 

But for at least one game against the Kings — and really just the first half when Doncic played — the Lakers showcased a glimpse of the team’s vision.

Ninety-four feet of full-court defensive pressure, with Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, Quentin Grimes, Jake LaRavia and Adou Thiero all taking turns. 

Increased defensive physicality and aggression, leading to more deflections, steals and forced turnovers.

“Especially with Matisse and Ziaire, [the defense at the beginning] of the game [against the Kings], that’s contagious for everybody,” Doncic said. “It was inspirational.”

The offense will continue to revolve around Doncic — and Reaves once he’s in the lineup.

But the how will look different, with Doncic operating off the ball more to start possessions before using his teammates’ screening to come to the ball, which weaponizes his offensive gravity.

“You can look at any game, or any practice, and find good stuff to build on,” coach JJ Redick said. “So, yes, it’s encouraging.”

An encouraging start to the preseason isn’t the be-all, end-all, but the foundation and expectations are set. 

And once they’re able to get more of their main players on the court, those expectations will only rise.

Legendary broadcaster Mike Breen is walking back a story about LeBron James criticizing Joel Embiid after James called it out as “lies.”

“I’m so disappointed how the story was interpreted,” Breen told ESPN. “The whole intent was praising LeBron for already having an impact on the team’s professionalism and accountability, even something so benign as a player getting on the court for practice a minute or two late.”

During Monday’s preseason Knicks vs. Sixers game broadcast on MSG Networks, Breen explained he’d caught wind of James reaming Embiid for being late to practice.

“Somebody told me before the game that they were out ready to practice, and Joel Embiid walked out on the court a couple of minutes late, and LeBron let him hear it,” Breen said.

The following day, James pushed back, writing on his Instagram, “He ain’t been late so stop the lies.”

“I thought it would be an interesting anecdote to show LeBron’s leadership already on display in Philly,” Breen continued. “For me, the fact that the teammate was Joel was meaningless. In hindsight, I should have realized the fact that it was Joel is what made it a story. I’ve always been a huge fan of Joel and feel awful that it put the focus on him the way that it did.

“I don’t know why the person who told me the story would make it up, but if LeBron says it never happened then I believe him and apologize for putting it out there.”

It’s not the first time Embiid has been at the center of reports about timeliness.

Two years ago, as the 76ers started 2-11, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that his Philly teammates were calling Embiid out for lateness “for everything” during the skid.