What better way to kick off a new NBA season than to relieve the previous one? Well, sort of. According to 95.7 The Game (with a hat tip to Marc Stein of The New York Times), the Golden State Warriors will open the 2019-20 regular season against Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers.
The quasi rematch of this year’s NBA Finals was reported as tentative. But should the league decide to start the Warriors’ season this way, the game would pit the new Western Conference powerhouse Clippers against a reworked Warriors roster. But it would still be a battle between Golden State and reigning champion Leonard who, with the Toronto Raptors, foiled the Warriors’ three-peat quest.
If it happens, the matchup will give NBA fans a look at the Clippers, newly jacked with the offensive fire of Leonard and Paul George, and a glimpse of the restructuring Warriors.
Klay Thompson won’t be on the court; he’s expected to miss most of the season rehabbing his torn ACL. But fans will get a first glimpse at how D’Angelo Russell, acquired from the Nets in free agency, will fit with Golden State staples Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
A weakness for the Warriors in 2018-19 was their thin bench. The fresh legs of drafted and undrafted rookies offers hope, should coach Kerr decide to test them early in the season.
