TLDR: Golden State has started 0-3 and has been missing more of its roster every night. Next up is Monday in Denver, where Jokic and Murray just erased a 19-point 4th-quarter deficit.
A depleted, 0-3 Golden State team visits a 1-1 Denver team that just came back from 19 down in the 4th quarter to beat New Orleans in overtime, with Murray scoring 42 and Jokic setting the career triple-double record. Most of the game depends on whether Curry, Green, Horford and Podziemski return after sitting out Saturday's back-to-back finale in Phoenix. Denver is short at forward but still has the 2 best players on the floor.
+Murray scored 42, Jokic had a 35-15-10 triple-double vs Pelicans
+Closed Pelicans 37-18 in 4th, 15-9 in OT
+Extra rest day at home before tipoff
−Cameron Johnson day-to-day with sprained ankle
−Diallo, Jones, Strawther out, thinning the forwards
−Managed only 84 points at Oklahoma City
The Warriors' losses have gotten closer each time out: 22 to the Lakers, 3 to Memphis, then 9 in Phoenix. The Phoenix loss came on the back end of a back-to-back with Stephen Curry (rest), Draymond Green (back), Al Horford (back) and Brandin Podziemski (back) all in street clothes. Devin Booker needed 43 points and a 45-point 3rd quarter to put that version of Golden State away. That is a team that plays hard. It is not yet a team that wins.
The question for Monday, October 26 is who comes back. Curry's Saturday absence was tagged as rest on the second night of a back-to-back. That makes him the likeliest of the 4 to return after a day off, but nobody has announced anything yet. Green, Horford and Podziemski all have back injuries, which are harder to plan around. Behind them the long-term absences haven't changed: Jimmy Butler III (ACL) is looking at January or February, Moses Moody (knee) at December or January, and Kristaps Porzingis is away from the team while he weighs his future with POTS. Yaxel Lendeborg (26) and De'Anthony Melton (25) carried the scoring in Phoenix. If the regulars sit again, those 2 will have to do it again at 5,280 feet.
Denver has its own problems up front. Cameron Johnson's sprained right ankle has him day-to-day, and Alpha Diallo (wrist), Spencer Jones (hamstring) and Julian Strawther (knee) were all out against New Orleans. The Nuggets won anyway, because Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are still Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
The home opener was a lot. New Orleans led by as many as 23, and it was 124-116 with 1:37 left in regulation. Then Jokic and Murray hit 3s, Aaron Gordon dunked, and Murray tied it at 126 by making 2 of 3 free throws with 16 seconds left. Murray finished with 42 points. Jokic had 35, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, which gave him the NBA record for career triple-doubles with regular season and playoffs combined. Trevon Brazile added 17 and Christian Braun 15. Denver outscored New Orleans 37-18 in the 4th quarter and 15-9 in overtime.
That comeback also hid how the Nuggets got there. They scored 84 in the loss at Oklahoma City and spent 3 quarters getting pushed around by a Pelicans team playing the 2nd night of a back-to-back. Golden State's problem is the opposite: the effort is there and the bodies aren't. Tipoff is 8:00 PM MT at Ball Arena. If Curry plays, this is a real game. If he doesn't, Denver should get a much easier night than it had Saturday.
Warriors vs. Nuggets: Polymarket Odds & Prediction (Oct. 26) — Winless Warriors Head to Altitude Waiting on Curry and Green
