The Los Angeles Lakers are 1-6 in their season openers since 2019-20. While that has rarely affected their overall results, typically finding success in spite of the six 0-1 starts, it would be nice to start the new 2026-27 campaign on a high note. Luckily for them, the Golden State Warriors offer that chance.
In general, the Warriors are an inferior team to the Lakers by every stretch of the imagination. That does not mean they cannot steal an early one, though. The good news for Los Angeles is that Golden State will enter the first matchup of the season with absolutely no good answer for Luka Doncic.
Peter O'Keefe of Blue Man Hoop said: "It’s difficult to see a one-on-one matchup for Doncic not only among the starting lineup, but in the entire rotation that [Steve] Kerr will have available to him."
The Warriors Site Expert suggested Moses Moody would have been the matchup for Luka, were it not for his knee injury. Instead, Golden State will have to scrape through the alternatives. None of them are particularly good ones. That could get the Lakers season started off right.
Warriors have no one to cover Luka Doncic defensively
In all fairness to the Warriors, no one on the planet is truly a good matchup for Doncic. The Lakers superstar is an offensive wizard, capable of dicing up a defense in a way that only Nikola Jokic could truly rival. You do not hold players like that down. You can only hope to slow them.
The options available to the Warriors are just not all that good. They are either too small to contain Luka's size and strength, or too inexperienced to keep up with Doncic's craftiness in a one-on-one battle. In any cases, the matchup clearly favors the Slovenian superstar.
The silver lining for the Warriors is that basketball is not a one-on-one sport. Kerr can deploy whatever coverage he deems fit to try and trip up Doncic. Perhaps that will involve blitzing Luka and making someone else on the Lakers beat the Warriors.
That strategy would have been far more viable last season than it would be this year. Blitzing Doncic has always put a smile on his face as he uses his absurd vision to make nightly passes that would be career highlights for 99 percent of the other players throughout NBA history. The overall supporting cast in Los Angeles now features much more balance and offensive prowess to compliment that.
Those upgrades should allow Doncic more opportunity to pick defenses apart with his passing. Do not let last year's scoring title fool you. Luka Magic is just as likely to show up in the form of playmaking as it is bucket-getting.
All of this bodes extremely well for a Lakers team hoping to start the year with a bang. An 0-1 start has never been a death sentence for Los Angeles. However, having Doncic lead the way toward a 1-0 record to begin the new season would still be a refreshing change of pace.
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