article

PORTLAND, OR – OCTOBER 23: Jonathan Kuminga #00 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on October 23, 2024 at Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges this

SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Warriors defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 139-104 on Wednesday in their NBA season opener.

After missing the postseason last year, many fans have high hopes for this race.

Dub Nation cheered on the Warriors from the steps of Thrive City as they watched the game on the big screen outside the arena.

Sacramento’s Cruz Gonzalez believes the team will go further this season.

“Just because I think Curry will be better than last year, and I think Buddy Hield will be really good, and they have Podziemski, he’ll average at least 23 points,” the 9-year-old said. said. “And Kuminga, he’ll be good.”

The Warriors were 6 and 0 in the preseason.

At the San Francisco Athletic Club on Divisadero, fans were confident the team could ride that momentum.

This season is the first without Splash Brother Klay Thompson.

Bryan Dunn was feeling nostalgic and wearing his number 11 jersey.

Many fans are looking forward to seeing how the veterans and rookies thrive on the field.

“I’m pretty excited. I would say expectations are low, which is obviously a great place to be because it’s a hard reset. But we still have Steph, and when you have Steph there’s always a chance ,” he said.

The Warriors have missed the playoffs in three of the past five seasons and are hoping to turn things around in 2025.

“I think our depth is great. I think they’ll add three-point shooting, the defense that was kind of lacking last year, so I’m super hopeful and super optimistic,” San Francisco’s Brian Hinchion said.

Cruz knows it will be an uphill battle to the top.

“If we were in the East, I think we’d go to the Finals, but just because the West is so tough, I don’t think we’d win the bracket because the Mavericks and Denver are so evenly matched,” Cruz said .

The Warriors’ home opener is Sunday, October 27 at Chase Center against the LA Clippers.