The Portland Trail Blazers already knew they were heading into their regular season opener without two key contributors. Shaedon Sharpe suffered a small posterior labral tear in his left shoulder on October 5 and was given an estimated recovery time of four to six weeks. Matisse Thybulle then underwent a procedure on October 18 to address inflammation in his right knee and is expected to miss three to four weeks.

They will officially be down a piece in Robert Williams III, who has been ruled out against the Golden State Warriors. Williams suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain on Oct. 4. The Blazers gave his recovery timeline two weeks. But it’s not surprising he wants to start the season given Williams’ injury history.

According to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report on X, the Blazers are “hopeful he’ll be back soon.” Williams’ next opportunities to play are Friday, October 25 and Sunday, October 27. Both games are at home against the New Orleans Pelicans. It would be great if Williams were ready to go by then, as the Pelicans lack a true starting center, and he could help the Blazers exploit that weakness.

But it’s more important that the Blazers take a long-term approach with RW3. In his six seasons, he has averaged just 35.8 games. While Williams’ injury is relatively minor, the Blazers need to be extremely patient and cautious with him, especially as they look to increase his trade value before the 2025 trade deadline.

On paper, the Blazers are much less talented than the Warriors. Portland doesn’t have an All-Star on its roster, while Golden State has two Hall of Famers who are still very effective despite their closing windows.

The Blazers need to take advantage of their sizing mismatch if they want to eliminate the upset. While Williams would have helped them significantly in that area, they still have two seven-footers in Deandre Ayton and Donovan Clingan who are more than capable of stepping up in his absence. Ayton had to do that for virtually the entire 2023-24 season as Williams was limited to just six games after undergoing knee surgery due to a torn ligament.

Ayton would likely get close to the 32.4 minutes he averaged as a starter last season regardless of Williams’ status. However, Clingan should benefit from an expanded role and more minutes as a backup center. This matchup against the Warriors provides an excellent opportunity to get off to a good start in his first regular season game of his career.

Duop Reath is also a name to keep an eye on. He was buried at No. 4 on the Blazers’ depth chart, but demonstrated his ability to make an impact as a big man in his surprising rookie season last year.

Williams makes an important defensive contribution with his versatility and rim protection. But if there’s one team well-equipped with center depth that can make up for its losses, it’s Portland.