The Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans are playing live on the NBA schedule for opening night and the season opener from Oracle Arena starts at 10:30 pm ET on TNT. The game has Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green opening up their title defense and they will host Anthony Davis and the upstart Pelicans.
The Warriors will get their championship rings for the game before it starts and MVP Stephen Curry comes in looking to defend that title this season as well. Davis is considered to be an MVP candidate after his strong season last year and now the Warriors will try and match their win total from last season. Alvin Gentry knows the Warriors well and he now takes over the Pelicans on Tuesday night to help kick off the season.
The first games of the night are the Pistons and the Hawks, while the Cavaliers and Bulls will kick off the national coverage with the first game of the TNT doubleheader. The Warriors won 67 games last season and Curry comes in after ranking in the top 10 in scoring and in the top three in long range shooting last season. The Warriors have Curry, Andrew Bogut and Klay Thompson back along with Draymond Green and while Harris Barnes didn't get a contract extension, he is also back in the fold.
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Check here for the play-by-play, stats, score and updates for the game.
Andrew Bogut comes into the game as probable after suffering a broken nose and that is the only major injury for the team. Tyreke Evans and Omer Asik along with Norris Cole are out for the Pelicans and that means Davis will have to do a lot of the heavy lifting on Tuesday night. The Warriors come in after blowing out the Lakers in their last preseason game and Curry and Thompson finished with 24 points each in that game, while Barnes added 23 points.
The Pelicans won 45 games last season and they made it into the playoffs and faced the Warriors, losing in a four game sweep. Davis is an MVP candidate after averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds last year. Gentry will not be coaching against Steve Kerr in this game, as Luke Walton takes over for Kerr as he recovers from back surgery. Kerr will be at the game, but he is not coaching right now as he takes time to get healthy, but he is expected back soon.
The Pelicans are dealing with a number of injuries to key players so that will mean Davis will get targeted by the defense on Tuesday and the Warriors have one of the best defensive units in the league. The Pelicans have yet to win against Golden State in California since Davis was drafted and with the championship team getting honored on Tuesday, this will be a tough game for the team to win.
