Darren and Vic's Playbook: NBA Opening Week

Published: Tuesday, October 21, 2025

by Darren Worrell and Victor Lisboa

In this week of Darren and Vic’s playbook, we will preview NBA Opening week which kicks off on Tuesday, October 21st. A lot of big games are happening, but Vic and I decided to preview the contests that we feel everyone should watch.

Darren: Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers

The NBA season is officially upon us, and the one game that is going to be a good one in my eyes is the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.

This matchup is going to be an interesting one as this is the first opener that Lebron James will not be a part of in his 23 years, as he will be out for some time with sciatica on his right side. He is 40 years old, and it is fair to say that he is taking the patient approach as he hopes to return around the middle of November.

This means that Luka Doncic will be faced with a much bigger workload than he probably would be accustomed to, but he will definitely be up to the challenge. He has a great supporting cast in Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and the new additions that they picked up in the offseason including Deandre Ayton, Jake Laravia, and Marcus Smart. 

The Golden State Warriors on the other hand have pretty much the same roster. During the offseason, it was very uncertain to see what moves were going to be made, especially with the fact that they were one of the only teams who did not really do much to their roster.

One of the storylines was if Jonathan Kuminga would re-sign with the Warriors as they were having problems reaching a new deal but were finally able to agree on a new 2 year, $48.5 million deal for him to stay in Golden State.

For the Warriors, it has to feel good to have him back as he was a great player off the bench last year, averaging 15.3 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game.

In addition, they were able to pick up veteran big man Al Horford who can still provide solid production for the Warriors despite his age. Draymond Green probably will be able to play power forward unless the Warriors decide to utilize him as the small ball center.

Stephen Curry returns as the longest tenured Warrior and one of the toughest shooters to stop, while they also still have Jimmy Butler who is one of the most consistent all-around players the league has. 

For my prediction, I would have to say the Lakers will win 125-118, as Luka will be too much to stop.

Victor: Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks (Victor) 

Ok, as a Knicks fan, who doesn’t love “Friday Night Knicks?”  For the first Friday of this NBA season, the Knicks will battle perhaps their ultimate division rival, the Boston Celtics. The 2025 semifinals series between these two teams should be considered one of the most memorable playoff series, for many years to come. 

The Knicks advanced to the Conference Finals and were just two wins away from their first Finals appearance in over a quarter century. On the other hand, the Celtics took a massive blow when their franchise superstar, Jayson Tatum, tore his Achilles tendon in his right foot, with 2:58 left in the 4th quarter of Game 4. This severely impacted Boston’s offseason plans and projections for the upcoming season. 

Starting with New York, the front office addressed what most analysts labeled as NY’s biggest weakness, which was considered to be their lack of depth. Former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was often blamed for not utilizing his bench, and as a result, they made a massive coaching change, bringing in Mike Brown after he was fired from Sacramento. 

Mike Brown is a four-time NBA champion as an assistant and associate coach, who was a part of the Spurs dynasty in the early 2000s. He has also been a head coach for LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, was a part of the Warriors dynasty, and led the Sacramento Kings to a historical league-best offense. 

I’m confident Mike Brown has the credentials, and ability to maximize this roster, especially after adding Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele to bolster the second unit. 

Boston made several moves this offseason, trading away veterans Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks and Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers. Al Horford also recently departed to sign with the Warriors, giving this team a completely different outlook. 

However, their most notable addition was acquiring shooting guard Anfernee Simons in the Jrue Holiday trade. Simons is a highly productive player, averaging over 17 ppg in his last 4 seasons with Portland and is a career 38% shooter from three, while connecting at an 88% clip from the free throw line. He provides more of an offensive inventory than Jrue Holiday, but is not known for his defensive process like Holiday is.

Furthermore, with the departures of Porzingis and Horford, I am curious to see how the Celtics respond to a Knicks team that plays two seven-footers for large portions of the game. For the opening night battle, Neemias Queta is listed as the Celtics starting center. He averaged just under 14 minutes a game last season and will likely need to step up in a major way for Boston to remain in the playoff picture in the East. 

The Knicks still project to be within the top of the conference, after retaining their key rotation players, adding crucial depth, and alternating to an offensive minded coach. Like Darren, I am very ecstatic for the upcoming NBA season to kick off this Tuesday the 21st, as we will be covering it all season long!

Darren Worrell can be reached at darren.worrell@student.shu.edu.

Victor Lisboa can be reached at victor.lisboa@student.shu.edu.

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