The Portland Trail Blazers opened their preseason tonight by hosting the Golden State Warriors at the Moda Center, giving fans their first live look at a revamped roster. The game was set for 7 p.m. PDT and carried on BlazerVision, KUNP and NBA TV.
Micah Nori also revealed a starting lineup for the contest, but he made clear it was not necessarily a preview of Night One in the regular season. That matters because the first lineup of a preseason game can say as much about how a team wants to evaluate fit as it does about what will happen when the games count.
The Warriors arrived short-handed, though they still brought much of their team for the trip because it was the second night of a back-to-back. That made the matchup less about full-strength comparisons and more about timing, reps and how the Trail Blazers wanted to look after their reset. For fans tracking the broader offseason picture, it was the first real glimpse of the roster they will spend the fall judging, the same way they will watch every change around the franchise, from the arena debate to roster churn and even the small moves that keep a spot flexible.
What remains unresolved is the one detail Nori did not close off: which five will actually start when the regular season begins. The preseason opener gave a look, not a promise, and that is the part of the night worth carrying forward.
