Golden State Warriors Drop Season Opener to Los Angeles Clippers

The stage was set for something magical: The Golden State Warriors were kicking off the first game of Mark Jackson's coaching career on Christmas Night, and it was in front of a sold-out crowd at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. And for the first 30 minutes or so, things were actually going pretty well. Was my hometown team actually going to pull off an impressive Christmas upset in front of the almost 20-thousand roaring W's fans in attendance?

In a word, no. In fact, they ended up losing to the Chris Paul-led Los Angeles Clippers by quite a bit (105-86). The Warriors may have lost to "Lob City," but there were a few quick positives to take away from the first contest of the shortened 66-game season.

It would be almost impossible for Stephen Curry to play that badly again. If you watched the game, you could see some definite discomfort from the point guard with his recently (and frequently) injured ankle, and it certainly impacted his opening night performance. I suppose the question could be asked if Curry should have played at all, as he obviously wasn't 100-percent. If I was Coach Jackson, I would make sure Steph is fully fit before he suits up for another game - if yesterday showed anything, it's how valuable a healthy Curry is to the Warriors. The fact that the W's could hang with the Clippers for three quarters with Curry hurt was pretty remarkable.

Now I know that I've been extremely critical of Andris Biedrins on these pages before, and I still think that he deserved it with his performances over the past couple of seasons. But I must admit, on Sunday, Biedrins looked a little bit like the double-double guy we all used to know and love. Ten points (including the W's first two of the season), eight boards, and three blocks, all in 20 minutes? I'll take that from the big Latvian, no questions asked.

Brandon Rush, welcome to the Warriors. The guard looked like the blue chipper he was coming out of Kansas, and put in a solid shift for the W's as sixth man. Could it be Rush who gets Reggie Williams' minutes from last season?

But honestly, even though the Warriors lost, at least we were watching an NBA game that actually counted. And hey, the Warriors get another crack at putting a tally in the win column tonight. The W's take on Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls in Oakland this evening. It certainly won't be easy, but could it be the Warriors' first win of the season? Here's hoping.