What to watch as the Warriors open the preseason against the Clippers

Another Golden State Warriors basketball season is upon us. But before we get to the regular season, we must first overreact to some preseason games. The Dubs have six preseason games this year, and the first is Saturday in Honolulu when the Warriors take on the LA Clippers at 4 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast locally on NBC Sports Bay Area and nationally on NBA TV.

There is only so much we can learn from a single preseason contest. But there is still a lot to consider. Here's what to look out for on Saturday.

The starting lineup

For the second straight year, Golden State's starting lineup is a big topic in training camp. But while last year it was a question of whether Hall of Fame inductee point guard Chris Paul would displace someone from the proven starting five, this year the question is much more vague. We know Steph Curry and Draymond Green will start, but after that it remains a huge mystery. Who will start as shooting guard? Who starts at small forward? Is Green the starting power forward or the starting center and who starts next to him?

We won't get the answers on Saturday. Not only is it too early to determine a final lineup, but Andrew Wiggins will not play due to illness. Still, we can get a first look at what Steve Kerr thinks depending on who starts.

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The Warriors have made it clear that they want to shoot from deep this year. They wasted no time in bringing in Buddy Hield after losing Klay Thompson, and in the early days of camp we've already heard Wiggins and Brandin Podziemski talk about dramatically increasing their number of shots from deep want. Kevon Looney is working hard to add a three-pointer to his repertoire and Kyle Anderson has reworked his jump shot.

From the outside looking in, the hope is that the Warriors will shoot a bunch of threes this year. But will they actually do that?

Offensive improvements

Likewise, you can expect the Warriors' offense to look very different this year. We knew there would be changes to the offense after it underperformed last year. This became even more apparent when Paul and Thompson left, shaking up the staff. And that was made abundantly clear when offensive giant Terry Stotts was hired to join Kerr's coaching staff – and talked about how he could help optimize the motion-based offensive concept.

It will likely be a while before we see the offense operate effortlessly and efficiently, but we should be able to see the improvements Kerr and Stotts have made.

The condition of Steph and Dray

Curry and Green are two of the best athletes in the NBA in their own unique ways. But Curry is 36, entering his 16th NBA season, and spent a long summer caring for a newborn and torching opponents in the Olympics. Green is 34, entering his 12th NBA season, and had spent a long summer hearing criticism of his behavior.

On the one hand, these two are the least of the Warriors' worries. Then again, if these two aren't at the top of their games, it's hard to imagine this squad being able to compete. They are at a point in their careers where decline is not too far away. It's always worth paying attention to see if there are any signs that it's coming.

Defensive cohesion

If the Warriors want to return to the NBA's elite, they need to re-establish themselves as a great defensive team. They have the personnel to do it after adding Anderson and De'Anthony Melton, keeping Kevon Looney and expecting growth from Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

But a lot of it will come from chemistry and cohesion. Poor defensive play shouldn't be a cause for concern or concern – half the point of preseason is to give the team time to develop that chemistry and cohesion. But we don't know if they ever will…so it's time to start looking for it.

Center rotation

It's clear the Warriors have some exciting options at center. Green, Looney and Jackson-Davis can all play center in winning lineups, and they would all do it in completely different ways. It's completely unclear which direction the Warriors will go… not just in terms of their starting lineup, but also in their rotations over the course of 48 minutes. It will be fascinating to see how the center rotation develops in the preseason.

What are you looking for in the preseason opener?