Jimmy Butler III shows he's got it in Game 1, Luka Dončić begins to take the baton and Jonathan Kuminga slots right in.

BOTTOM LINE: Denver faces Golden State in Western Conference action Thursday. Golden State finished 48-34 overall and 29-23 in Western Conference action a season ago. The Warriors averaged 19.7 points off of turnovers, 15.6 second-chance points and 43.6 bench points last season.

Draymond Green told the Golden State Warriors not to trade for Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen. “I’m a big fan of [Markkanen’s] game,” Green said, via Anthony Slater of ESPN.

Despite his well-documented standoff with the Golden State Warriors over the summer, Jonathan Kuminga found himself in Steve Kerr's starting lineup against the Los Angeles Lakers. Kuminga repaid that faith by producing a high-level performance on both sides of the floor, even though he had the difficult task of trying to contain Luka Doncic.

Here is the schedule for the first month of NBA games on NBC and Peacock:

Paul Pierce says the Golden State Warriors' window has closed, claiming the league no longer fears them like it once did.

Colin Cowherd recently urged the Golden State Warriors to trade Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga to the Milwaukee Bucks for a superstar forward.

Warriors announce key Al Horford decision ahead of bout vs. Nikola Jokic, Nuggets originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Containing the Denver Nuggets ' 3-time MVP Nikola Jokić is an admittedly tall task for the other 29 teams in the association.

Butler is the rare player whose journey has taken him from being a benchwarmer during his rookie season to becoming a team's primary option — a role that he flourished in with the Heat, where he averaged 21.0 points on 49.8 percent shooting, 6.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.