The Portland Trail Blazers already knew they would enter the regular season opener without two key contributors. Shaedon Sharpe suffered a small posterior labral tear in his left shoulder on October 5 and the estimated recovery time is four to six weeks. Then on October 18, Matisse Thybulle underwent a procedure to treat inflammation in his right knee and is expected to be out for three to four weeks.

With Robert Williams III out against the Golden State Warriors, they will officially have another opponent. Williams suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain on October 4. The Blazers gave him two weeks to recover. However, given Williams’ injury history, it is not surprising that he will start the season.

According to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report on X, the Blazers are “hopeful he returns very soon.” Williams’ next opportunities to play are Friday, October 25th and Sunday, October 27th. Both games are at home against the New Orleans Pelicans. It would be great to have Williams ready to go by then, as the Pelicans lack a true starting center, and he would help the Blazers exploit that weakness.

But it’s more important that the Blazers take a long-term approach with RW3. He averaged just 35.8 games played in his six seasons. Although Williams’ injury is relatively minor, the Blazers will need to be extremely patient and cautious with him, especially as they look to increase his trade value before the 2025 trade deadline.

The Blazers are, on paper, much less talented than the Warriors. Portland doesn’t have an All-Star on its roster, while Golden State has two Hall of Famers who are still very effective despite being shut down.

The Blazers will have to take advantage of their size difference if they want to pull off an upset. While Williams would have helped them significantly in that regard, they still have two seven-footers, Deandre Ayton and Donovan Clingan, who are fully capable of stepping up in his absence. Ayton had to do just that for virtually the entire 2023-24 season, as Williams was limited to just six games following knee surgery due to a torn ligament.

Ayton would likely get close to the 32.4 minutes he logged as a starter last season, regardless of Williams’ status. However, Clingan should benefit from a larger role and more minutes as a backup center. This matchup against the Warriors offers the best opportunity to get off to a good start in the first regular season game of his career.

Duop Reath is another name to keep an eye on. He was buried as the No. 4 center on the Blazers’ rankings, but showed his ability to be effective as a stretch big man in his surprising rookie season last year.

Williams makes an important contribution to the defense with his versatility and rim protection. But if there’s one team that has good interior defense and can make up for its loss, it’s Portland.