The Golden State Warriors began their 2019-20 season at the new arena, the Chase Center, on Thursday but only suffered a humiliating loss against the Los Angeles Clippers 141-122. 141 was also the most points lost by the team since Steve Kerr took over as head coach.

Maybe Warriors need to reconsider their season goal

It took the home team three minutes and 40 seconds to get their first point as D'Angelo Russell buried a mid-range shot. On the other side of the court, the Clippers already claimed 14 points.

The Clippers understandably played the first half with only 50 percent of strength. The team had no constant defensive tactics. Their offense continued to grow simple too as the game went on – in too many possessions did they shoot the ball after one pass or one screen. The Clippers were not focused enough on the court either. As proof for that, they committed 10 turnovers and watched the Warriors grab nine offensive rebounds in the first half.

However, none of the above prevented the Clippers from leading 65-54 in the first half. The defense of Glenn Robinson III did not cause any trouble at all for Kawhi Leonard who could easily switch between scoring and orchestrating. The Clippers earned 17 free throws via their continuous assaults against the rim. The team shot from the 3-point line at an incredible 54.55 percent rate.

It's hard to find much merit from Golden State's game in the first half but changing to their old way of playing was inevitable. The team is smaller than the opponents in most, if not all positions on the court. Moreover, as they lost many veterans, Golden State's famous give-and-go offensive system is already gone and they will have to add more pick-and-roll into their game.

Either they wanted to be cautious or they wanted to get it over quickly, the Clippers suddenly increased their ball pressure against Stephen Curry and Russell while concentrating more on finding open shooters around the 3-point line at the beginning of the third quarter. In simply six minutes, the Clippers expanded their lead to over 20 minutes, turning the game into a foregone conclusion.

One of the interesting parts lied in what Leonard will do in the game. Having showed his remarkable isolation skills, the two-time NBA Finals MVP did something else – orchestrating – and that's exactly what the Clippers needed the most. Of the team's probable final squad, Patrick Beverley is a 3D point guard, Lou Williams and Paul George are scorers, and Montrezl Harrell is a finisher. Leonard has never been known as a good passer but his career high nine assists on Thursday at least showed a new, bright possibility. Though the Warriors' awful defense also contributed to it, Leonard's grasping of the timing to pass the ball to the big men in the paint was already impressive.

As for GSW, this was one loss of a total of 82 regular season games and thus could not hurt much. Nonetheless, it was also a signal that the Warriors' era is officially over. What awaits Curry ahead will be way worse than eight turnovers in one game, or, like the headline of the Game of Thrones series premiere episode, "Winter Is Coming."

Will Trae Young make 2020 NBA All-Star Game?

The Atlanta Hawks claimed victory in the season opener as they defeated the Detroit Pistons 117-100 at the Little Caesars Arena. The team's second-year point guard Trae Young shot down 38 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and buried six 3-pointers out of 10 attempts. His extraordinary performance beat the 21 points + 12 rebounds of Andre Drummond and the 27 points of Derrick Rose of the Pistons.

Since he was exchanged with Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks in the 2018 NBA Draft, the comparison of the two talented young men never stopped. Though Doncic won the Rookie of the Year Award in the end, Young, with his more aggressive playstyle and increasingly improved performance in the second half of the season, once made people hesitate before voting to decide the ROY winner.

In the Mavericks' first game on Wednesday, Doncic put down 34 points, nine rebounds and three assists to help his team defeat the Washington Wizards at home. In less than 24 hours, Young sent a message with a 30+point game: their competition is far from over.

The other thing you don't want to miss in this game was the appearance of Vince Carter. When he walked onto the court from the bench in the middle of the first quarter, the 42-year-old veteran made history by becoming the first player in the league's history to play 22 seasons. In the end, Carter missed two 3-pointers, delivered one assists and committed one foul in the game.

In another game on Thursday, the Milwaukee Bucks claimed a comeback victory over the Houston Rockets 117-111 at the Fiserv Forum. Giannis Antetokounmpo started his new season with a triple-double of 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.