Why Warriors veteran Draymond Green is warning the NBA about the up-and-coming Trail Blazers amid a competitive Western Conference.

The Los Angeles Lakers were short-staffed on Monday with Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves all sidelined, but they managed to pick up a 123-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Video highlights of Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura and Nick Smith Jr. leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a win over the Portland Trail Blazers

Anthony Edwards had 41 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied in the fourth quarter for a 118-114 season-opening win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

After suffering a three-game losing streak on the road to the Heat, Bucks, and Bulls — the Knicks bounced back with two dominant home victories versus the Bulls and Wizards by 12 and 17 points. New York has five straight home games on deck as apart of this seven-game home stand.

Deni Avdija had 26 points and six assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Golden State Warriors 139-119 in Tiago Splitter’s first game as interim head coach.

The Blazers have miraculously gone 3-1 since Billups’ arrest, including a 136-134 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. “They’re a great team, very talented, play the right way, play hard,” Walker Kessler said of the Blazers. “The interim coach has done a great job and they’ve been playing well.”

The sequel is almost never as good as the original. And Monday night at the Moda Center, it was a lot worse for the Portland Trail Blazers. In a matchup between teams navigating a spate of injuries and absences,