NBA Opening Night

The NBA season will tip off on October 27th with three intense games. The defending champs, the Golden State Warriors, led by 2014-15 MVP, Stephen Curry, look to start off 2015 on a strong note, as they will take on star Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James will look to bounce back this season, after losing in last year’s NBA Finals. Their first game will be against the 2010-11 MVP winners, Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks will take on the Pistons in an Eastern Conference showdown.

In the preseason thus far, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Charlotte Hornets are undefeated. It is surprising that the Bobcats are doing well in the preseason because last year they finished with a record of 43-39, but the Bobcats seem to be continuously improving.

The Grizzlies finished with an amazing record last season. They were 55-27 and finished 2nd in the southwest division. Both teams will look to make a run towards the playoffs in the upcoming season. The Cavs and the Warriors are a combined 3-9 which is a bit of a surprise, as both teams were in the Championship game last year.

A season of good health can make this upcoming 2015-16 year one of the best NBA seasons ever. This is the 70th season in the NBA. Many competitive teams are coming back this season.

The 3rd all-time leading scorer Kobe Bryant is coming back at age thirty-seven. Many people look forward to his return. Kobe, in the last two years has suffered season ending injuries. In 2013 he suffered a torn Achilles in a game with the Golden State Warriors. In 2014 the Lakers shut down Kobe after a knee injury.

Then there is Derrick Rose, who is known for his elusive speed, but also known for the amount of injuries he has gotten. Just this year he has had a torn right meniscus and a left orbital fracture. In 2014 he had multiple injuries including a bad hamstring, and two ankle injuries. Hopefully both these players and other players in the NBA will be healthy this season.

The upcoming 2015 rookie class is full of talent and potential. Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns are both big athletic men that will look to dominate their matchups in 2015. Anthony Towns dominated in college with Kentucky. Often times teams would double team him and he would still find a way to score in the post. Okafor is a fast big man that only played for one year in college. He was drafted as the 3rd overall pick by the 76ers at the young age of 19 years old.

Another fantastic, talented rookie player is Lakers’ Point Guard D’Angelo Russell. He has been able create a lot of scoring opportunities, averaging 4 assists in the last 5 games, despite receiving limited playing time. In just six preseason games he has eighteen assists including thirty-seven points with a limited amount of minutes.

There is no doubt that a lot of fans look forward to the regular season, which is just a week away. All of us will see how the teams will fare after their head coach acquisitions.

The fans can expect the 2015-2016 NBA season to be a fantastic one. The players put all of the hard offseason work to entertain us and to be successful. This season will be one that NBA fans will never forget.