Opening Tip: Everything you need to know to start the NBA season right
It’s all happening!
We’re finally here.
The 2013-14 NBA season tips off tonight.
A lot of things are different. Dwight Howard is a Houston Rocket. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are Brooklyn Nets, and their head coach is Jason Kidd. These are the final three months of David Stern’s reign as commissioner. The Lakers are the second-most relevant NBA team in Los Angeles.
Now it all matters. There are no more “It’s only preseason, but…” qualifiers. There’s no more speculating about whether Howard and James Harden can play together. There’s no more wondering whether the Miami Heat have it in them to three-peat. This is it.
Here’s what to watch for tonight:
Derrick Rose is back and better than ever
The most talked-about story across the league will be on display right from the start, in the first of two games of TNT’s season-opening doubleheader. The two-time defending champion Miami Heat kick off their title defense by hosting the Chicago Bulls — and a healthy Derrick Rose.
Rose missed the entire 2012-13 season after suffering a torn ACL in 2012. His return has beenhyped by Adidas in several commercials, but for fans who didn’t catch any preseason action, there are still a lot of questions about how the 2011 league MVP will look after sitting out almost 18 months.
Judging from his play in preseason, Rose hasn’t lost a step. If anything, his all-around game is even more dangerous now than it was before the injury. The explosiveness is all there, his defense looks improved and he’s more trusting of the jump shot that was one of his major weaknesses before the injury.
More than anything, Rose’s outstanding preseason validates his decision to sit out all of last year. He didn’t want to come back until he was 110%, and now he is. None of last season’s criticism matters anymore.
This game will be a great one.
The Heat get their rings, begin chasing a third
Miami will hold its second championship ring ceremony in as many years on opening night. But will this be the end of the road for the Big Three in South Beach?
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can all become free agents at the end of the season. LeBron is refusing to talk about it, as he should.
It’s difficult to win one championship, never mind three. It’s only been done five times — twice each by the Lakers and Bulls, and the Boston Celtics’ historic eight straight titles from 1959 to 1966. Still, it’s hard to bet against the best player in the world at the top of his game.
Hollywood’s Power Shift
The Lakers are hosting the second half of TNT’s opening night doubleheader, so their 16 NBA championships and nine retired numbers — and not Doc Rivers’ new Clippers banners — will be hanging in the rafters. But it’s no secret which LA team has a chance to be playing in June.
The Clippers have never been more relevant. They re-signed Chris Paul, added quality role players J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley and pulled off one of the biggest coups of the offseason: upgrading from Vinny Del Negro to Doc Rivers in the head coach’s seat.
Things have gotten so bad for the Lakers that Tracy McGrady is tweeting his condolences to Kobe Bryant. The Lakers lost Howard to the Rockets, still don’t know when Kobe will play, and haveentered the era of Swagtime.
Advantage: Clippers.
WHO TO FOLLOW
USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt will have you covered all season with breaking news and analysis. Jeff will be in Miami tonight for Bulls-Heat, and Jeff will be covering Clippers-Lakers in LA. Get ready for the season with their new NBA A to Z podcast, featuring an interview with Charlotte Bobcats head coach Steve Clifford.
WHAT TO READ
- A pair of new features from the USA TODAY Sports NBA team: Jeff Zillgitt onLeBron’s quest for greatness and Sam Amick on Pau Gasol’s relationship with Mike D’Antoni.
- The only important question for NBA fans: Which candy bar is your favorite team?
- What will be the long-term impact of the burgeoning rivalry between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets? Will Leitch takes a look for New York magazine.
- 20 predictions for this season from Rob Mahoney at Sports Illustrated.
- On NBA Nation Australia, a revealing interview with Hall of Fame NBA writer andThe Jordan Rules author Sam Smith, who covered the Bulls for Michael Jordan’s entire playing career.
PREDICTION OF THE NIGHT
The Clippers will beat the Lakers, but it won’t be the blowout it looks to be on paper. Nick Young will score 30 points (on 45 shots, but still), but with the Lakers’ diminished interior defense, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan will have monster games, and the more talented team will win out.