New-Look Nets And Warriors Face Off In Opener
By Dan Bruno
The Brooklyn Nets play host to the Golden State Warriors at Barclays Center on Tuesday evening.
Despite being the first contest of the season for either team, their new roster additions as well as Kevin Durant's return to take on his former team makes it a highly-anticipated matchup. Durant and the new-look Nets are one of the stories of the offseason, while the Warriors will be ready to compete again with Stephen Curry back in the lineup after he missed much of last season. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Klay Thompson is expected to miss the season, as he suffered an achilles injury late in the offseason. However, the Warriors picked up Kelly Oubre Jr., who gives them good scoring and defensive capabilities to help compensate for the loss of Klay.
Draymond Green (foot) suffered a strain in a recent scrimmage and is expected to miss Tuesday's opener. With Green out, there will be early opportunity for guys like Eric Paschall and Kevon Looney to get some early momentum going and make an early case for an increased or starting role down the line. On the plus side, Curry looked great with 29 points in Thursday's preseason bout with the Kings, where he hit 6-of-13 from long range, over 29 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, the Nets with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are a new beast the NBA has yet to see unleashed in regular-season action. The highly-anticipated duo will sure look to make a splash on opening night, as they have both been out of regular action for a while now. However, they both showed they are ready to go, as Irving dropped 17 points and Durant dropped 25 points in Brooklyn's final preseason game.
Despite being the first contest of the season for either team, their new roster additions as well as Kevin Durant's return to take on his former team makes it a highly-anticipated matchup. Durant and the new-look Nets are one of the stories of the offseason, while the Warriors will be ready to compete again with Stephen Curry back in the lineup after he missed much of last season. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Klay Thompson is expected to miss the season, as he suffered an achilles injury late in the offseason. However, the Warriors picked up Kelly Oubre Jr., who gives them good scoring and defensive capabilities to help compensate for the loss of Klay.
Draymond Green (foot) suffered a strain in a recent scrimmage and is expected to miss Tuesday's opener. With Green out, there will be early opportunity for guys like Eric Paschall and Kevon Looney to get some early momentum going and make an early case for an increased or starting role down the line. On the plus side, Curry looked great with 29 points in Thursday's preseason bout with the Kings, where he hit 6-of-13 from long range, over 29 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, the Nets with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are a new beast the NBA has yet to see unleashed in regular-season action. The highly-anticipated duo will sure look to make a splash on opening night, as they have both been out of regular action for a while now. However, they both showed they are ready to go, as Irving dropped 17 points and Durant dropped 25 points in Brooklyn's final preseason game.
Clippers Take On Lakers In Season Opener
The Los Angeles Lakers will host the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on Tuesday night.
The Clippers are coming off a disappointing season -- according to their pre-season standards -- as they were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by the Denver Nuggets despite holding a 3-1 lead in the series at one point. That wasn't good enough for a team that has Championship-caliber aspirations and, as a result, Doc Rivers was relieved from his head-coaching duties and was replaced by Tyronn Lue. Rivers wasn't the only departure the Clippers had to deal with since they also lost Montrezl Harrell, but they upgraded the team as a whole with the additions of Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum and Luke Kennard, strengthening their bench depth considerably. This time will go as far as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can take it, however, and both star players are ready to deliver better results in their second year as the Clippers' star duo.
Marcus Morris (knee) will be a game-time decision for the Clippers in this one, while Jay Scrubb (foot) has been ruled out and has a return date for early February.
The Lakers reached the promised land in the first year of the Anthony Davis - LeBron James partnership, as the star duo carried the Lakers to the franchise's 18th NBA title -- and first since the 2009-10 season -- after defeating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. The Lakers are ready to compete for the back-to-back, however, and they have strengthened their depth across the board with the signings of Montrezl Harrell, Marc Gasol and Dennis Schroder, while also retaining the services of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and signing Kyle Kuzma to an extension. They lost two veterans in Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard, but the additions of Schroder and Gasol should represent upgrades over the former All-Stars. That said, LeBron and Davis will carry this team moving forward and both are expected to anchor the team on both sides of the ball.
The Lakers are not reporting absences for Tuesday's season opener, although Dennis Schroder (ankle) is questionable and will be a game-time decision.
The Clippers are coming off a disappointing season -- according to their pre-season standards -- as they were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by the Denver Nuggets despite holding a 3-1 lead in the series at one point. That wasn't good enough for a team that has Championship-caliber aspirations and, as a result, Doc Rivers was relieved from his head-coaching duties and was replaced by Tyronn Lue. Rivers wasn't the only departure the Clippers had to deal with since they also lost Montrezl Harrell, but they upgraded the team as a whole with the additions of Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum and Luke Kennard, strengthening their bench depth considerably. This time will go as far as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can take it, however, and both star players are ready to deliver better results in their second year as the Clippers' star duo.
Marcus Morris (knee) will be a game-time decision for the Clippers in this one, while Jay Scrubb (foot) has been ruled out and has a return date for early February.
The Lakers reached the promised land in the first year of the Anthony Davis - LeBron James partnership, as the star duo carried the Lakers to the franchise's 18th NBA title -- and first since the 2009-10 season -- after defeating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. The Lakers are ready to compete for the back-to-back, however, and they have strengthened their depth across the board with the signings of Montrezl Harrell, Marc Gasol and Dennis Schroder, while also retaining the services of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and signing Kyle Kuzma to an extension. They lost two veterans in Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard, but the additions of Schroder and Gasol should represent upgrades over the former All-Stars. That said, LeBron and Davis will carry this team moving forward and both are expected to anchor the team on both sides of the ball.
The Lakers are not reporting absences for Tuesday's season opener, although Dennis Schroder (ankle) is questionable and will be a game-time decision.