The 2017-18 NBA season begins Tuesday. THE 2017-18 NBA SEASON BEGINS TUESDAY! Let’s go.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
Here’s the first official SBNation.com NBA newsletter of the 2017-18 season!
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Here’s our big season preview, if you missed it last week. I also put together 99 predictions for the season to come from tip to trophy.
We have two games for Tipoff Tuesday: Celtics at Cavaliers (8 p.m. ET, TNT) and Rockets at Warriors (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
LeBron James has been a question mark for the opener due to injury, but J.R. Smith claims LeBron will play. (I am also pretty certain of this.) It will be a big night for Kyrie Irving, who will honored with a video reel in his return to Cleveland. All eyes will be on the LeBron-Kyrie interactions, given the shock of the latter requesting a trade while being graced by the basketball presence of the former.
Everyone is healthy for the late game, which has been set up as a measuring stick for Houston. That’s not fair: With a new superstar in the backcourt, there’s going to be a learning curve. Plus, the Warriors aren’t good for perspective: They can blow anyone out on any given night. One thing worth noting is that the Rockets represent Golden State’s toughest test by far in October. The next real challenge for the Warriors is Nov. 2 at San Antonio.
We’ll get 11 games on Wednesday, so this Tuesday slate is just a taster. We’ll take it. Let’s go.
The Spurs reached a three-year extension with LaMarcus Aldridge, which is pretty odd after the way last season played out. The deal hurts the Spurs’ ability to add a max free agent in 2018, but it does ensure Aldridge remains beyond this season. (He could have become a free agent next summer.) If nothing else, it should indicate that Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford believe they have a winning core.
Speaking of the most successful team of the past two decades: Gregg Popovich called the president a “soulless coward” over lies Trump told about how President Obama and other commanders in chief treated the families of servicemembers killed in action.
The rookie deal extension has passed. We have a full rundown on who got paid and who did not.
Iman Shumpert inadvertently started a big, sweet moment for Dad Twitter.
Howard Beck and Jonathan Abrams tag team a big piece on superstar culture in the NBA.
Wow, J.J. Redick is commuting from Brooklyn to Philadelphia this season. And not by helicopter, Kobe style.
Dwyane Wade calls LeBron the cheapest NBA player. LeBron confirms by declaring he still uses free Pandora with the ads. The full Rachel Nichols interview with LeBron and Wade is well worth watching. Assemble the Banana Boat, guys!
Big Fast Company piece on Kevin Durant’s Silicon Valley foray.
Today I learned Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman used to sell real estate.
Richard Jefferson signed with the Nuggets.
I will never dignify De’Aaron Fox’s comments on In-N-Out in this space. Find that elsewhere.
Marc Stein’s brilliant NBA debut at The New York Times.
See More:
