NBA’s Top Stories as the 2023-24 Season Kicks Off!!!

Get your popcorn and beer ready, sportsfans, as the NBA regular season opens with a bang this Tuesday, Oct 24! Featuring a blockbuster doubleheader from the Western Conference; last year’s champs – the Denver Nuggets – goes against the crowd faves Los Angeles Lakers; while the perennial contenders from Golden State Warriors lock horns with arguably the most prolific scoring triple threat from the Phoenix Suns.

This year’s NBA battles will feature a resurging eastern bloc, while the heavyweights from the west train their sights on who survives the slugfests in the conference battles. To whet your appetite on the upcoming duels, here are some of the more compelling storylines you should keep your eyes on:

1. Are last year’s darling Denver Nuggets ready for a second title? The Nuggets are heavy betting favorites to top the Western Conference. Even with the challenge coming from a beefed-up Phoenix Suns, a healthy LA Lakers, a Chris Paul-reinforced Golden State Warriors, a more mature Sacramento Kings and a new image LA Clippers, the Nuggets will bank on their cohesion and equal-opportunity play for everyone to bring them back to the throne room. The riddle of the Nikola Jokic – Jamal Murray pick-and-roll will be the biggest puzzle for all other aspiring teams and coaches in the cage kingdom. Whosoever solves that puzzle will be rewarded with cage gold!

2. Who will challenge the Nuggets in the West? The Phoenix Suns – despite the flight of top point guard, Chris Paul, to Golden State – appear to be the biggest threat to the Nuggets in the West. With the high-scoring Bradley Beal joining Kevin Durant and Devin Booker in the Suns’ line-up, the offense is definitely topnotch. Now, if only the defense holds. Jusuf Nurkic, acquired from the Blazers during the off-season, will be the main cog here. Other teams that could give the Nuggets a run for their money are the Golden State Warriors, the Sacramento Kings, the LA Lakers, the LA Clippers, the Dallas Mavs and the Memphis Grizzlies.

3. Which team will emerge from the east? Will it be the Milwaukee Bucks? Or will it be the Boston Celtics’ time to shine? The Bucks made headlines acquiring point guard Damian Lillard to beef up their offensive battery. They however lost their defensive guru, Jrue Holiday, in the trade to bring in Dame. It will be recalled that it was Jrue’s arrival in Milwaukee that finally brought them the crown in 2021. Immediately after the blockbuster trade, the Boston Celtics lost no time in acquiring the 2-way threat in Jrue. They also enlisted Kristaps Porzingis, but lost a long-time leader in Marcus Smart. The mini-shake-up in Boston looks like an effort to finally break through the last obstacle leading to that elusive NBA crown. Which team takes the eastern flag? Will it be the Giannis-Damian tandem, or will Jrue’s lucky charm rub off on the Celtics? Whichever contributes most for their respective teams – Damian’s offense or Jrue’s defense – will spell the difference here.

4. Will this year be the Golden State Warrior’s last chance for another crown? The triumvirate of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, undoubtedly the most successful trio in the past decade, is slowly aging. They brought in another aging superstar in Chris Paul, whose talents unfortunately are somewhat redundant to Steph’s. This fearsome foursome may have the basketball smarts, but with the young talents coming in stronger, faster and better, it looks like the Warriors’ cage IQ will be tested to the hilt.

5. Will Wemby be the generational talent he was billed to be? Top draftee Victor Wembanyama is a talented skyscraper-of-a-player who is the epitome of the new-age positionless player. He can direct plays and make assists like a point guard, he can shoot from outside, he can defend the wings, he can protect the rim and rebound with ferocity. He is skilled in both the offense and the defense. His only weak point: his reed-thin frame could make him injury prone. If he is able to take good care of his body, he could be the next Lebron. If not, he could be another AD.

6. Will foreign players gain more recognition after Team USA’s humiliating loss in the FIBA World Cup? Foreign players such as Dennis Shroder, Luka Doncic, Bogdan Bogdanovich and the Wagner brothers, Mo and Franz, wowed the global cage community with their skills, at the expense of the USA’s super-talented NBA squad. Conspicuous in their absence among the foreign players were Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, etc. The World Cup underscored the fact that the whole world has been slowly catching up with the US, talent-wise. NBA teams are well advised to start looking for talents outside the US as more and more diamonds in the rough are being discovered abroad.

7. The Lakers and the Clippers: who will rule LA? It will be Lebron James and his cohorts going up against Kawhi Leonard and his band of brothers. Both teams are loaded with talent. The Lakers have the star power, the Clippers get the deeper talent. Both teams have been haunted in the past years by injuries. Whosoever comes out ahead in the health arena will win the battle for LA.

8. Which players will step up their game to the next level this season? This year saw the coming of age of some mid-level stars such as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Denver’s Jamal Murray, New York’s Jalen Bronson, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento’s D’Aaron Fox and Utah’s Lauri Markannen. New stars are showing their wares, as the league morph’s into one with bigger, faster, more skilled players. The dynamic environment in the league augurs well for a larger global viewership.

9. Finally, will the Luka -Kyrie combo make a dent this time? The Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic – Kyrie Irving dynamic duo is undoubtedly today’s most dynamic, most prolific, most exciting guard tandem. The problem with the Mavs last season was the sudden absence of the defense. If the 2 stars put both their hearts into it, the Mavs will have a good chance of fighting it out deep into the playoffs. They will need to learn to trust and rely on each other, as opposed to competing for who gets to be top gun in the team. If that mental block is addressed, the Mavs will definitely soar.

This season should be a promising one, with some realignment of stars, the coming of age of some new stars, and the arrival of new talents from across the globe. Buckle up, guys, and let’s enjoy the ride!

Cover photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated.