The 2014-2015 NBA regular season will officially commence on October 28 with three games. Basketball fans will be excited to see how rising stars and recent trades turn out.
The Orlando Magic is set to face the New Orleans Pelicans at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, NBA.com released. Anthony Davis is the player to watch, who is quickly establishing himself as the best big man in the NBA. In the previous season, Davis averaged 20.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. In a report by HoopsHabit.com, Davis has a large chance of winning the NBA MVP award this season.
Eric Gordon is also expected to have a better season and will very likely appear in the 2015 All-Star Game.
As for the Orlando Magic, Ben Gordon and Evan Fournier may not adequately fill the void left by Arron Afflalo, while Elfrid Payton will need more time to develop. Acquiring Channing Frye is a good move, although it is not expected to help them make more wins than what they had in the last season, based on a report by RantSports.com.
Also playing at 8:00 ET on October 28 are the Dallas Mavericks and the defending champions San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The most likely starters for the Spurs include Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter. The Spurs are among the most fundamentally sound teams in the NBA and is expected to win at least 50 games, based on a report by International Business Times. However, they also have to deal with aging players like Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. The Mavericks will have reinforcement in the form of Chandler Parsons, who recently transferred from the Houston Rockets. More three-point shots are expected from Parsons and team leader Dirk Nowitzki.
According to CBSSports.com, the Houston Rockets will be playing against the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 ET at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Lakers will mainly be relying on returning superstar Kobe Bryant to generate points. In BasketballInsiders.com, there are also other new elements that could improve the Lakers' overall game such as Jeremy Lin who was traded from the Rockets, rookie Julius Randle and Nick Young. Kobe is not expected to be the player he used to be, but will still likely provide the needed clutch shots.
The Houston Rockets will be led by James Harden and Dwight Howard. It will also be interesting for fans to see how their locker room issues unfold in the first few games of the new season.