The Real Return
The day has finally come. The 2013-14 NBA season begins
tonight with a trio of games including the much anticipated Bulls-Heat rivalry.
Led by Chicago’s own Derrick Rose, the Bulls are the only team in the NBA to
come out of the preseason with a perfect record (8-0). They’re hoping to
continue their winning streak against the two-time defending champion Miami
Heat.
After being sidelined for an entire season due to an ACL
injury, it’s an understatement to say Rose looked absolutely amazing in the
preseason. He was aggressive with the ball, whizzing past opponents in the
blink of an eye and attacking the rim with explosive energy, no matter how much
contact he received. Not to mention, he’s got a new and improved jumper. Rose
averaged 20.7 points and five assists while hitting 44.4% of three-pointers in
the preseason. It’s only going to get better from here.
Rose’s official return tonight has already ignited a fire
between the Bulls and the Heat even before the game begins.
"They've got something that we want, so we can't hold back," Rose said today before a practice.
"We don't like them and they don't like us," James said, succinctly summing up the feelings of both teams.
The probable starting five for Chicago includes Rose, Luol Deng,
Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler. Both Noah and back up PG Kirk Hinrich are
expected to play against the Heat after recovering from injuries. The probable
starters for Miami include LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Mario
Chalmers and Shane Battier.
With a new-and-improved Rose, the Bulls are definitely the
biggest Eastern Conference threat to the Heat so it looks like it’s going to be
an exciting season for Chicago. Don’t get me wrong, Indiana and Boston were great match ups
for Miami, and I was genuinely surprised when both teams took the Heat to a
game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals for the past two years, but the real rivalry is
between Chicago and Miami. Simply put, Rose is back with the only goal to win on his mind so the stakes are
higher.
Kobe and the West
On a completely Rose-less note, tonight is also a big basketball night
for California. For the first time in seven years, Kobe
Bryant will not be on the floor with the Lakers when they take on the
Clippers in LA. Due to an Achilles injury he obtained back in April while playing
the Golden State Warriors, Bryant's return is still up in the air. Even without
Kobe present, the two LA teams playing one another is always entertaining to
watch.
Speaking of the West, all of the teams I look forward to
keeping up with this season are in the Western Conference. I’m excited to watch
Chris Paul and the Clippers (especially under the new instruction of Boston’s ex-coach
Doc Rivers), Steph Curry and the Warriors, Kevin Durant and the Westbrook-less
Thunder (he's out for at least for four to six weeks), the aging-but-agile Spurs
and the flourishing-but-ridiculously-named New
Orleans Pelicans (with Anthony Davis –the 2012 no. 1 overall draft pick—ready
for a breakout season). I pretty much hate all of the teams in the East, but I am interested to see how the Brooklyn Nets, who acquired Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce from the Celtics, play under the coaching of Jason Kidd (yeah I still can't believe that happened either).
The schedule for
tonight’s NBA Tip-Off is as follows:
Orlando Magic at Indiana Pacers 6:00pm (CT)
Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat 7:00pm (CT)
Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers 9:30pm (CT)
