NBA fans, the wait is over. Regular season basketball kicks off today, and there’s a ton of questions that will finally be answered as each of the 30 teams embark on their journey.
A couple of those questions surround the Boston Celtics, who will kick off their season at home in an Eastern Conference Semifinals rematch. Gordon Hayward will be making his first regular-season appearance at TD Garden but will start off the season slow from a minutes perspective.
#NEBHInjuryReport: Brad Stevens says Gordon Hayward is likely to play around 25 minutes per game for the first couple of weeks of the season.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 15, 2018
As for the Philadelphia 76ers, the 2017 No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz will be starting fresh and make an attempt to incorporate himself into Brett Brown’s system.
Brett Brown just told us on @975Mornings that he plans on starting Markelle Fultz tomorrow night.
— Jamie Lynch (@jelynchjr) October 15, 2018
Fultz had a strange rookie campaign to say the least, struggling with injuries and being benched for the majority of their postseason run. These two teams will clash in the first bout of the 2018-19 NBA season, with tip-off set for 8 p.m.
The second game of the night features the Golden State Warriors, squaring off versus Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The defending champions struggled against the Thunder in recent history, splitting the season series last year 2-2.
The main change for Oklahoma City is trading away Carmelo Anthony, who was part of a huge letdown during his one-year stint playing alongside Westbrook and Paul George. The Thunder acquired Dennis Schroder for Anthony in July, leaving Westbrook and George at the helm of a team vying for the championship.
This game will start at 10:30 p.m. in Oracle Arena, but not before Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and the rest of the Warriors will have the ring ceremony after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers to win their second straight championship last year.
