Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors
The Pacers are once again a relevant team for the first time since the Reggie Miller era. After their playoff run last season, the Pacers won the hearts of many to compare them to Oklahoma City; young, athletic, and hungry. The Toronto Raptors, for their part, did well after not getting their offseason wish of a homecoming for local hero Steve Nash.Despite the loss of Darren Collison, the Pacers still look to be competitive with George Hill running the floor and former Charlotte Bobcats starter D.J.Augustin backing him up. Scoring will not be a problem with George Hill, Danny Grangger and David West taking care of that aspect. Roy Hibbert is arguably the best center in the league not named Dwight or Andrew. For this game, DJ Augustin should start if George Hill is not ready, and despite Danny Granger's injury, Pacers shouldn't be too affected. They lose his leadership and production, but with the team's composition, those will be compensated.
Jose Calderon is listed as day to day, but the point guard spot will effectively be manned by Kyle Lowry and John Lucas III. If Andrea Bargniani is healthy, the Raptors can keep this game close. Better watch out for rookie Jonas Valanciunas.
Pick: 10 point Pacers win
Spread might close at around TOR+8.5. Despite a crappy looking line up, Toronto may not actually be such a doormat of a team on most games.
Denver Nuggets at Philadelphia 76ers
Philly is arguably the biggest winner in the Bynum trade, but they do need to wait out on how that will turn out, as Bynum needs to sit out a couple of games. They lost Andre Iguodala, who was the closest thing they have to a superstar. Jason Richardson may make a case for himself, with Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner needing to grow up faster than they should.The Nuggets should be a fun team to watch on the open court. They look like the new version of the Dallas Mavericks of the early 2000's and late 2000's Phoenix Suns; run and gun offense, defense will come. They have no shortage in defenders with crazy-athletic Manimal Kenneth Faried and nutcase JaVale McGee.
Pick: Nuggets 13 point win
Spreads may close with Philly given between +3.5 to +6.5 just because of their homecourt and a relatively competitive lineup. The Nuggets will run teams to the ground, and with a healthy lineup featuring Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, it is not impossible to think that this will be a blowout.
Houston Rockets at Detroit Pistons
Linsanity is now in Houston. With the latest trade for James Harden, the Rockets improved their talent at the starting lineup. Jeremy Lin had an awful preseason, but if he reverts back to Linsanity mode, Houston could be a force. Omer Asik needs to learn to play the pick and roll for that to happen.The Pistons are a loaded team up front with Greg Monroe, Jason Maxiel and a logjam of talented bigs in rookie Andre Drummond, shooter Austin Daye, and Swedish Sensation Jonas Jerebko. If Rodney Stuckey and sophomore guard Brandon Knight can complement each other, they can have a potentially high scoring backcourt that could produce number similar to the Monta Ellis-Steph Curry tandem at Golden State.
Pick: 4pt Houston win
With the performance of the Pistons last year,safe to say that they will get a spread of around +5.5 because it is their homecourt. I don't thin Houston will cover, because this game might be a case of talent versus chemistry; the rotation guys of Detroit have played at least a year together, while main guys at Houston are talented but just had preseason and James Harden just arriving.
San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Hornets
Probably the most consistent team in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs are an interesting mix of youth and veteran leadership. Tim Duncan's still the main guy, but they have able weapons with a healthy Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, the always unreadable Stephen Jackson,glue guy Boris Diaw, and energy guys Tiago Splitter, Kawhi Leonard, and Danny Green. New Orleans is in full rebuild mode with top rookie pick Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers playing important roles for the team. This may be a make or break year for Greivis Vasquez; he showed flashes of brilliance last year spelling for Jarret Jack, and now the starting gig is his. He's either the real deal or just a tease.Pick: 20 point Spurs win
This will be a rude awakening for Anthony Davis, who will be given different looks on offense and defense; traditional PF Duncan, energy guy DaJuan Blair, finesse big Splitter, and the ever versatile Boris Diaw. Spread may close at around NOH+12.5 which the Spurs can cover easily, unless Pop decides to play with his rotation towards the endgame.
Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz <edited>
Back to back games for Dallas cannot be a good thing, considering they need to play in one of the most difficult home floors in Utah. Adding insult to injury, Utah is a front-heavy team with Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors rotating. Gordon Hayward is an interesting player to watch out for in Utah. Still, Dallas can surprise us, like they did so against the heavily-favored Lakers team.Pick: Utah 8 point win <edited>
<Edited> Despite their win, Dallas should still be considered an underdog here, considering the Utah crowd and the talented frontcourt. I think the win against the Lakers will be a huge morale boost for Dallas, but it will bring caution to Utah to not underestimate the Dirk-less Dallas team. After being only a +8.5 against a loaded Lakers team, I think it would be safe to say the Dallas will get a +4.5 at the least.
Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns
Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut don't look like they are going to be ready for the season opener, but if they are, they should be slightly favored against the confusing Phoenix Suns. This will be a game with so little defense, as both teams would look to run. Phoenix looks like the healthier team, and should have ample weapons down low to take advantage of Golden State's lack of size. Gortat and Scola will have the opportunity to dominate a thin Warriors frontcourt, but Phoenix might fall in love with outside shooting, which means a lot of long rebounds.Micheal Beasley remains a mystery, but he may finally be able to realize his full potential in Phoenix.
Pick: 3 point Suns win
Greatly dependent on availability of the Warriors' stars, but considering the makeup of the Suns lineup, they might have trouble closing the pesky Warriors with or without Curry. Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes will likely take the lead. Spread may close at GSW+3.5 if Curry and Bogut won't play, but if one or both will, it might swing to PHX+2.5.
Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Clippers
A rematch of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. It will be interesting to watch how the Grizz will try to avenge their hard-fought series loss while the Clips will be parading a re-tooled lineup. Grant Hill and Matt Barnes are solid pick ups to improve the Clips' defense. Z-Bo will probably have a huge game here, if he considers his level of play during their playoff run as a chip on his shoulder.Pick: 12 point Clippers win
Spread may close at MEM+4.5 if only considering their playoff matchup last year, but with an expected big win by the Lakers in the opener, Clips will try to play the "what you can do we can do better" card. And not a dig at the Memphis depth, but Clips are better looking on paper.
Los Angeles Lakers at Portland Trailblazers
The superteam faces one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NBA, in one of the loudest venues as well. This will be a coming out party for Damien Lillard, who is one of the rookies to watch out for this season. He will have that opportunity because Nash is not a well-known defender. Kobe could still be rested, especially if he gets some minutes for their opener. If there's a team that can upset the Lakers early, it should be the young, up and coming Blazers.Pick: Lakers 2 point win
From a huge win, I think the Lakers will escape with a win here. Spread may close at POR+4.5, and despite being up against such a super team like the Lakers, I'd put my money on Portland just because they perform so much better when playing at home. It's not impossible to think that this game will be down the wire.
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