We have once again made it folks. We made it past another offseason and the NBA is officially back tonight! This offseason was a lot easier to get through considering the season just ended in October, making it the shortest offseason in league history. Tonight we get the Nets versus the Warriors, then the Lakers against the Clippers, followed by the rest of the teams on Wednesday. Sit back, relax, and let’s preview tonight’s games.

Nets vs Warriors, Line: Nets -7.5.

For the first time in 552 days, Kevin Durant will be playing in a NBA game. I’m so excited to see Durant play again. Before his injury in 2019, Durant was another level. If preseason has shown us anything, it’s that Durant is back to his normal self.

Since the injury, Durant packed his talents up and went to Brooklyn to join Kyrie Irving. No one knows much about this Brooklyn team, it’s their first year with Kyrie/Durant healthy, and with a first-year head coach in Steve Nash, it could take some time to mesh. But with players with the talent that Durant and Irving bring, it will only be a matter of time before the Nets start clicking on all levels. In the preseason, the Nets looked solid. The Nets posted the seventh-best offensive rating in the preseason at 107.4, going 2-0 in the preseason.

Now, the Warriors are even a more interesting story. The Warriors are coming off an injury riddled season, and with the return of Steph Curry, the Warriors should be at least contending in the upper half of the western conference. The injury to Klay Thompson obviously hurts them, plus no Draymond Green on opening night. The Warriors added James Wiseman with their 2nd overall pick in the draft. The Warriors are even more of a question mark. That’s why I’m picking Brooklyn to win tonight and cover the spread. The offensive potential on the Nets is just too good, they have two of the best scorers in the NBA. If Durant can return to even 75% of his full potential, then it’s over. Which by the looks of his preseason play, he already has. Hammer Brooklyn -7.5.

Clippers vs Lakers, Line: Lakers -3.

Ah, the battle of LA. The defending champs in the Lakers somehow got even better this offseason. Lebron James and Anthony Davis are back with new contracts. Then added Montrezl Harrell, Wesley Matthews, and Marc Gasol in free agency, and landed Dennis Schroder via trade. Schroder will fit in great with the Lakers, Schroder averaged 18.9/3.6/4 per game. When the defending champs somehow get better, they deserve to be the favorite.

The Clippers are coming off one of the biggest choke jobs in sports history, blowing that 3-1 lead to the Nuggets. The Clippers are still one of the favorites, as any team led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George should be. They lost Montrezl Harrell and Landry Shamet this offseason through free agency and trades but added Serge Ibaka and Luke Kennard. The Clippers are still obviously a good team but until I see them win in the playoffs, they will be second fiddle to the Lakers. The Lakers are getting their rings tonight and will be ready to go. The Clippers should be ready to go after that embarrassing end to the season. I’m taking the Lakers to cover tonight, they have two of the top five players in the world and they did nothing but improved their roster after winning the title last season. Lakers -3 tonight.

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