The stars will be out when the NBA tips off the 2015-16 regular season on Oct. 27.
The 2015-16 NBA regular season may be months away, but we can start planning after the league unveiled its complete schedule Wednesday. The opening night of the regular season is set for Oct. 27, with a three-game slate featuring some of the best teams in the league.
The defending champion Golden State Warriors will start off their season by raising the banner in Oracle Arena before taking on Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans, who they swept in the first round of the playoffs last year. It'll be the nightcap of a TNT doubleheader and feature a league MVP against a likely future league MVP.
The other two games should also feature some marquee players, especially a season-opening matchup between the Cavaliers and Bulls. The two Midwest teams that have built up an on-and-off rivalry over the past few decades, so it's undeniably on again with LeBron James and Derrick Rose suiting up for their respective teams. That'll kick off TNT's coverage.
There will be a third game as well. The Pistons will visit the Hawks at 8 p.m. on NBA League Pass.
Here's the schedule for NBA's opening night on Tuesday, Oct. 27:
Detroit Pistons vs. Atlanta Hawks
8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
The Hawks were the surprise team of last season, sending four players to the All-Star Game on their way to winning 60 games before getting swept by the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. They face a new-look Pistons team that added shooting in the front court over the offseason, and drafted versatile wing Stanley Johnson No. 8 overall.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls
8 p.m. ET, TNT
After being welcomed by a raucous crowd in Cleveland to start the 2014-15 season, LeBron James and company will be received a bit differently this year as they open against the Bulls at the United Center. Chicago fans are known to detest LeBron given his success ousting the Bulls from the playoffs, and this year will be the latest chance for the Rose-led team to finally overcome that hurdle.
The game should also tip off an ongoing battle between the Cavaliers and Bulls for the top spot in the East standings. The Cavaliers are heavily favored to win the East with James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love returning to form a stacked roster, but the Bulls may be the competitor with the best shot of snagging the top seed. Chicago fired coach Tom Thibodeau and replaced him with Fred Hoiberg over the summer, partially due to the former's lack of playoff success against LeBron's teams.
The Bulls are hoping the coaching change will be enough to push the Cavaliers. We'll get our first view at how that'll play out in the opening game of the season.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Golden State Warriors
10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Stephen Curry is the reigning MVP. Anthony Davis might be the best bet for "future MVP" of any player in the league. Those two players alone should make any game between the Warriors and Pelicans worth watching. In this case, they'll be tipping off the 2015-16 regular season in style. (They'll also face each other a few days later in New Orleans).
Curry and Davis have emerged as two of the best players in the NBA over the past couple years. They're the driving forces behind their respective franchises' recent improvement and are the kinds of players that define the NBA as a star-dominated league. There are few players in basketball as important as Curry and Davis.
The Warriors and Pelicans are more than their superstars, however. New Orleans is considered a team to watch entering next season with former Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry replacing Monty Williams as head coach. Meanwhile, Golden State has a legitimate shot at becoming the league's latest back-to-back champion.
The two teams also met during the first round of the 2014 postseason, where the Warriors fought off the Pelicans' best runs en route to a sweep. Davis looked amazing throughout that series, providing the first glimpse of the damage he could do in future postseasons as he gains experience and the team around him improves.
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