Pose for the camera if you racked up 24 points and 10 boards to grab your first win of the preseason.
THE LINEUP
What’s inside today’s edition?
Welcome Home: The Clippers open the Intuit Dome with a win over the Mavs
Preseason Roundup: The Bucks, Sixers, Grizzlies and Nets pick up preseason wins
Potential All-Stars: Eight candidates that could earn their first All-Star selection this season
NBA TV Doubleheader: Olympic ties highlight Spurs-Heat and Warriors-Lakers
West Contenders Clash: OKC and Denver enter the season with title aspirations
BUT FIRST … ⏰
More preseason action and a new docuseries trailer drops …
An NBA TV doubleheader highlights a seven-game Tuesday of preseason action, beginning with the Heat hosting the Spurs (7:30 ET), followed by the Warriors and Lakers meeting in Las Vegas (10 ET).
Jersey Day Countdown: The fifth-annual NBA Jersey Day is just six days away as fans around the world celebrate the game by wearing their favorite NBA, WNBA or G League jersey on Monday, Oct. 21.
Raising 18: The trailer for the nine-part docuseries narrated by Al Horford, chronicling the Boston Celtics’ journey for banner 18 drops today.
1. CLIPPERS OPEN THE INTUIT DOME WITH A WIN
Welcome Home, LA Clippers.
After spending the past 25 years as co-tenants at Staples Center / Crypto.com Arena with the Lakers and NHL’s Kings, the Clippers now have a home arena of their own – the Intuit Dome – which hosted its first NBA preseason game on Monday, a 110-96 Clippers win over Dallas.
- Behind double-doubles from James Harden (10 pts, 12 ast, 3 stl) and Ivica Zubac (11 pts, 12 reb, 4 stl) and a team-high 18 points from Kevin Porter Jr., the Clippers pulled away from the Mavs in the 2nd quarter and never looked back
- Harden-Zubac Connection: Watch Harden come up with the steal and find Zubac with a three-quarter court dime for the dunk
- Who scored the first Clippers preseason bucket at the new arena? The answer to that trivia question is Derrick Jones Jr., who played for the Mavs last season before signing with LA in the summer. He finished with 12 points against his former squad
- Lob City 2.0? Kai Jones had back-to-back lob throwdowns in the 1st half as the Clippers began to build their lead
Playing without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Dallas was led by Quentin Grimes, who scored a game-high 20 points in 22 minutes off the bench. The Mavs fell to 0-3 in the preseason, while LA improved to 3-1.
After opening the preseason with games in Honolulu, San Diego and Seattle, Monday’s game marked the first of three straight for the Clippers in their new home – Friday’s preseason finale against the Kings and next Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the Suns.
The Clippers pulled out all of the stops to create a state-of-the-art arena with a true home-court advantage for the Clippers. As they embark on their first season in their new home, will this be the first step toward a brighter future for the franchise?
2. ROUNDUP: BUCKS GET FIRST WIN, EDEY SHINES FOR GRIZZ, PG’s EARLY EXIT
Bucks 111, Bulls 107: Giannis Antetokounmpo (24 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast) and Damian Lillard (20 pts, 5 reb, 9 ast) combined for 44 points to lead the Bucks to their first win of the preseason. | Stats
- Young Bulls: With much of Chicago’s usual rotation out for the night, sophomore forward Adama Sanogo (16 pts, 15 reb, 2 blk) and rookie forward Matas Buzelis (15 pts, 3 3s) shined for Chicago
- Quick Poster: Anžejs Pasečņiks played just six minutes, but dropped the hammer below that got the Bucks’ bench on its feet
Sixers 104, Hawks 89: Kelly Oubre Jr. and Tyrese Maxey scored 14 points apiece as Philly got the win, but lost Paul George after just 12 minutes due to a hyperextended knee. Jared McCain added 11 points, while Guerschon Yabusele posted a double-double (10 pts, 11 reb). | Stats
- Encore: After dazzling in his preseason debut, No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher finished with a team-high 14 points and eight boards for the Hawks, while Trae Young added 10 points and nine dimes
Nets 131, Wizards 92: Cam Thomas (17 pts) led nine Nets with at least nine points as Brooklyn cruised past Washington for its first win of the preseason. Dennis Schroder (13 pts, 7 ast) and Ben Simmons (11 pts, 5 reb) combined to add 24 points. | Stats
- No Sarr: Jordan Poole (13 pts, 3 reb) and Kyle Kuzma (7 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast) combined for 20 points for the Wizards, who were without No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr
Grizzlies 120, Pacers 116: Rookie Zach Edey (23 pts, 9 reb) and Desmond Bane (23 pts, 3 3s) combined for 46 points, while Yuki Kawamura added 10 points and seven assists, to lead Memphis over Indy and improve to 3-1 in the preseason. | Stats
- Yuki-Edey Connection: Watch the 5-foot-8 guard find the 7-foot-4 center for the slam for one of Kawamura’s three no-look dimes
- Lesson Learned: Marcus Smart showed Edey the drop step move in the post pregame and Edey unleashed it in-game
3. EIGHT POTENTIAL FIRST-TIME ALL-STARS IN 2024-25
Which player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2024-25?
That question from the GM Survey did not have a consensus choice as 18 players received votes and none earned more than 13% of the vote.
The fact that there are many players on the cusp of stardom is encouraging for the future of the game and a fairly common occurrence over the past decade.
Over the past 10 years, there have been an average of 5.7 first-time NBA All-Stars. In just the past five years that average has climbed to 6.2, including a league-record 10 first-timers in 2020. That was followed by four in 2021, seven in 2022, six in 2023 and four last season.
Which players are most likely to add NBA All-Star to their basketball resume this season? John Schuhmann broke down eight potential candidates (from six teams) to watch as the 2024-25 season draws near.
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs): Following up his outstanding rookie season, the GMs projected Wemby to win Defensive Player of the Year in his sophomore year. That type of impact would likely garner All-Star votes as well
- Chet Holmgren and/or Jalen Williams (Thunder): OKC finished atop the West last season and are projected to do the same this season, which would warrant multiple All-Stars. Which player between Chet and J-Dub would join Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as an All-Star? Could it be both?
- Alperen Sengun (Rockets): Last season, six players averaged at least 20 points, 9 boards and 5 assists; Sengun is the only one of those players that has not yet been an All-Star
- Evan Mobley (Cavaliers): The Cavs have three All-Stars on the roster already – Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland. Can Mobley make it four in his fourth season?
- Cade Cunningham (Pistons): Cade has the numbers when it comes to points, rebounds and assists. Can Cade’s rise coincide with a jump in wins for Detroit, too?
- OG Anunoby or Mikal Bridges (Knicks): New York is projected to finish second in the East again, which usually brings multiple All-Stars. Jalen Brunson was a first-timer last year, and the Knicks just acquired a four-time All-Star in Karl-Anthony Towns. Could Anunoby of Bridges break through to join them?
4. OLYMPIC CONNECTIONS HIGHLIGHT NBA TV DOUBLEHEADER
Spurs at Heat (7:30 ET, NBA TV): As Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs continue their preparation for Year 2, today’s edition of Pass The Rock looks back at the historic rookie campaign from the extraordinary 7-foot-4 French phenom. The episode drops today on the NBA App at 10 a.m. ET.
- Wemby vs. Bam: The last time these two versatile bigs shared the court was the Gold Medal Game at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 10. Wemby (26 pts, 7 reb, 3 3s in 30 min) shined for the home country, but Bam (2 pts, 1 reb in 9 min) and the USA left with the gold
- Pop vs. Spo: Gregg Popovich (1,388) and Erik Spoelstra (750) – who rank first and fourth in wins among active NBA coaches – also have an Olympic connection. Spoelstra coached the USA Select Team that trained with the Popovich-led USA Olympic Team in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Games
Warriors at Lakers (10 ET, NBA TV from Las Vegas): An indelible image from the Paris Olympics is LeBron James and Stephen Curry standing face-to-face celebrating after Curry went off to lead a thrilling American comeback against Serbia to reach the Gold Medal Game.
- Teammates to Opponents: After Curry (24 pts, 8 3s) and LeBron (14 pts, 10 ast) led the USA to gold in the win over France, the longtime rivals celebrated their short-lived time as teammates. As the new season draws near, their NBA rivalry renews
- First Of Two Games: The Warriors (4-0) close out the preseason with matchups against the Lakers on Tuesday and Friday, while L.A. (1-2) has a game with Phoenix in between Warriors matchups
5. WEST CONTENDERS CLASH IN DENVER
The Thunder and Nuggets meet tonight (9 ET, NBA League Pass) after finishing last season with matching 57-25 records – with OKC earning the Western Conference No. 1 seed by owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over Denver.
- Their fate in the 2024 NBA Playoffs was also the same – an exit in the Western Conference Semifinals, with OKC falling to Dallas in six games and Denver falling to Minnesota in seven games
- Both teams are projected as top tier West contenders, with OKC getting 80% of first-place votes from the league’s GMs, while Denver finished third
- The Nuggets have been to the mountaintop, winning their first-ever title in 2023, while the Thunder are looking for their first title since arriving in OKC
Are the Thunder built for postseason success? Shaun Powell notes that OKC has the foundation for long-term contention with a sharp front office, an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, young players with All-Star potential, the reigning Coach of the Year, plenty of draft capital and cap space to make more moves if needed.
- After their West Semis exit, OKC struck quickly in the offseason, signing Isaiah Hartenstein to bolster their 28th-ranked rebound rate, and acquiring Alex Caruso from Chicago to add an elite perimeter defender alongside Lu Dort and shotblocker Chet Holmgren
Can Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets make another title run? Powell notes that even with Jokic’s greatness – coming off his third Kia MVP in four seasons – the Nuggets will need more from their young players if they hope to return to championship contention.
- After winning the title in 2023, the Nuggets have lost key players from that squad in each of the past two summers – Bruce Brown in 2023 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in 2024 – leaving a void when it comes to depth around Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
- Can first-round picks Christian Braun (2022) and Julian Strawther (2023) rise to another level in their third and second seasons, respectively?
Four more games round out a seven-game Tuesday on League Pass.
- Celtics at Raptors (7 ET)
- Hornets at Knicks (7:30 ET)
- Pelicans at Rockets (8 ET)
- Kings at Jazz (9 ET)
