Deng expects Spurs to challenge Warriors for National Basketball Association title

The furthest-west franchise were the St Louis Bombers in the middle of America, with owners unwilling to set up teams in California and Texas for fear of incurring high travel costs. His boyish smile and breathtaking ability feel locked in time, whether he was teaming with Shaquille O’Neal to win three championships in the early 2000s, or emerging as the undisputed top dog during his two most recent titles, in 2009 and ’10.

Both an NBA.com survey of general managers and the oddsmaker Bovada consider the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs as the favorites to win the NBA championship over the Warriors.

All this means that the Eastern Conference, once again, is dogged with the moniker “Least-ern Conference”. The team hopes to differentiate its VR offering from that of the NBA’s presentation of the Warriors-Pelicans game by making it platform agnostic, meaning its should be available on any VR platform-such as Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard, or even YouTube 360 or Facebook 360 Video, as well as Gear VR.

The first games of the National Basketball Association season include the Detroit Pistons visiting the Atlanta Hawks, while the Cavs will visit the Chicago Bulls. Once triggered, though, the final determination of certain reviews will be made by the referees in the Replay Center and then communicated back to the on-court crew chief for administration of the call.

The Warriors know full well they will get every team’s best wherever they go, with visiting arenas poised to fill the seats for the defending champs’ visit to town. “Now they’re doing that to get by them”, he said. I don’t know what he’s worth, but I know he’s worth a championship to them. We’re going to play hard. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are both 25.

The Cavaliers season was killed by poor health. It can be argued that things have become brutally unfair. If he averages 30-plus point per games as the Rockets cruise to 60 plus wins, it might be his to lose.

This season has many exciting elements – the Warriors’ quest to repeat, the renewal of Kevin Durant, a few truly disgusting jerseys, LeBron James’ return in Year Two, all the talented second-year players returning from injuries and so much more.

Poor Westbrook. Here is the lesson in competing in the West: One-man shows are never going to turn out right in the end.

Davis, who’s 6-foot-10, switched to guarding the 6-3 Curry at times during the teams’ first-round playoff series the Warriors swept in April. Reigning MVP Steph Curry will likely make his yearly assault on his own recently-minted seasonal three-point records, while leaving crowds gasping at the audacity and accuracy of his shot arsenal. Players have said they like the fact that he has simplified the scheme in an effort to improve communication, minimize confusion and allow players to emphasize using their athleticism and technique to execute close-outs and rotations. The Clippers restocked their roster, adding Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith, and kept their trio of stars in place.

But all the pre-season signings paled in comparison to what the Spurs did in adding Texas native LaMarcus Aldridge to their squad. He should provide the Bucks with a solid presence down low. Duncan can then save his legs for the play-offs, where his savvy and leadership qualities are most needed.

“Anytime you lose your leader, it’s going to be different”, said Green, the spirited forward who signed a new five-year, $82 million contract in July. Did Kevin Durant retire or something?

Houston will rely on James Harden’s offense, Dwight Howard’s defense and rebounding and the point guard combination of Patrick Beverley and Ty Lawson. For as good as the series was, it also got people talking about playoff-seeding rules and how the Spurs were the sixth seed in the Western Conference despite winning four more games than the No. 4 seed, Portland, which earned a top-four seed by virtue of winning the Northwest Division. Meanwhile, “King” James sits in wait in the East, determined to write the first successful chapter of his 30s (he turns 31 on December 30).