NBA Schedule: Top 5 games from Week 1 of the 2019-20 season
The Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship in 2019 barely two months ago in June and right now, we are barely two months away from the beginning of the 2019-20 NBA season which kicks-off on October 22nd, 2019.
The offseason has been a whirlwind of major roster changes through free agency. Everyone is anxious for the new season to start. Many questions will be answered once the season starts.
Can Kawhi Leonard and George Paul bring a championship to Los Angeles with the Clippers? How will the champions, the Raptors, fare without The Klaw in their lineup? Are Anthony Davis and LeBron James enough to return the Lakers to championship glory?
While we still have to wait a bit before we can get answers to any of these question, in the meantime, we do have the NBA schedule to peruse and begin to circle key dates that may stand out. On that note, here are the top five games for Week 1 of the new NBA season.
#5 Raptors vs Celtics: October 25th, 2019, 7:00 PM
This contest gives fans a second look at the Boston Celtics, this time against Atlantic Division rival and reigning NBA Champions in the Toronto Raptors. Once again, Boston has good talent. The likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart are a talented group of players. Gordon Hayward will be a second-year removed from his horrific injury and hopefully healthier.
The Toronto Raptors are in the unique position of trying to defend their NBA title without the superstar that made that title victory possible in Kawhi Leonard. The intrigue of this matchup is will the Celtics return to the team we saw in the 2018 playoffs? Also, just how good is or can Pascal Siakam still get? Further, can O.G. Anunoby, now in his third year, have any kind of breakout this season like Siakam did last year for the Raptors?
The Raptors not only have to contend with Leonard’s departure to the Clippers leaving a huge hole in the lineup but also Danny Green signing with the Lakers which may mean a return to a starter's role for Norman Powell. While Powell has struggled in that role before, he did have a solid 2018/19 season.
Both of these teams could be problematic opponents to play against in the East but after 6 years of contending and finally winning a title, it's not sure how the defending champions will respond with a lineup seemingly lighter on talent than last year.