Tone-Setting NBA Opening Night Storylines

After what has been a long, drama-filled NBA offseason, the start of the 2021-22 NBA regular season is finally here.

As all 30 teams prepare for the 82-game grind, everyone knows that one of the biggest events of the year is Opening Night. A night celebrating the start of a new season, conducting the Ring Ceremony for the defending champions and a few high-profile games littered with All-Stars.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NBA, today kicks off the season first with reigning Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the champion Bucks facing off in an Eastern Conference semi-finals rematch against Kevin Durant, James Harden, and the Brooklyn Nets. 

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Then to close out the night, we get a West Coast vibe filled with a star-studded cast of former MVPs, Defensive Players of the Year, All-Stars, and NBA champions. The new-look Los Angeles Lakers and their new Big 3 led by LeBron James take on Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors who are looking to bounce back in a major way after missing the Playoffs last season.

As we countdown to tonight’s primetime games, let’s take a look at some of the biggest storylines brewing within these matchups and the long-term implications they could have on the season ahead.

Brooklyn Nets @ Milwaukee Bucks

As we all remember, last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals between the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks was easily one of the most exciting series we’ve witnessed in quite a long time.

We got to see Kevin Durant put on a virtuoso of a performance in Game 5 victory as he dropped 49 points, 17 rebounds and ten assists along with three steals and two blocks while playing all 48 minutes.

Then there’s Game 6 where the Bucks Big 3 of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton combined for 89 of their 104 to push the series to Game 7.

And last but not least, the “Durant Big Toe” game where had Kevin Durant wore a shoe size smaller, he would have sent Milwaukee packing. Instead, his toe was on the line, the game went into overtime and the rest is history.

In short, this legendary matchup is one that we all are long awaiting the sequel for. Without question, the road to the top of the Eastern Conference goes through these two teams.

On one side you have the Brooklyn Nets who even while dealing with Kyrie Irving vaccination status issues, they are seen as the prohibited favorites by most.

Kevin Durant is viewed as lead candidate for this year’s MVP award. James Harden is an elite level Robin as a former MVP. Pair those two with a fleshed-out bench with high-level role players like Patty Mills, Blake Griffin, Bruce Brown and others and you’re looking at an NBA juggernaut.

This team looks hungry to avenge last season’s shortcomings and now they are deeper and even more mission oriented as they look to bring the Brooklyn franchise their first championship since the good ol ABA back in the early 70s.

On the other side, besides swapping out PJ Tucker for Grayson Allen, the Milwaukee Bucks are essentially running it back with the same team that won the championship.

Giannis Antetokounmpo now has the relief of capping off an MVP caliber season by hoisting up the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Khris Middleton and especially Jrue Holiday are coming off a great stint in Tokyo as the United States brought home the Olympic gold medal.

Now they simply have to prove that last season was not a flash in the pan. No pressure.

Most in the NBA community have a bone to pick with the Bucks. Some believe that their path to the Finals was illegitimate due to all the hobble stars and favorable matchups they ran into along the way. Tonight, is the start to their road of validation. In terms: Proving the doubters wrong.

This matchup is huge for both teams as it is Ring Night for the champions, celebrating the fruit of the Bucks’ labor and taunting the Nets regarding what could have been.

This game obviously does not determine who will come out of the East at the end of the season. But it does set the tone for what could be a fiery continuation to a much needed, brewing rivalry atop the conference.

Golden State Warriors @ Los Angeles Lakers

Then to close out the night, we head West as the bright lights of California all shine on the Staple Center as the Los Angeles Lakers face the Golden State Warriors.

It would be easy to look at this game as a call back to last season’s first round matchup in the Play-In tournament between these two teams. But it goes way deeper than that.

It’s LeBron James versus Stephen Curry. It’s our first official look at the Lakers Big 3 of James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. The start to what could be the coming out party for third-year guard Jordan Poole. Not to mention that these two Western Conference squads could easily run into each other in a Playoff scenario again which only makes things more interesting.

Taking a deeper look at the two teams, on one side, there are the new look Los Angeles Lakers who have once again overhauled the roster in hopes of overwhelming the league with top heavy talent.

All offseason Los Angeles has been getting dubbed as “too old” after assembling a depth chart filled with samples from the 2010 All Star game along with a few young guys to fill out the roster.

Westbrook of course was the highlight of the Lakers’ offseason. They also picked up Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Malik Monk and also brought back Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard who served well on that 2019 championship team.

This team enters the season as the favorite to come out of the West according to most. But they also are coming off an 0-5 preseason that has led some to show early signs of doubt regarding Russell Westbrook’s fit on this team.

The Western Conference is a bit out of sorts with guys like LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray both still out due to injury. So, it almost seems like from a talent standpoint that it’s the Lakers’ conference to take.

Nonetheless, they are an older team that does not look like they will be able to live up to the team’s past defensive prowess. On top of that, of course it will take some time to gel in the early going as most new-look LeBron James teams tend to do.

With that being said, this Opening Night game is a great way for the “old timers” to put the league on notice by proving that their Big 3 can be cohesive and that their wild rodeo of offseason signings did in fact amount to a championship quality roster.

Then there are the Golden State Warriors. For a team once seen as an NBA dynasty just a few years ago, last year was a disappointment to say the least.

They unfortunately missed out on All-NBA guard Klay Thompson who went down with yet another season-ending injury.

Their 2020 no.2 overall draft pick James Wiseman was pretty ineffective for a majority of the season and was in and out of the season due to injury.

Even so, Stephen Curry went on an MVP campaign as he finished as the 2020 scoring champ and nearly stole the MVP trophy away from Nikola Jokic with the way he was playing post All-Star break.

All of this turn amounted to the Warriors finishing 8th in the standings and getting eliminated from the Playoff picture after being taken down by both the Lakers and the rising Memphis Grizzlies in the Play-In tournament.

This season they hope to get Thompson back around Christmas as an early season gift and they got some reinforcements this offseason by grabbing guys like Otto Porter, Andre Iguodala and Nemanja Bjelica to bolster up their bench depth.

Alongside Curry, Warriors fans are hoping that third-year guard Jordan Poole emerges into the third Splash Brother after displaying spurts of significant upside late last season. They also have two young 2021 Lottery picks in Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody to nurture as well.

For now, this team is still an enigma in regard to their potential contender status without having Klay Thompson in the lineup. But as long as you have a former MVP in Stephen Curry and a former Defensive Player of the Year in Draymond Green, this team will always be in the Playoff hunt. Then if you add a healthy Thompson, a rising Poole and better depth than last year, Golden State could cook up a comeback in hopes of returning to their former championship glory.

This is a matchup between two potential Western Conference powerhouses both seeking a chance to return to the mountaintop of the NBA. There are a handful of rivalries involved in this matchup and a lot of pride on the line for both sides as both teams look to start this season on the right foot following disappointing endings last year.

NBA Opening Night is a national holiday in the basketball world, and these are easily two of the most anticipated matchups of the 2021-22 season. Stay Tuned tonight as we finally are rewarded with quality, elite level basketball to kick off what may easily be one of the most parody-riddled NBA seasons in the last decade.