NBA Opening Night Preview: Fine. Basketball Gets the Big TV.

Basketball is finally back. We waited what feels like one whole week without basketball, and wow am I excited to watch some grown men dribble, flop, and complain. Beautiful sport. Let’s make some picks.

Boston Celtics vs Detroit Pistons — 12:00 PM PDT / 3:00 PM EDT

Nothing like a noon basketball game on a Tuesday. Nice. At least it’s a solid matchup between two of the East’s best teams. Detroit won 60 games last season behind Cade Cunningham and took three of four from Boston. Cunningham was sick against the Celtics, averaging 28.8 points, 9.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds—nearly five points above his season scoring average.

Detroit’s defense set it apart. The Pistons finished second in defensive rating (108.9) and led the league in steals (10.4 per game) and blocks (6.4). They were a pain in the ass to play against. Losing Isaiah Stewart hurts, though, and they’ll have to prove they can maintain that physicality without him.

Boston enters the 2026–27 season looking different. Jaylen Brown is gone, Paul George is in, and Jayson Tatum gets his first full season following his Achilles injury. Tatum scored more than 20 points in each preseason appearance. He also didn’t play in any of last season’s four meetings with Detroit, so having him back makes this a much tougher matchup.

The Celtics can do damage from the perimeter. They averaged 15.5 made threes last season and hit 20 in their lone win against Detroit. Boston has the shooting to take this one, especially if Tatum gets going and forces the Pistons to send help.

Pick: Detroit (PK -110). This should be close, but I like Cunningham to have another big game. With Boston working through some major changes, give me the Pistons at home.

Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks — 4:00 PM PDT / 7:00 PM EDT

Ahhhh. LeBron. LeBron. LeBron. This guy might genuinely play until he’s 50. We’re entering Year 24. That is actually insane. Some of you have graduated college and still haven’t experienced a world without LeBron James in the NBA. Anyways, he and Jaylen Brown are now Sixers. As long as everyone stays healthy and Embiid doesn’t go full retard, Philadelphia should be nasty this season. But first, they get the defending champs.

The Knicks made basketball kind of cool again in their journey to the NBA Finals. They’ll receive their rings Tuesday before facing a Philadelphia team they swept in the second round last season. New York outscored the Sixers by 89 points across four games, winning by an average of 22.3.

Jalen Brunson was letting it fly in that series, averaging 29 points and six assists while shooting 51.3% from the field and 44.8% from three. He averaged just 1.8 turnovers, too. Philadelphia struggled to make him uncomfortable, and sending help left other Knicks open to knock down shots.

But this Philadelphia team has a hell of a lot more talent. Brown averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season, while LeBron put up 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists. Add them to Maxey and Embiid, and there should be no shortage of offense. I’m most interested in what LeBron does for Maxey. Having LeBron run possessions should let Maxey use his speed against a defense that’s already moving, rather than having to create everything himself.

Pick: New York ML (-180). Philadelphia has the talent to win this, but I trust New York’s chemistry at home while the Sixers figure out how to play together.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs — 6:30 PM PDT / 9:30 PM EDT

I think the Thunder are exactly what’s wrong with the NBA nowadays. Specifically, SGA. The flopping, bitching and moaning are out of hand, and watching someone shoot free throws for half the game irks the fuck out of me. Unfortunately, it works. Shai is incredible, and Oklahoma City has built a hell of a team around him.

The Spurs were a serious problem for them last year. San Antonio took four of five regular-season meetings, then knocked Oklahoma City out in seven games in the Western Conference finals. Eight wins in 12 meetings against a team that won 64 games. Shai averaged 31.1 points on 55.3% shooting during the regular season, but San Antonio held him to 25.9 points on 40.9% shooting in that series. He shot just 28.6% from three, too.

Wembanyama was nasty against OKC, averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in the conference finals while shooting 40% from three. A guy that big has absolutely no business doing all of that. He also attempted 8.1 free throws per game and made 89.5% of them. Yes, I just complained about free throws. I just like this guy more.

OKC was dealing with injuries, though. Jalen Williams had a hamstring issue, and both he and Ajay Mitchell missed Game 7. Shai needed help creating offense, and two of the guys who could provide it weren’t available. A healthy Williams makes this a much tougher matchup and gives San Antonio somebody else to worry about when it sends help at Shai.

Pick: San Antonio ML (-135). I like the Spurs at home. They made Shai work for his points last season, and Wembanyama gave Oklahoma City problems at both ends. Give me another big night from the giant Frenchman.

Pistons, Knicks, Spurs. Those are the picks. I’ve spent this entire preview complaining about basketball and will absolutely watch all three games. See you at noon.