The wait is almost over. Opening Night in the NBA will begin with a trio of games on Tuesday, including five playoff teams from the 2014-2015 season. The Cleveland Cavaliers will kick things off against the Chicago Bulls in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Atlanta Hawks, who faced the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, will tipoff simultaneously against the Detroit Pistons. Then, in the finale, the 2015 NBA Champions begin their title defense where their playoff run began-at home against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls -- 8:00PM ET on TNT
LeBron James and the defending Eastern Conference Champion Cavaliers will begin their season at primetime Tuesday night. The Cavaliers had an eventful offseason after their run to the NBA Finals, re-signing all of their many free agents. Kyrie Irving is expected to be out until January recovering from a fractured kneecap that sidelined him for all but one game of the NBA Finals.
Iman Shumpert is on a similar timetable after receiving wrist surgery. James is also not completely healthy and received an anti-inflammatory injection in his lower back. Sunday was the first practice James participated in since receiving the injection nearly two weeks ago. The 30 year-old is expected to suit up Tuesday night against the Bulls in what has been a renewed rivalry in the Central Division.
The Bulls will open up their 2015-2016 season at home under rookie head coach Fred Hoiberg. Derrick Rose, who missed time in the preseason after suffering a left orbital fracture, is expected to start on Tuesday. Joakim Noah, who struggled with injuries during the 2014-2015 season, is likely to start the season off the bench for Hoiberg. Nikola Mirotic will start at power forward, while Pau Gasol will be the starting center. The 35 year-old Gasol has dealt with "general soreness" during the preseason and, although he appears to be a go for Tuesday, Hoiberg will use the full extent of his bench.
Cavaliers' starting five: Mo Williams, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov
Bulls' starting five: Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Tony Snell, Nikola Mirotic, Pau Gasol
Top returning scorers: LeBron James, Cavaliers (25.3ppg), Jimmy Butler, Bulls (20.0ppg)
Top returning rebounders: Kevin Love, Cavaliers (9.7rpg), Pau Gasol, Bulls (11.8rpg)
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Detroit Pistons at Atlanta Hawks -- 8:00PM ET
The Pistons lost their leading scorer from last season in Greg Monroe. Monroe, who signed with the Milwaukee Bucks as a free agent this offseason, created a tremendous duo with Andre Drummond in the low block. It was a duo that likely would have the edge over the leaders for the Hawks in Al Horford and Paul Millsap.
Instead, Drummond will have an increased workload in 2015-2016, as will teammates Reggie Jackson and Brandon Jennings, who is currently recovering from left Achilles surgery. The Pistons have new additions to work with at forward in Ersan Ilyasova and Marcus Morris. The Hawks also lost a big piece from a season ago in DeMarre Carroll. They did, however, add Tiago Splitter in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs, which will give them a big advantage down low on opening night. 2015 Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer coached Splitter as an assistant with the Spurs, indicating he will have a similar role on the Hawks. Rich Homie Quan will get the season started down in ATL.
Pistons' starting five: Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marcus Morris, Ersan Ilyasova, Andre Drummond
Hawks' starting five: Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Kent Bazemore, Paul Millsap, Al Horford
Top returning scorers: Brandon Jennings*, Pistons (15.4ppg), Paul Millsap, Hawks (16.7ppg)
Top returning rebounders: Andre Drummond, Pistons (13.5rpg), Millsap, Hawks (7.9rpg)
*Jennings will be sidelined for several weeks as he recovers from Achilles surgery
New Orleans Pelicans at Golden State Warriors -- 10:30PM ET on TNT
Banner night in Oakland rounds out the trio of opening night games on Tuesday night. The Warriors will be honored for their championship season prior to tipoff, but will be without head coach Steve Kerr for the game. Kerr took an indefinite leave of absence as he recovers from back surgery complications, but will reportedly be in attendance for the championship ring ceremony.
Luke Walton, who worked with the team as an assistant last season, will be the interim head coach. His counterpart will be former Warriors assistant coach and offensive mastermind, Alvin Gentry. The Pelicans have made several lineup changes under Gentry, but have the same cards as they did against the Warriors in the first round of the postseason. The defending champs will have the exact same lineup as they did a season ago, making for an interesting matchup against their former assistant coach.
Pelicans' starting five: Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Dante Cunningham, Anthony Davis, Omer Asik
Warriors' starting five: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut
Top returning scorers: Anthony Davis, Pelicans (24.4ppg), Stephen Curry, Warriors (23.8ppg)
Top returning rebounders: Davis, Pelicans (10.2rpg)
Draymond Green, Warriors (8.2rpg)