It’s almost time for tip-off, and that can only mean one time…For the first time in over 71 days, professional basketball that actually counts toward something will be on television screens in households around the world. And for this site, it’ll be the first time since March 11, 2020, that a primetime preview article is being published. It’s been a year shrouded with uncertainty, pain, and despair, but there are always lights at the end of those dark tunnels and for a lot of people, sports have been that necessary escape, that joyous distraction, a soothing reminder that things get better and the fact that there’s always a solution to the most pertinent issue.
This season is unlike any other. And the fans not being in stands isn’t the biggest adjustment players have to make. A widespread pandemic has ravaged the sports world, but this league has the initiative to continue playing safely until told to not do so. A 72-game season is the plan B for the NBA and the season, usually ending in early April, will continue into May and an abridged version of the playoffs will take place mid-spring, finally concluding weeks short of the Tokyo Olympics. It’s certainly a work-on-the-fly kind of plan with no concrete schedule, but it’s something they’ll have to get acclimated to.
So, to tonight’s game – Brooklyn and Golden State kick off the most different season in NBA history. All that will be there to accompany the 30 participants on the court will be artificial crowd sounds to fill the fan-less void, but basketball is to be played in its 48-minute entirety. The Golden State Warriors begin a rebounding season that’s sure to be filled to the brim with headlines as one of the West’s most integral teams, and with them now at the bottom of the pecking order, best believe Stephen Curry and crew have something to say about who’s being appointed as early favorites to come out of the conference.
It’ll be the Dubs’ first game in nearly 300 days since their 15-win season was cut short by the pandemic. And for the first time ever, they’ll be participating in competitive basketball in an empty gym. Curry looks to square off against former teammate Kevin Durant, the Nets’ new acquisition who fled to Brooklyn after the debacle in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals, where the four-time scoring champ ruptured his Achilles. He hasn’t played a regular-season game since then, so tonight is a personal milestone in itself for him.
Alongside Durant will be former NBA champ Kyrie Irving who is quite arguably the most skilled player at the position today (though Curry won’t quite vouch for that sentiment!) It’s yet to be determined if the pairing of Irving and Durant will work out, but tonight’s the first glimpse at a team that could very well be representing the East in July’s NBA Finals.
A fun fact – this game was supposed to be played between these two teams back on March 12, so it’s good that commissioner Adam Silver kept this game going as the first one of the new year. And other storylines like Kelly Oubre’s debut with Golden State, No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman’s NBA Debut, and the overall sight of pandemic basketball in home stadiums will all play out on screens at 7:00 p.m. ET on TNT.
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