NBA Preseason 2016: Projecting Most Intriguing Matchups on the Schedule

Organized NBA basketball is back.

Sure, it's the preseason. But training camp rosters are set, and all the stars are wearing their official colors.

Kevin Durant and his new team, the Golden State Warriors, kicked things off on Saturday with a 97-93 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Vancouver, Canada.

No member of Golden State's Big Four—Durant, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson—played over 20 minutes, but there were hints of what may be coming.

The Warriors shared video of Durant's first bucket with Golden State:

They later posted this oop from Curry to Andre Iguodala:

Don't let the dunks fool you, though. Twenty-one of the starting five's 32 field-goal attempts came from beyond the three-point line. Once everyone is in rhythm and on the same page, this attack is going to be borderline impossible to stop.

Other action from the weekend included a 116-102 win for the New Orleans Pelicans over the Dallas Mavericks, and a 131-94 win for the Houston Rockets over the Shanghai Sharks.

The rest of the league's teams will take the floor between now and the start of the regular season. The most intriguing matchups can be found below:

Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	Analysis
Oklahoma City Thunder at Real Madrid	10/3	2:30 p.m.	Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder will kick off the preseason in Spain, where Euroleague powerhouse Real Madrid resides. Madrid is a perennial title contender overseas and should be competitive on its home floor.
Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls	10/3	8 p.m.	Dwyane Wade in a Chicago Bulls jersey may never look totally normal, but maybe seeing it in action will help. This matchup gives us a chance to see that for the first time.
Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers	10/4	7 p.m.	News of Ben Simmons going down with a broken foot robs the Philadelphia 76ers of a lot of their intrigue, but Joel Embiid's NBA debut is still worth tuning in for. After being selected third overall in the 2014 draft, Embiid has been shrouded in injuries and mystery for two years.
Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors	10/4	10:30 p.m.	"We don't feel like there's a gap," Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said when comparing his team to the Golden State Warriors on media day, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. He'll get a chance to prove it, though likely in limited spurts due to the fact that it's a preseason game.
Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks	10/8	7:30 p.m.	Linsanity more than captivated the world during the 2011-12 season, when Jeremy Lin put one of the most storied franchises in NBA history on his back. He's playing for a New York team again, but it's not the Knicks. He'll visit Madison Square Garden as the starting point guard for the Brooklyn Nets.
Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers	10/13	8 p.m.	Both the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers are returning largely the same teams for a rematch of the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls	10/14	8 p.m.	As recently as 2014, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were teammates with the Miami Heat. The two will now be division rivals, leading the Cavaliers and Bulls, respectively.
New York Knicks at Boston Celtics	10/19	7:30 p.m.	Speaking of division rivals, the Boston Celtics and Knicks have a rivalry that dates all the way back to the 1940s. Boston has an overwhelming advantage in the head-to-head record, but the Knicks should be excited about the future that should come with Kristaps Porzingis.
Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers	10/19	10 p.m.	Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton will get a chance to test out his coaching chops against his old boss, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. Golden State represents the now in NBA basketball, but Walton's Lakers are packed with intriguing young talent that could have them in that position in a few years.
Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs	10/21	8:30 p.m.	The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs have been Western Conference playoff mainstays, but both enter 2016-17 with big changes to their rosters. The Rockets added offense in Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, while the Spurs lost the legendary Tim Duncan.

For highlights, updates and analysis throughout the preseason, stick with Bleacher Report.

Doc Rivers quote in table from this article by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.