Top 25 Reasons We Can't Wait for the NBA Season to Start

The Los Angeles Lakers are at full strength, the Oklahoma City Thunder are ready for revenge, and the Miami Heat are ready to defend their title.

What more could you ask of an NBA season that starts in just a week?

We're sitting in the danger zone for NBA teams; there's no time left to figure out who to cut, but there's too much time to really wind down and get ready for the start of the season. These past few weeks have gotten us geared up while knocking out a few of our favorite players, so we'll just have to see how Minnesota and Dallas deal with the injuries to their best players. 

On top of that, we have storylines on top of storylines on top of storylines, and only a handful of them involve either the Heat, Lakers or Jeremy Lin, so there's some real stuff going on here, people.

It's time to stop trying to pretend that the outcome of preseason games is meaningful and completely immerse ourselves in what looks like it'll be one of the best seasons in NBA history.

25. How Will Teams Deal with Injuries?

Season-opening caveats always keep us from knowing exactly who the best team in the league is. This season, it's obvious the Miami Heat are above the rest, but where do the Bulls rank without Derrick Rose?

Beyond that, how will the Mavericks fare without Dirk Nowitzki, the Timberwolves without Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love and the Warriors without whatever injuries they may end up dealing with to start the season?

One of my favorite parts of the beginning of each season is seeing who floats and who sinks. The teams that stay afloat without their star players usually grow, and the players that help them do it are usually changed for the better.

This is a little caveat that could decide whether Carlos Boozer stays in Chicago, what the makeup of the Mavericks is, who steps up for Minnesota and which young guys take over in Oakland. 

24. Bizarre Lineups

There are at least four teams in the league right now who can run out lineups that will make you double-take three times, and hopefully their coaches go all-out to try their damnedest to confuse defenses.

Houston has enough big men to run a lineup with three legitimate big men on the court at any time. The same is true with the Denver Nuggets, only they can throw out three seven-footers if they want to go crazy.

Beyond that, the Minnesota Timberwolves boast a team of question marks now that Kevin Love is injured, albeit entertaining question marks.

Finally, we have the Phoenix Suns, who decided to put together a team that makes sense at the same time that it makes none. Goran Dragic can run the pick-and-roll with Luis Scola and Marcin Gortat, but the offense is going to need big production from the isolationist that is Michael Beasley. 

23. Dunk Contest Bounce-Back

One of the few disappointments of the past season that can't be overstated is the terrible outcome of the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.

This was once the halftime show for the entire NBA, when casual fans and even people who've never watched a game in their life checked out the best entertainment the league had to offer. It was once the equivalent of Michael Jackson putting on one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows ever back in 1993, but it's become Phil Collins inexplicably crooning alongside Christina Aguilera.

There's nothing to base this on other than the fact that David Stern is in charge of this league, but I'm expecting a huge bounce-back year from the dunk contest. Whether that means a removal of the fan voting or actual superstars being involved is still in question, but something's got to give.

22. Atlanta's Ewing Theory Potential

One of the best, most intriguing sports theories to come out in the past decade is Bill Simmons' Ewing Theory, basically stating that there are superstars out there whose team performs better when they're out of the game. This is based on when the Knicks made the NBA Finals despite Patrick Ewing's torn Achilles in the 1999 Eastern Conference finals.

If ever there was a team at which to throw that theory, it's this year's Atlanta Hawks. Without Joe Johnson, they lose a great scorer and a decent defender, but they can replace most of that with the guys they brought in during the offseason.

There's a chance they're just another fifth seed that makes it to the second round of the playoffs only to get swept, but there's also a chance—with a healthy Al Horford and Josh Smith on a contract year—that they exceed expectations.

21. John Wall vs. Kyrie Irving

There's a history between the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers that nobody but a few guys on each team remember, but the residual effects remain. For three years straight they met in the playoffs—Cleveland won each time—but both teams fell from grace with a thud.

Now they see their rebuilding moving hand-in-hand, with slightly different paths for each team.

Where they've gone down the same road is the positions where they decided to start their rebuild, each drafting a stellar point guard No. 1 overall in successive seasons. Both teams took a shooting guard as their top pick this season.

They both hope to get back to relevance in the Eastern Conference, and with that should come a determination of which team has the better franchise point guard.

20. Rookie Question Marks

My absolute favorite part of the first month or so of the season is seeing how each team's draft picks stack up against real NBA competition.

The best part of each season isn't seeing which rookies excel, but which rookies best answer the questions surrounding them.

This year, we have Andre Drummond, Royce White, Jared Sullinger and Perry Jones, among others, to keep an eye on, each with different likelihoods of making an impact on their team this season.

We've seen some good performances by Drummond, Jones and Sullinger, while White remains a big question.

19. Raptors Fans Have Hope

For the first time since Chris Bosh took a trip down south, Toronto has a chance—an outside one, but a chance nonetheless—to make the playoffs. 

More exciting than seeing the Raptors play good basketball has to be seeing Raptors fans with hope again. They don't take it to the extreme like Knicks or Lakers fans; instead, they approach it with an almost silent optimism, kind of like Golden State fans.

These are the fans who are crushed when their team doesn't live up to expectations, but they still aren't surprised. And seeing them finally succeed is like seeing a three-legged dog in a Frisbee-catching competition: heartwarming and entertaining.

Toronto will probably play meaningful games into February, but it'll probably end up falling out of favor around the time the trade deadline rolls around.

18. Slightly Warranted Knicks Hype

The Knicks are a different team this season—not necessarily better, but different. They've set themselves up with a lineup that's going to be interesting, but they don't seem good enough to take down one of the league's big boys.

Fans will point to the additions of Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas as evidence that they're better, but I can hardly see how three guys who are 38 and older are good for an NBA team, especially when the reigning champions won the title because of their youth and athleticism.

The most jarring report recently has been that Rasheed Wallace, the fourth-oldest addition of the offseason, is closer to playing than Camby is.

Still, they have the opportunity to play small ball with Carmelo Anthony at power forward, and they can even try to take Amar'e Stoudemire off the bench when he comes back from his knee injury.

17. Old Guys Help Title Contenders

One of the best things to see with guys near the end of their careers is when they are no longer franchise centerpieces and instead decide to help a team win a title in a slightly lesser role.

Seriously, if there's one positive to come out of Miami's title last season, it was that Juwan Howard and Shane Battier each took home a ring.

This year, we'll see Ray Allen go for another one with the Heat, Jason Terry go for another with the Celtics and Steve Nash go for his first with the Lakers.

16. The Year of Going Home

What if I were to tell you that this year we'll see the first Knicks game in Denver since Carmelo Anthony was traded to New York?

On top of that we'll see Steve Nash going back to Phoenix, Andrew Bynum going back to Los Angeles, Andre Iguodala going back to Philly, Dwight Howard going back to Orlando and Ray Allen going back to Boston.

How's that for excitement?

Remember how thrilling it was to see LeBron James back in Cleveland for the first time? Of the six games mentioned above, two of them will probably be "welcome home" games, while the other four will be hostile at the very least.

15. Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings on Contract Years

One of the most interesting teams to keep an eye on is the Milwaukee Bucks. They probably won't scare many of the top teams, but they'll be one of the most fun borderline playoff contenders.

It's not that they'll be killing teams left and right, but we could end up seeing Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings take 20 shots a game...apiece. They're both coming into the final year of their respective contracts and hoping to impress potential suitors.

It would probably make more sense for the two of them to work together and show that they're team players, but I'd put my money on them looking for their own shots before trying to help the team out too much.

14. Roy Hibbert, Paul George Try To Take over Indiana

Danny Granger has been the de facto leader of the Indiana Pacers for a few years—ever since the team fell apart and stayed stagnant near the bottom of the league. However, he's not the leader this team needs; he's the guy that bridged the gap between eras.

What they have, however, are two guys who are both young, exciting and budding All-Stars in Roy Hibbert and Paul George.

After giving Hibbert a big deal, they're going to expect him to step up his production, but he should also be the leader of this team's defense as the anchor down low. Meanwhile, George, as the budding do-it-all guard, should be able to take on a bigger role in the offense.

They're going to need some leadership in order to take the next step and knock off one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference for a shot at a title.

13. Knicks vs. Nets

For the first time in a long time, we have a rivalry in the New York metropolitan era that legitimately matters.

The Nets moved to Brooklyn, and the subsequent offseason retooling has put them nearly level with the Knicks talent-wise, which means these two teams will not only be vying for the New York fans, but also for a playoff spot.

Even better, a completely new set of fans who are either jaded by the Knicks or were never on the bandwagon in the first place is ready to pack the new arena in Brooklyn and get it rocking loud enough to shake the place.

Will it be an actual rivalry all season long, or will the Nets fall off enough that it doesn't matter? All that and more will be decided in the next few months.

12. Andrew Bynum's Philly Adventure

One of the more interesting "new team" storylines of the year has to be how the Philadelphia 76ers will fare now their relatively new team.

What they relied on last season was Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand anchoring a defense from the outside and inside, respectively. Now that both Iggy and Brand are gone, the team will rely on the play of its young guards and Andrew Bynum underneath.

So long as he stays healthy, Bynum should be a dominant scorer in the post, giving them something they lacked last season, but Bynum isn't the defender that Brand was, even at nearly a decade his junior.

Should the Sixers end up with a high-powered offense and a good-enough defense, then this team could be making waves when the playoffs roll around.

11. Kevin Durant's 4-Peat Feat

The last time an NBA player won the scoring title four times in a row, the league was in its budding stage as it integrated international players and was led by a certain former North Carolina graduate.

Michael Jordan won the scoring title seven seasons in a row. Then came his two baseball seasons, and then another three in a row.

Kevin Durant is the first player to win three in a row since Jordan did it between 1996 and 1998. Now he's looking to be the first guy to string at least four in a row since Jordan put together his astonishing seven.

Kobe Bryant is probably out as a contender, but LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are always going to be there to take a shot at his hold atop the league.

10. JaVale McGee Continues To Entertain the Internet

JaVale McGee's wackiness is probably doing wonders for how the Internet population rate him as a player. They don't look at the physical attributes while completely ignoring the downside of his game, they look at his huge shortcomings and then a long, hard look at what he can actually do on the court.

McGee's biggest asset has always been his size and athleticism, while his biggest fault has been his mental lapses.

While that's not something that endears him to his coaches, hometown fans or even his teammates, it's something that's made the Internet love him over the past few seasons. If he can continue that type of stellar goofiness, he could easily become one of the most well-liked players in the league.

9. The Rookies Race

It's been a while since the Rookie of the Year race was this muddled. Last season, the obvious choice was Kyrie Irving; the year before, it was between John Wall and Blake Griffin. 2010 was the best race, as three guys (Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings) all had a shot to win it at one point.

This year projects to be like 2010. Anthony Davis has to be the front-runner, and the likelihood of him averaging a double-double might put it on lockdown, but the potential high-scoring power of Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard and the all-around play of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist could close this race up nicely.

8. Golden State, Minnesota Take a Run

For too long we've been without Minnesota and Golden State in the thick of a playoff race, and while they're not the most popular teams in the league, it's fun to have some new teams out there to shake things up.

Golden State might have the best chance now that Minnesota is missing Kevin Love and Dallas will be without Dirk Nowitzki for a bit, but they have the potential for injury issues of their own.

Meanwhile, Minnesota has a shot at making a big run once they get Love and Ricky Rubio back, especially if Brandon Roy and Andrei Kirilenko can put together solid seasons.

At least we know the race for the final spots in the Western Conference is going to be exciting; the East is still very much in question.

7. The Davids Take a Shot at Goliaths

While it's true that the league is very much a top-heavy entity right now, that doesn't mean that the big boys can't be dethroned when the playoffs come around.

When you take a look at the top of the league, five teams stick out: Miami, Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio and Boston.

However, there are plenty of teams capable of taking down those top five teams. 

From the Clippers to the Nuggets and Grizzlies in the Western Conference to the Pacers, Sixers, Knicks and even the Nets in the East, there's a lot of firepower in the middle of the pack that seems to be getting a bit overlooked.

6. Denver Throws out the League's Most Interesting Team

The Lakers and Heat are going to be at the top of the league in terms of who gets the most headlines over the course of the season, but if there's one team that'll be more fun to watch from a basketball lover's standpoint, it's the Denver Nuggets.

Denver's fast-paced offense will look different than it did last season with the addition of Andre Iguodala and a full season of Wilson Chandler, but it's even more than that.

The offense is what the Nuggets hang their hats on, sure, but they probably won't have the gaping defensive shortcomings they had a season ago.

As far as interesting lineups go, Denver could easily throw out an enormous lineup with Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee playing alongside Kenneth Faried, Iggy and Andre Miller, or it can go tiny with Ty Lawson and Miller in the backcourt and Iggy, Chandler and Faried rounding out the frontcourt.

There are endless options with this team, and with a coach as inventive as George Karl at the helm, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Nuggets do a few crazy things this season.

5. The Clippers Try To Keep Up with the Joneses

The Los Angeles Clippers continue to have a little brother's identity in the Western Conference, despite the huge strides they've made over the past few seasons.

Where they stand is somewhere above the Nuggets and Grizzlies, but somewhere below the Thunder, Lakers and Spurs, which is a problem. 

Sure, a jump shot from Blake Griffin automatically makes them a more dangerous team, but there's got to be something they can do in order to assert themselves as legitimate title contenders.

The Clippers have no problem hanging in games and even finishing most of them out, but they just aren't quite to the point where they can be considered contenders yet. 

4. Old Teams Take on Superpowers

The most interesting story surrounding basketball theory has to be that the Spurs and Celtics are considered legitimate title contenders this season, which seems to go against all logic.

Basketball continues to be a young man's game, where athleticism and speed reign supreme so long as there isn't a distinct advantage toward the old fellows where IQ is concerned.

However, even with guys advancing well into their 30s and playing large roles on their teams, Boston and San Antonio continue to look as if they could quite realistically dispose of one of the younger, more athletic teams at the top of their respective conferences.

It probably wouldn't get the ratings, and it wouldn't make for flashy basketball, but how cool would a Spurs-Celtics NBA Finals be?

3. David Stern Continues His Warpath

He's like Darth Vader after The Empire Strikes Back. He just got Boba Fett to track down Han Solo and forced Lando Calrissian to help capture Solo and encase him in carbonite. 

He's like Stella after she got her groove back.

He's like Gordon Bombay after the shootout win over Iceland in D2: The Mighty Ducks.

To make a long story short, David Stern has his swagger back after the lockout threatened to completely take it away.

He's already leaned on the league to implement an anti-flopping rule, and now he's thrown together the Reggie Miller Rule, all there to get rid of the least fan-friendly parts of the game.

Stern is getting ready to retire sometime in the near future, but he's not nearly close to being finished working on his legacy.

2. Competition Atop the Western Conference

What is there to be more excited about than the tippy top of basketball competition in the Western Conference? Well, there's at least one more thing to come, but not much, you can be sure about that.

With the Lakers completely revamped, the Spurs trying to get back to the Western Conference finals for the second year in a row and the Oklahoma City Thunder ready to go into the season with a chip on their shoulder, a monkey on their back and a screaming Jeff Van Gundy wrapped around their leg, the top of the West is ready to explode with excitement.

There's a case to be made for at least six teams in the West to make it to the conference finals, and it wouldn't be too surprising if any of those six teams made it to the NBA Finals.

I've yet to decide whether I'm hoping to see one of the three expected teams to make it out of the West, or one of the Grizzlies, Clippers or Nuggets in the finals. Whatever the result, thrilling basketball is a given. 

1. LeBron's Continuation and All Things Miami Heat-Ish

There's a legacy growing before our eyes, and we've finally begun to appreciate LeBron James for what he is.

It's possible to hate the man and accept the fact that he's the best player in the game; even most Cavs fans would agree to that fact. Hell, I'd say it's even possible to enjoy a game in which he's dominating if you dislike the fellow.

LeBron has a shot at winning his fourth NBA MVP award, which would put him one behind Michael Jordan and two behind Kareem Abdul-Jabar, if anybody's counting.

Beyond that, his team is pretty good as well. It's going to be interesting to see how the Heat play with an even bigger bull's-eye on their backs, what Ray Allen contributes, if Chris Bosh can stand an entire season at center (or LeBron at power forward), if Dwyane Wade can stay healthy and if Erik Spoelstra gets any kind of credit for tinkering with the lineup.

I'm not sure if they'll repeat as NBA champs, but I'm sure they'll give it one hell of a run.

If you are one of those twitterers, you can follow me @JDorsey33.