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After a shorter offseason than anyone would've liked, the 2020-21 NBA season is set to tip off Tuesday. First up: Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors will visit the Brooklyn Nets, where Kevin Durant will return to action against his former team after 18 months rehabbing the torn Achilles he suffered in the 2019 Finals.

In the nightcap, the Los Angeles Lakers will open their 2020 title defense against the rival Los Angeles Clippers, who are looking to rebound after they blew a 3-1 second-round lead to the Denver Nuggets in the bubble. From there we'll be off and running on a 72-game sprint to the playoffs, and perhaps by then we'll be able to have fans back in the arenas. 

Along the way, here are my top 10 storylines to follow in what promises to be yet another dramatic NBA season. 

1. LeBron closing on Jordan

I have no stock in the rings culture; I already think LeBron James is a better all-time player than Michael Jordan no matter how many championships he ends up with. But for a lot of people, rings are the thing. Jordan has six. LeBron has four. 

Considering LeBron is going to end up trumping Jordan in just about every statistical category, to say nothing of the fact that he's simply a bigger, better athlete with a far more diverse skill set, that two-championship gap, at present, represents the last stitch of fabric -- in my opinion -- in Jordan's GOAT case.  

When LeBron was stuck on three titles and the Durant-Curry Warriors were still lording over the league, the idea that LeBron could catch Jordan's title count had become far-fetched. Not so much anymore. He got No. 4 in the bubble, and the Lakers are the favorite to win again this season.

It won't be easy. The Clippers are still loaded. So are the Bucks and Nets. But if LeBron and Anthony Davis stay healthy, when you look at the Lakers roster, it's hard to imagine them not winning it all again. That would be No. 5 for LeBron, who's showing no signs of slowing down. You do the math. 

2. When, and where, will James Harden be traded?

A betting man would be a fool to wager one single dollar that Harden will finish this season in Houston. He's gone. The only questions are when will it happen, and where will he end up? It could be the 76ers, Heat, Raptors; it could be anywhere, really, with recent reports indicating the Rockets are now exploring three-team trades in search of their desired package. 

Harden has two guaranteed years left on his deal, which gives Houston all the leverage it needs to hold out for the right deal, but this is going to get very uncomfortable very quickly. My guess is a trade happens sooner than later, and when it does, the championship picture could look entirely different. 

3. Steph Curry unleashed

After Klay Thompson's devastating injury, we're all about to be reintroduced to the phenomenon that is watching Stephen Curry try to put a team nobody believes in on his back. He has no choice. If the Warriors are going to have any shot at a playoff berth, let alone make any noise once they get there, Curry is going to have to go OFF on pretty much a nightly basis. 

Think the 2013 playoffs when he torched the Nuggets and hung 44 on the Spurs. Think 2014-15 when he won his first MVP. Think 2015-16 when he sunk 402 3-pointers and won his second MVP. Think Game 3 of the 2019 Finals when he put 47 on the Raptors with Thompson and Kevin Durant both out. 

Curry is going to be seeing double teams in his sleep with the attention he's going to draw without a fear-striking No. 2 option next to him, but he's up for it. I wouldn't be surprised if he flirts with 30 points a game and upwards of 300 3-pointers despite the shortened season. If he can get the Warriors into the range of the No. 4 or 5 seed, a third MVP is a real possibility. 

4. The K.D. and Kyrie show

Kyrie Irving might be a one-man Broadway drama off the court, but he looked as magical as ever on the court in limited preseason action, shooting 58 percent from the field and 55 percent from 3 in his two warmup games before the real games start, beginning Tuesday night against the Warriors. 

Speaking of the Warriors, Durant's first game back after 18 months off rehabbing a torn Achilles is against his former team, and he looked spectacular during the preseason, as well. New Nets coach Steve Nash says Durant is back close to 100 percent, but the only way to know he's truly all the way back is to see him in real, regular-season action. 

If Irving and Durant are indeed healthy and back to the height of their powers, the Nets are a massive problem. They have elite shooting with Durant, Irving, Joe Harris and Landry Shamet. They have secondary playmakers in Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie, who can play at an All-Star level any given night. They have size in Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan. They are balanced, deep and motivated, the latter an extension of their two best players. Durant wants to prove he can win a title without the Warriors. Irving wants to prove he doesn't need LeBron. 

Oh, and there's still chance they add James Harden to the mix. 

5. Luka, Luka, Luka

I picked Damian Lillard to win MVP, but Luka Doncic, one could assert, is actually the better bet. The Mavericks were this close to taking the Clippers out in the first round before Denver did it in the second round. The Kristaps Porzingis ejection in Game 1 changed everything. After Game 3, Porzingis was out of the series altogether after tearing his meniscus, and Doncic was on a bum ankle himself. 

I'm not saying the Mavericks would've won that series had Luka and Porzingis been healthy, or had that bogus ejection not happened, but I am saying that Luka Doncic was the best player in a series that featured Kawhi Leonard. He is so great. His size and strength with the ball is astounding. The way he manipulates defenders, getting them on his hip, downshifting as he gets near the rim, finishing one time down, zipping a cross-court pass to a corner shooter the next time, it's poetry. There's not a defender in the league who can get him off his pace. 

With Doncic controlling the game, getting anywhere he wants to get on the court, and Porzingis providing his shooting and spacing, the Mavericks, who made perhaps the best under-the-radar move of the offseason in bringing in Josh Richardson, can play with anyone. I would not be surprised one bit to see them in the conference finals giving the Lakers everything they can handle. 

6. Zion time

We only got 24 regular-season games out of Zion Williamson last season before the New Orleans Pelicans flamed out in the bubble, but that was more than enough to confirm his standing as one of the most explosive, powerful forces in the league at just 20 years old. 

Williamson is virtually unstoppable when he gets going downhill, and he has a knack for setting up his momentum off the dribble and the catch. As a cutter, he makes subtle shifts to get to his left hand before the ball arrives. He has a veteran's nuance when it comes to setting up his spin move. He understands the value of early position in the post, where he has tremendous footwork to complement his brute force and athleticism. His lob chemistry with Lonzo Ball is already dialed in.

Zion is about to take the NBA by storm, and the Pelicans are must-see TV because of it. 

7. Doc and the Sixers

This all changes if they end up trading for Harden, which would almost certainly cost them Ben Simmons, but for now this 76ers team is plenty intriguing as constructed. Brett Brown was heavily criticized toward the end of his run for not being creative enough to extract the most out of the Simmons-Embiid pairing; we'll see if coaching really was the problem, or if indeed this is simply a square-peg-in-a-round-hole situation.  

Once again, the Sixers look really good on paper. Simmons has shooting around him again with the additions of Danny Green and Seth Curry, and I'm betting on Shake Milton playing a lot with the starters to close games given his ability to create in the half court, particularly out of pick-and-roll sets, which are near and dear to Doc Rivers' coaching heart. 

Philly is still a huge team, with Dwight Howard backing up Embiid, and Simmons, Green and Tobias Harris all 6-foot-6 or bigger on the perimeter. Matisse Thybulle has seemingly dropped in Rivers' rotation, but he'll factor in as another long, athletic defender, and Tyrese Maxey could be a ton of fun off the bench. 

It's a tough call for Daryl Morey whether to pull the trigger on a Harden deal. You can definitely convince yourself Philly is in pretty good shape as is, recent disappointing campaigns notwithstanding. 

8. Clippers run it back

The Clippers fell apart in the bubble, blowing a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets in the second round that led to an offseason's worth of questioning Paul George's value on the court and respect, or lack thereof, in the locker room. Also, Doc Rivers was fired. 

Now George is set with a five-year, $190 million max extension and Ty Lue is in to replace Rivers. Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard is in a potential walk year with a player option for the 2021-22 season. Nobody thinks he'll leave the Clippers after forcing his way out of San Antonio and back to Southern California by way of Toronto, but another playoff bust and insiders might be singing a different tune. 

The Clippers lost Montrezl Harrell but they picked up Serge Ibaka, who makes them a more versatile team. With Ibaka's ability to shoot from 3, the Clippers can play five-out lineups without sacrificing rim protection. I love the Luka Kennard pick up as an under-the-radar move. I'm fine with Marcus Morris, though in a vacuum they probably paid him too much money. 

In the end, the Clippers still have everything it takes to compete for a title, but it feels like a fragile locker room and with the weight of championship expectations, well, let's just say this is a potentially combustible situation if things don't go well. 

9. Pressure is on Giannis

Before Giannis Antetokounmpo signed his five-year, $228 million max deal to remain with the Milwaukee Bucks through at least 2025, the pressure, to me, was all on the organization to prove to its franchise player that it can, and will, do whatever it takes to put a championship contender on the floor. Now that the front office has done its part, namely by trading for Jrue Holiday, the pressure shifts to Giannis to deliver a title. 

Or at least it should. 

The man is trying to become the first player since Larry Bird in the mid-eighties to win three straight MVP awards. At some point, if you're going to be in that class of player, you can't be a big part of the reason your team keeps coming up short. 

Sure, Mike Budenholzer could stand to deviate from his preconceived strategies that leave little room for adjustment, notably on defense, but at the end of the day, the Bucks have been stuck depending on Giannis to create offense when he's actually relatively simple to defend in the half court. 

Don't get it twisted: I'm not suggesting there's anything easy about staying in front of a locomotive such as Giannis. What I am saying is there isn't much guessing to it. He's going to put his head down and drive, plain and simple, so you send a bunch of defenders directly into his path and force him to either plow through them like bowling pins or kick out to good-but-not-great shooters, leaving Milwaukee's fate in lesser hands. 

Giannis is an all-world defender. He's unstoppable in the open floor. But in the half court, which is where almost every playoff series is ultimately decided, Giannis, a limited ball-handler who can't shoot with limited counter moves in traffic, has to be held accountable for Milwaukee's postseason shortcomings. Everything runs through him, and so far, it has consistently hit a wall. 

Perhaps Budenholzer and the Bucks are using him wrong, but that was for lack of playmaking options before. Now they have Holiday, along with Khris Middleton, both of whom are more than capable to alleviating much of Giannis' half-court burden. It's hard to find any excuses for why the Bucks shouldn't be considered arguably the top title contender outside the Lakers. If Giannis can't make that a reality, it's on him. 

10. Dame's best shot

The Blazers aren't among the chief championship contenders; that they could even make it as far as the conference finals, given the depth of the Western Conference, might be a long shot. Still, I would argue this is the most playoff-viable team that Damian Lillard has had at his disposal, certainly since he ascended to the ranks of the very best players in the world. 

Any team that starts Lillard and CJ McCollum in the backcourt is going to be a defensive disadvantage from the jump, but the addition of Robert Covington gives the Blazers at least an option to defend the elite wings in the West, an element they lacked last season after the departures of Moe Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu. With Derrick Jones. Jr., and Rodney Hood and Zach Collins back healthy, the Blazers have more lineup versatility than in years past. 

The Blazers can play big with Collins and Jusuf Nurkic. They can play small with Covington at the four, or even at the five if they want to go micro small. Terry Stotts might have enough depth and punch off the bench to stagger McCollum and Lillard, which keeps second units afloat -- second units that now have the added luxury of turning to Carmelo Anthony for offense. 

The Blazers look good on paper, some discouraging preseason performances notwithstanding. Lillard is my favorite for MVP, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Portland as this year's Nuggets making a surprise run to the conference finals, as it did in 2018-19 when it drew the optimal side of the bracket. 

Subplots

  • Reigniting the Heat: Miami has heard the talk that its bubble run to the Finals was a fluke. I remember when a certain faction of critics put the fluke label on the Golden State Warriors' 2015 championship; they heard it all, and came out the next season and won 73 games. The Heat are not as good as that Warriors team. They didn't win a title. But they have every right to believe they can play with, and beat, the best teams in the league, and Jimmy Butler with a point to prove is appointment television.
  • LaMelo Ball: This guy is a passing wizard, and it's not always the highlight dimes that catch your eye. His feel for the simple pass is extraordinary as well. He keeps it moving. Has a great feel for hitting rollers and poppers. The thing to watch will be his aggressiveness as a scorer. If teams can't play him solely to pass because they have to honor his scoring, he is going to make waves very quickly. James Borrego can play him off the ball with Devonte' Graham and/or Terry Rozier, too, if his 3-point shot finds some consistency, and there is evidence it can. 
  • Donovan and Rudy: The Jazz just signed Rudy Gobert to a $205 million supermax. I'm not sure he's worth that. I probably would've traded him before it got to this point, because I think he and Donovan Mitchell are pretty well topped out as a duo, which is to say Utah is going to be a good, solid team, but not a championship team with those two at the top. We'll see if I look stupid for saying that. Mitchell was an absolute beast in the bubble and has his own max extension to show for his first three years of excellence in the league. Bojan Bogdanovic is back, Joe Ingles is still solid, Jordan Clarkson is a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Mike Conley still has something in the tank, as evidenced by his brief resurgence in the bubble -- this Jazz team can be a borderline top-seven team in the regular season. But I think they have a clear ceiling in the playoffs. 
  • Hawks on the clock: Atlanta isn't expected to contend in any meaningful way, but GM Travis Schlenk is clearly ready for this team to push for the postseason after acquiring Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kris Dunn and Rajon Rondo in addition to drafting Onyeka Okongwu No. 6 overall. Add in last year's lottery picks Cam Reddish and DeAndre Hunter, along with John Collins, Kevin Heurter and Clint Capela, and the Hawks have all the makings of a top-five offense. Whether they can defend at a decent level will likely be the difference between a team that is all scoring and no substance and a team that can get into the playoffs and acquit itself admirably once there. Atlanta has had its time to evade expectations under the convenient cover of "building for the future." Now, the future has arrived. Time to deliver something real. 
  • Sleeping on the Celtics: There's a case to be made the Celtics got worse this offseason with the loss of Gordon Hayward and Kemba Walker's knee situation still being a mystery. There's also a case to be made we're way overlooking a team that has been to the conference finals two of the last three years. If Boston is going to remain among the Eastern Conference elite, it will be because of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Tatum was All-NBA last season and Jaylen Brown easily could've been, and perhaps should've been, an All-Star. I still like the Celtics quite a bit because I think Tatum is a top-10 player, I love Marcus Smart and their perimeter defense can be nightmarish. Walker is the X-factor. If he comes back healthy and able to explode like his old self, the Celtics can compete for a conference crown. 
  • Westbrook and the Wizards: Washington went all-in on keeping Bradley Beal happy by trading John Wall for Russell Westbrook after things went south in Houston. There's definitely intrigue with the Beal-Westbrook duo. Add in Davis Bertans, and Russ will have the shooting he needs around him. But Beal has also become a much more ball-dominant player over the last few years without Wall. How that dynamic plays out, given that Westbrook has made no bones about his desire to once again have full control of an offense, and whether Washington can ultimately become an even halfway real threat in the East will be interesting to track.