The Spurs kick off their regular season without Tim Duncan for the first time in 19 years on Tuesday, the first of two California road games will see the perennial contenders move forward with the additions of Pau Gasol, David Lee and first round draft pick Dejounte Murray. Murray shone in his one Summer League outing, posting 21 points and taking in 5 rebounds, and will immediately start to be groomed to receive the proverbial torch passing from Tony Parker. The team finished with the most potent defense in the league last season, holding opponents to an average of 92.9 points per contest. The organization will look to LaMarcus Aldridge, who averaged a team-leading 8.5 boards last season, to continue its dominance. In 2015-16, Kawhi Leonard led the team in scoring with 21.2 points over 72 games played. The Spurs will contest four of their first six games away from home, where they finished 27-14 last year.
Looking to follow a crushingly disappointing end to their historic regular season record of 73-9, the Warriors are viewed in most circles as not only the favorites to emerge from the West, but also to take the NBA championship crown from the Cleveland Cavaliers. To do so, the club has put together a ‘super team’ for the ages by acquiring the rights to Kevin Durant in the off-season. How Durant fares in a new system will be revealed over the coming months, but Golden State will be well served to let the seven-time All-Star do some of the heavy lifting offensively, where he averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5 assists in his last year with Oklahoma City. Steph Curry will be hard-pressed to come close to his history making onslaught from beyond the arc (where he dropped an NBA record 402 three-pointers during the regular season). How Steve Kerr is able to rein in an increasingly mercurial Draymond Green will go a long way in determining how well the new roster gels.
