The 2015-16 NBA season is slated to open on Oct. 28, 2015 with the official full schedule to be released any time this week.
You may have already heart that the defending champion Golden State Warriors will play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 25, a rematch of the two teams which faced off in the recently concluded NBA finals.
On opening day however, there seems to be an equally interesting matchup of two powerhouse Western Conference teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the souped up San Antonio Spurs as bared by Darnell Mayberry via Twitter.
The Thunder will host the powerhouse Spurs in what should provide NBA fans a glimpse of how good the roster has become.
In focus will be of course LaMarcus Aldridge as well as David West, two pivotal additions for the wards of coach Gregg Popovich who will be teaming up with mainstays Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
The Spurs are obvious favorites this year with their manpower improvement though the Thunder are expected to go full throttle as well.
The Thunder are expected to debut with a healthy Kevin Durant who missed practically the whole of last season together with Russell Westbrook who is coming off a stellar year.
In the spotlight will also be debuting head coach Billy Donovan who takes over from Scott Brook. All eyes will be on what changes the former Florida Gators coach has instilled in the team, not to mention how he will utilize Durant and Westbrook.
The match is the second time that the Thunder will play host to the Spurs. OKC hosted San Antonio on opening day back in the 2012-13 with the Spurs winning by just two points.
Aside from opening day, the Thunder will also be hosting for the first time on Christmas Day. The Thunder will play the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 25, according to The Oklahoman.
The time of that Christmas Day match has yet to be finalized though it may likely be held in the afternoon.
Other teams that will be playing on Christmas Day based on the tentative schedule released include the Miami Heat hosting the New Orleans Pelicans and a battle of Los Angeles-based teams – LA Lakers vs. the LA Clippers.
Before anything else, it would be best to focus on opening day. October 28 will provide everyone a glimpse of how strong the Spurs really are for the coming season and perhaps a yardstick to see if the powerhouse club can improve on last year’s finish.
The Spurs lost ot the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2015-16 NBA season, courtesy of a last minute shot by Chris Paul in game 7.
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