On October 16, Beijing time, the NBA preseason will continue, and the league has scheduled seven games. The battle between the Lakers and the Warriors is undoubtedly the focus, James and Curry will usher in a superstar matchup, and Wiggins, who was absent in the first four preseason games, will also usher in a comeback.
7:00: Celtics vs. Raptors
In the meeting two days ago, the Green Army rested 6 players in rotation and used an all-bench lineup, still winning the Raptors by 4 points. Pritchard contributed 19 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists, and made 5-of-11 three-pointers, and so far in the playoffs, Pritchard has made 16 three-pointers, the most in the league. Now, the Celtics are fighting the Raptors again, and many of the main players are expected to return, and Porzingis will continue to recover from injuries.
On the Raptors' side, there are also some injuries. Barrett, Bruce Brown and Walter remain sidelined, while Temple, Olynyk and Quickley are doubtful.
As last season's champions, the Celtics are unbeaten with 4 wins and 0 losses in the preseason. The Raptors are 1-2. In the regular season last season, the Celtics and Raptors met four times, and the winners were all Greens.
7:30: Spurs vs. Heat
Spurs' Vassell is confirmed to be sidelined with injury, and Wembanyama and Paul are expected to play together again. The Heat's Richardson is expected to continue to be sidelined with injury, while Burks, who rested in the last game, is expected to return. So far in the preseason, the Spurs are 2-1 and the Heat are 1-1. If Wemban and Adebayo can play normally, the clash between the two will be a big attraction.
The addition of Paul has made a difference in the performance of the Spurs, especially in terms of offensive organization, which has been significantly improved. The Heat are a relatively balanced team, and Spo has given more players a chance to show themselves in the preseason, with 16 players fielded in the last game against the Pelicans, and all 15 players played in double digits except for Love who played only seven minutes.
In the regular season last season, the Spurs and the Heat faced each other twice, and both were won by the Heat.
7:30 a.m.: Hornets vs. Knicks
Ball, who rested the Hornets in the last game, is expected to return, while Nick Smith Jr. is expected to continue to be injured. The Knicks' Mitchell Robinson and Kevin McCuller Jr. are confirmed to be sidelined.
The Knicks are one of three teams undefeated in the preseason, the other two being the Celtics and Warriors. After the introduction of Towns, the Knicks' starting lineup is very luxurious, but Towns is still finding his form, and after three preseason games, Towns has shot only 35% from the field and 22.2% from three-point range. The Hornets' Ball is in good shape, averaging 21 points, 5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in the two preseason games, making 10 three-pointers in both games and shooting 45.5% from three-point range.
In the regular season last season, the Hornets and Knicks met four times, and it was the Knicks who won.
8:00: Pelicans vs Rockets
The Pelicans' Murphy III and Ingram will be sidelined, while the Rockets' Eason and Landale will be rested. Both the Pelicans and Rockets are 1-1 in the preseason. The confrontation between Zion and Shen Jing and Smith is a major highlight of this game. In addition, Shepard will continue to adapt to the rhythm of the NBA, and he shot 5-of-7 from the field in Game 2, contributing 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, which was significantly better than his preseason debut.
In the first two games of the preseason, Shen Jing and Green played about 22 minutes per game, Shen Jing averaged 17 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.5 steals per game, and Green averaged 16.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1 assist per game.
In the regular season last season, the Pelicans and Rockets met four times, with each side winning two.
9:00: Thunder vs. Nuggets
In the regular season last season, the Thunder Nuggets were both 57-25 and ranked in the top two in the West. Will the new season's Western Conference Finals be staged between these two teams? In the preseason, the Thunder went 2-1 and the Nuggets went 0-3. Alexander vs. Jokic, and the two MVP-caliber stars will face off.
In terms of injuries, Nuggets' Murray twisted his knee in the last preseason game and played only half of the game and could miss this preseason game. The Thunder's Jaylin Williams and Kendrick Williams are also expected to miss out through injury. Previously, an anonymous executive said that Murray is regressing and Porter Jr. is also overrated, and he believes that the Nuggets' current roster will be in trouble.
In the regular season last season, the Nuggets and Thunder met 4 times, and the Thunder won 3-1.
9:00: Kings vs. Jazz
So far in the preseason, the Kings are 0-3 and the Jazz are 3-1. The Kings' Devin Carter, Lyles, Huerter, Orlando Robinson are expected to continue to be sidelined with injuries. The Jazz's Collier is out, and Markkanen, Collins, Clarkson and Mills, who were previously rested, are all expected to return.
The three core players, Fox, DeRozan and Jr. Sa, all played three preseason games, among them, the new recruit DeRozan played an average of 23.5 minutes per game, contributing 13 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He and the Kings' two stars will need time to continue to grind. The Jazz's Markkanen is in good shape, averaging 18 points and 4.7 rebounds in less than 23 minutes per game in three preseason games, shooting 41.7% from three-point range.
In the regular season last season, the Kings and Jazz met three times, and it was the Kings who won.
10:00: Warriors vs. Lakers
After teaming up to win gold at the Olympics, James and Curry are back in rival mode. In the pre-game interview, James praised Curry's performance in the final two games of the Olympics and said that he would remember this journey together, and when asked if the two still have a chance to be teammates, James replied "I don't know".
In terms of injuries, the Lakers' Vanderbilt, Wood, Koloko, and Traore are confirmed to be sidelined, and Reaves may not play due to an ankle injury. The Warriors only have Pojames missing with a broken nose, Curry, Green and Wiggins will all play, with Wiggins missing the Warriors' first four preseason games due to illness.
So far in the preseason, the Warriors are 4-0 and the Lakers are 1-2. In the regular season last season, the Lakers and Warriors met 4 times, and the Warriors won 3-1.