Boston Celtics seek repeat, LeBron James and son unite as NBA season opens
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LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers setting a screen for his son Bronny James against Tyus Jones of the Phoenix Suns.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – Defending champions the Boston Celtics launch a quest for back-to-back titles, LeBron James teams up with his 20-year-old son and familiar faces debut in new places when the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) 79th season begins on Oct 22.
The Celtics will raise a record 18th championship banner when the New York Knicks visit Boston, while James and the Los Angeles Lakers entertain the Minnesota Timberwolves in opening-night contests.
Boston fans have not celebrated back-to-back NBA crowns since 1968 and 1969 – the end of the Bill Russell dynasty – but, after ending a 16-year title drought, star Jayson Tatum yearns for such glory.
“It was never just about just trying to win one,” Tatum said. “Now you get to be at least in the same room with the other Celtics, great teams, the other great players.”
“Now it’s just a conversation of how great are you trying to be?”
Tatum, who helped the United States team win Paris Olympic gold, says the Celtics feel different as champions.
“It does feel different being up here as a champion and knowing what it takes, and wanting to be on the top of the mountain as many times as you can,” he said.
Tatum and Jaylen Brown lead a veteran Celtics line-up with star guard Jrue Holiday and injured centre Kristaps Porzingis. No team have retained their title since the Golden State Warriors in 2018.
“We want to win a championship every single year – that’s the goal... that’s the expectation,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Just because something worked before doesn’t mean it’s going to work again. That’s the challenge.”
Jameses keep it in the family
The NBA all-time scoring leader James, who turns 40 in December, joined his eldest son Bronny in the Lakers line-up during a pre-season loss to Phoenix, the NBA’s first father-son combination.
“Definitely a moment I’ll never forget,” LeBron said. “It was like being in The Matrix or something. It just didn’t feel real.”
Current stars Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, Jalen Brunson and Jaren Jackson Jr, as well as the late Kobe Bryant, all had fathers who played in the league.
Similarly, Gary Payton II, Tim Hardaway Jr and Scotty Pippen Jr are progeny of famous NBA names.
But the LeBron-Bronny James situation remains unique.
LeBron, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and star big man Anthony Davis sparked the Lakers to the 2023 Western Conference Finals but they crashed out in the first round of the play-offs last season.
They are not fancied to make a deep run this term.
Knicks hope to go to Towns
A huge off-season deal sent centre Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks, with forward Julius Randle and guard Donte DiVincenzo going to Minnesota.
New York also added Mikal Bridges and, with All-Star guard Brunson among the veterans, the Knicks could challenge for their first crown since 1973.
“We can’t just be worried about one team. We’ve got to be worried about the whole Eastern Conference,” Towns said. “We need to be a team not just that beats Boston, but finds a way to beat every team in the East.”
Klay Thompson was traded from Golden State to Dallas, where the four-time NBA champion will partner with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to give last season’s NBA runners-up Mavericks a triple-threat attack.
Will Sixers stay fit enough?
Swingman Paul George had starred for the Los Angeles Clippers last season but was not re-signed, so the 14-year veteran signed a free agent deal to join star centre Joel Embiid and guard Tyrese Maxey at the Philadelphia 76ers.
Embiid will see limited action on back-to-back nights to keep him healthy into the play-offs, while George has had his own availability issues over the last five seasons.
“We’re very focused on April, May, June,” 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said. “That doesn’t mean that the time right now isn’t very important as well, but we’re going to be very smart about how we manage (Embiid).”
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard lead the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers should contend again for top spots.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led a young Oklahoma City line-up to top seeds in the Western Conference last season and they will be formidable again. So will the Denver Nuggets, powered by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, and Phoenix, who feature Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Booker. AFP
