The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are opening the NBA season in a top matchup and the TV coverage is on ESPN and streaming online from the WatchESPN website. The game starts at 8 pm ET from Chesapeake Energy Arena and has plenty of stars with LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Tim Duncan opening up the season.
The Thunder are getting back Kevin Durant for the season after her missed most of last year with a foot injury and the team is hoping he stays healthy. OKC has new head coach in Billy Donovan, while the Spurs come in as one of the title contenders in the west. Durant played in 27 games last season and he says that he is fully healthy this year, while Westbrook stepped up with Durant out and nearly won the MVP, okay not nearly, but he had the stats.
The Spurs come in as one of the main favorites after their offseason moves, as the team signed LaMarcus Aldridge and he could give the team another superstar for years to come when Duncan leaves. The team has the Big 3 with Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker back for another run, while Kawhi Leonard just signed a max deal and will be another star in the making for the team. David West also joins the roster and the team is stacked heading into the season.
Check here for the Spurs and Thunder live coverage.
Check here for the score, play by play and updates from the game.
San Antonio won two of three in the season matchup last year and now the two will get started right away this season. The Thunder front court has Enes Kanter, Mitch McGary and Nick Collison coming back and if Durant can stay healthy, there is no reason why the team shouldn't be in the mix by the end of the season. Aldridge had a strong preseason and while that doesn't mean much, it likely helped him get comfortable with his new team.
The Thunder dealt with injuries to Durant, Westbrook and Serge Ibaka at times last season and now the team is hoping they can all stay healthy. The team is starting Enes Kanter and Andre Roberson in the game, while the spurs have Aldridge, Parker, Danny Green, Leonard and Duncan in their starting lineup. These two teams could matchup in the playoffs this season and this could be an early preview of that potential battle.