NBA Opening Week: Ranking the 5 best matchups to start the year

Giannis drives on Celtics (Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports)
Giannis drives on Celtics (Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports)
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Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors huddle (Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports)

1. Los Angeles Lakers @ Golden State Warriors – Tuesday, October 18

Maybe it’s a bit cliché, but I’m perhaps most interested in seeing how the Los Angeles Lakers look during the early portion of the regular season.

This is the team that just won a championship a few seasons ago and now looks like a struggling franchise. The hope is that health is what will fix the team. After all, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are top 10 players (when healthy).

The real question revolves around Russell Westbrook. They experimented with bringing him off the bench during the final preseason game and I’m interested to see if that’s something that they are going to use at the start of the season.

Plus, they also get an early test against the Golden State Warriors, who have the opportunity to be dominant this season. It will be a nice measuring stick game for the Lakers.