On October 23, Beijing time, the 2024-25 NBA regular season will kick off. The Celtics host the Knicks, and they will receive last season's championship ring before the game. Will the Knicks, who brought in Towns and Bridges, be the spoiler of the Green Army's ring night? The Lakers' home opener against the Timberwolves, can James officially achieve father and son on the same stage in the first game? How will the Timberwolves in exchange for Randle and DiVincenzo perform?

7:30 a.m.: Knicks vs. Celtics

In the finals last season, the Green Army defeated the Mavericks 4-1 to win the championship, and the new season's title defense journey will start with the opening game against the Knicks. The NBA has produced six different championships over the past six years, with the last team to successfully defend the title being the Warriors, who won back-to-back titles in 2016-17 and 2017-18. The last time the Green won two consecutive championships was in 1967-68 and 1968-69.

"We want to win every year – that's our goal, that's the standard, that's our expectation," said Mazzulla, the head coach of the Green Army. That's the challenge. ”

The Celtics largely retained their core roster, having their best NBA record in the regular season last season (64-18) before winning the franchise's 18th championship in the playoffs with a 16-3 record. Before the race, they will also raise the new championship flag.

The Knicks finished second in the East with 50 wins in the regular season last season, but lost to the Pacers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Knicks haven't reached the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000 and haven't won an NBA championship since 1973.

The Knicks made some big moves in the offseason, one of which was sending forward Randle and guard DiVincenzo to the Timberwolves in exchange for Towns. The Knicks also acquired Mikal Bridges from the Nets.

"We can't just worry about one team," Downs said, "and we have to worry about the entire Eastern Conference. In order to achieve what we want to do, and what the city desires us to do, we have to not only be a team that beats Boston, but we have to find a way to beat every team in the East. ”

Brunson remains the Knicks' core backcourt. Last season, Brunson finished fifth in the MVP vote and was also an All-Star for the first time, averaging 28.7 points per game this season.

The big men on both sides have some injury problems. The Knicks lost two centers. Mitchell Robinson undergoes two ankle surgeries a year and is not expected to return until January. Achiuwa is sidelined with a left hamstring strain and is expected to take 2-4 weeks to be re-evaluated.

Celtic center Porzingis underwent surgery on his left leg at the end of June and is expected to miss at least the first two months of the season. Last season, Porzingis was 21-4 in 25 games he missed, and Porzingis averaged 20.1 points per game in 57 games.

ESPN's prediction of a win percentage is 33.8% for the Knicks and 66.2% for the Celtics.

10:00: Timberwolves s Lakers

The Lakers didn't make much of a move in the offseason, getting Bronny, the eldest son of Knecht and James, through the draft. The Timberwolves traded Towns for Randle and DiVincenzo to adjust the lineup around Edwards.

James and Bronny are yet to be confirmed to be on the same stage in the opener, after all, with Bronny's current ability, it will be difficult for him to fit in the Lakers' regular rotation. Lakers new coach Redick also said that the team has not yet decided on the plan for James father and son to share the stage.

Last season, the Lakers went 47-35 and qualified for the playoffs through the playoffs, but were eliminated by the Nuggets in the first round. James is still in excellent form, averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game, and has played in 71 regular season games, a new Lakers career high. Thick eyebrows averaged 24.7 points and 12.6 rebounds per game, a career-high rebound, and was named to the All-Defensive Team for the third time.

On the Timberwolves side, Edwards played the best performance of his career so far last season, averaging 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, ranking seventh in the MVP voting and being selected to the All-NBA Second Team. In the summer, he also represented the United States Olympic team with Zhan Mei and won the gold medal.

The Timberwolves went 56-26 last season and made it all the way to the Western Conference finals, eventually losing to the Mavericks. In order to build a more reasonable roster around Edwards, the Timberwolves chose to trade Towns in exchange for Randle, who has been selected as an All-Star three times in the past four years, and DiVincenzo, who has three-point firepower.

The Timberwolves already have Gobert on the defensive end, and they're looking to improve on the offensive end as well. Last season, the Timberwolves ranked first in the league in defensive efficiency, but only ranked 17th in the league in offensive efficiency.

In terms of injuries, the Lakers' Wood, Vanderbilt and Koloko are confirmed to be sidelined, and the Timberwolves are fully healthy.

ESPN's prediction of a win rate in this game is: Timberwolves 53.3%, Lakers 46.7%