Anticipation for the upcoming NBA regular season is at an all-time high. Which opening week matchups should fans plan to watch?
An interesting finish to the 2021 season left coaches, players, and analysts hungry for more NBA basketball. Counting down the days until the start of the next season has been cumbersome, but fans have remained persistent. On Wednesday, August 17th, the league released the schedule for the upcoming season – creating a buzz throughout NBA Twitter.
An exciting slew of games has made this year’s opening week anticizing for all spectators. Which exhibition games should fans circle on their calendar?
NBA Opening Week Matchup 3. Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns
October 19, 2022, at 10 p.m. EST on ESPN
A Western Conference Semifinal rematch will cause the temperature to rise in the Footprint Center on opening day. Losing the grip on a 2-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks cut Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams’ team deep in the last post-season. Their chances of returning to the Finals faded in front of their eyes. Superstar Luka Doncic’s fadeaway jumpers played a hand in the Mavs’ series victory. Consecutive thirty-point performances from Doncic in Games Six and Seven sealed the Suns’ fate – eliminating them from the playoff bracket.
Winning on opening day is essential to building momentum for the upcoming season. Phoenix’s veterans like Chris Paul and Devin Booker are anxious to remind the conference how dangerous they are. In 2021, the Suns’ starting guards contributed 15 assists per night for their team – more than half of the squad’s 27.4 nightly average.
A ten o’clock tip-off will give fans plenty of time to get settled in after a long day.