The 2017-2018 NBA season began on Tuesday, October 17 with the Boston Celtics travelling to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets heading to Oakland to play the Golden State Warriors.

  Many transactions occurred during the offseason, including All-Star players like small forwards Paul George and Carmelo Anthony moving to the Oklahoma City Thunder, point guard Kyrie Irving being traded to the Boston Celtics, and point guard Chris Paul transitioning to the Houston Rockets. However, assistant varsity basketball coach, and Jeff Daddio still has his eyes on other all star caliber players who stayed with their teams.  

  “[Russell] Westbrook, [will be fun to watch] because of his speed and pace of play, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, just based on his freakish athleticism, he does stuff out there I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody do.”, assistant varsity basketball coach and NBA fan Jeff Daddio said.

  The 2017 draft class had very high sought after talent. With the number one overall pick in the draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Markelle Fultz, one of college basketball’s top scorers out of the University of Washington. The Los Angeles Lakers selected Lonzo Ball second overall out of UCLA, the national celebrity looks to bring his elite passing ability to his hometown city. The Boston Celtics selected Jayson Tatum from Duke University with the third overall pick, the Celtics look for the 6’8’’ small forward to bring a new level of dynamic scoring to the team.

  “I think Jayson Tatum is going to be the top rookie because he has the most polished [offensive] game in the rookie class and he’s going to immediately step into a big role as a wing player for Boston, especially after they lost Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley.”, NBA fan, senior Quinn Welsh said.

  The Golden State Warriors look to win back to back championships this year with their lineup containing two MVP’s in Kevin Durant at small forward and Stephen Curry at point guard. Power forward Draymond Green and shooting guard Klay Thompson look to bring rebounds and more scoring to the floor. Jeff Daddio and Quinn Welsh agree that they are on pace to win another title. When asked who was their prediction to win the final this year, these were their responses:

   “It’s the warriors, still the most talented, some of the other teams are getting closer, but still [the warriors],” Jeff Daddio said.

  “My prediction to win it all is the warriors for sure. They literally have 4 of the top 15 players on the planet and their team is returning basically everyone they had from the last two championship teams,” Quinn Welsh said.

  The 82 game regular season schedule for the 30 NBA teams will end on April 11, 2018, then the top eight teams from the Eastern and Western Conference will compete until a champion is crowned.