Staples Center will be the center of the NBA universe on opening night, when the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers square off. The Lakers had a great offseason by landing All-Star F Anthony Davis in a trade with New Orleans. Davis paired with LeBron James has fans in Los Angeles thinking about championships.
New head coach Frank Vogel has been preaching defense with the Lakers and that is what they will rely on until the offense gels. Danny Green and Jared Dudley have been brought in to provide the shooting that the team desperately needed a season ago.
While there was plenty of player movement this offseason, no team struck it as rich as the Los Angeles Clippers. First the Clippers landed NBA Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard, in free agency from the Toronto Raptors. Los Angeles then paired the versatile Leonard with the one player he hoped to play with the most, Paul George.
Defensive stopper Patrick Beverley gives Los Angeles three of the top five perimeter defenders in the league, Lou Williams will continue to provide scoring punch off the bench, while Montrezl Harrell will dominate the paint.
