NBA Opening Day; Wolves Finalize Roster

The NBA is back! Three games open the regular season slate tonight starting at 7:00 pm CDT.

Magic at Pelicans
7:00 pm CDT

Does Anthony Davis make the next big step into superstardom? And does that propel the Pelicans to the playoffs in a stacked Western Conference?

Mavericks at Spurs
7:00 pm CDT 
TNT

The defending champs get started against cross-state rivals. A matchup of the two best coaches in the league, probably. Will Canis' favorite rookie get playing time for the Spurs?

Rockets at Lakers
9:30 CDT
TNT

How long with Kobe hold up? How many shots will he take in the meantime? Will the Lakers be as bad as we all not-so-secretly hope?

Actual basketball that really counts for something. I can't wait.

The Wolves of course open on Wednesday at Memphis. They finalized the roster on Monday by waiving J.J. Barea, who is still owed $4.5 million. Barea spent three years with the Wolves, but was made somewhat redundant by the signing of Mo Williams over the summer. He was not going to get consistent playing time under the circumstances.

Flip Saunders said yesterday that the inactives for the Grizzlies game would be Ronny Turiaf and Glenn Robinson III, and that everyone is healthy and ready to go. It will be interesting to see how much playing time rookie Andrew Wiggins gets, as he missed the last few preseason games with what is best described as a sore ass.

A week ago, I would have bet he would be in the starting lineup, with Rubio, Martin, Young, and Pekovic, but now it's unclear. He has been pronounced healthy and ready to play, however, as has Shabazz Muhammad, who was bothered by a sore heel.

Today in History

1492: Columbus "discovers" Cuba, claims it for Spain. 
1636: Harvard founded
1776: Battle of White Plains, Washington retreats to New Jersey
1793: Eli Whitney applies for patent for cotton gin
1858: R.H. Macy opens first store on 6th Ave. 
1886: Statue of Liberty dedicated by President Cleveland
1919: Volstead Act passes congress over Wilson's veto
1922: Mussolini comes to power in Italy
1965: Gateway Arch competed in St. Louis

There is no compelling musical birthday today, so in honor of the start of the season, let's go with this classic:

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Have a great opening day.