After a suspenseful 6-month offseason in the NBA, reborn teams are prepared to make their debut. Rookies and players on new teams are ready to leap into action. Will they be busts, or can they lead their teams to the playoffs?

Most eyes will be on the Western Conference where the race for a playoff seed will be strenuous. The Warriors, Rockets and Lakers are almost a lock to be the top 3 seeds; however, the Pelicans, Spurs, Blazers, Jazz, OKC and the Nuggets will battle for a high seed or even a spot in first place.

In the East, the only race is for a spot in the finals. The Celtics, 76ers and Raptors are the favorites to get to the 2019 NBA Finals. With the return of Gordon Hayward, the Celtics have a chance at winning the conference. However, for the 76ers and Raptors, it depends how well their players will do.

There is a strong rookie class coming into this season with big men Deandre Ayton (Suns 1st overall pick) and Marvin Bagley (Kings 2nd overall pick) ready to help their teams in any way possible. In addition, point guards Luka Doncic (Mavericks 3rd overall pick) and Trae Young (Hawks 5th overall pick) hope to lead their team to a better conference seeding. Possible steals Kevin Knox (Knicks 9th overall pick) and Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets 14th overall pick) could also be a factor in the playoff contest.

The spotlight will certainly be on Lebron James as he hopes his “NBA Finals magic” will carry on to the Lakers as it did with the Cavaliers and Heat. The Lakers will have tight competition against the Warriors and the Rockets as Lebron hopes to end the Laker’s 5-season playoff drought.

The NBA has a final major trade in the works involving Jimmy Butler of the Timberwolves. ​Failed trade talks with the Heat led to phone calls with the Clippers and Rockets who refused to give pieces that Minnesota wanted. ​At practice, he dissed the team using profanity to tell the players that they “​…need me (Butler). You can’t win without me.” He also held a player meeting on Thursday, Oct. 11 to discuss his dissatisfaction with the front office. Hopefully, this drama will end soon so the focus will return to actual games, not trades.

The NBA has changed several rules in an effort to bring less confusion and shorter games. First, the league loosened its hold on sneakers, letting players wear whatever color shoes they want. Players used to have shoes that matched with their uniform. The NBA has also changed the rule of resetting the shot clock to 24 seconds after an offensive rebound. Now, teams will have only 14 seconds to put up another shot. They also simplified the confusing clear path foul and the definition of a “hostile act” leading to replay. Hopefully, these changes will smooth out the game and make for an exciting 2018-19 season.