PLAYERS TO WATCH
DWYANE WADE, HEAT: He averaged 21.5 points but missed 20 games last year with injuries, then thought about leaving before Miami kept him with a $20 million deal for this season. He’s still the team leader and remains one of the top scorers in the East.
KYRIE IRVING, CAVALIERS: The guard (21.7 ppg, 5.2 apg, 3.2 rpg) starts the season on the sideline as he continues to recover from a fractured kneecap sustained in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. There’s no timetable on his return, leaving free-agent addition Mo Williams to help LeBron James run Cleveland’s offense. Irving, who has emerged as one of the league’s elite point guards, is dogged by injuries. The Cavs need him to drive and create shots — for himself and others.
TRISTAN THOMPSON, CAVALIERS: The power forward waited until last week to sign a five-year, $82 million contract, ending a sometimes contentious stalemate with the team. Thompson was a key contributor during last season’s run to the NBA Finals and gives the team frontcourt depth as Kevin Love works his way back from surgery and Anderson Varejao returns after missing most of last season with an Achilles injury.
DAVID LEE, CELTICS: After falling out of the starting lineup for the NBA champion Warriors, Lee is with a new team and trying to return to the form that made him a two-time All-Star. With Boston, he should get plenty of minutes and plenty of shots.
JOHN WALL, WIZARDS: An All-Star starter and second in the NBA in assists (10 per
game) last season, Wall (17.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg) knows he needs to shoot better and score more to take the next step toward becoming an elite player. He is in his sixth season since getting drafted No. 1 overall. Wall had 792 assists last season — 259 more than anyone else in the East.
PAUL GEORGE, PACERS: After missing all but six games last season with a broken right leg, the two-time All-Star hopes to find his old form. When George returned late last season, he wasn’t the same player. A summer of work has given him confidence, and he has looked good in the preseason.
DERRICK ROSE, BULLS: The guard’s left orbital bone was fractured in the first practice of training camp Sept. 29, and he had two weeks of inactivity after a Sept. 30 surgery. If healthy, he’ll be part of a great backcourt with Jimmy Butler, and the Bulls will contend. But staying healthy has been a problem for Rose during the past few years.
KRISTAPS PORZINGIS, KNICKS: There are high hopes for Phil Jackson’s first first-round pick, a 20-year-old Latvian who was No. 4 overall and is listed by the Knicks at 7-foot-3. But there’s also the fear of the bust factor from a fan base that remembers the Knicks getting little or nothing from Europeans Frederic Weis and Andrea Bargnani.
JAHLIL OKAFOR, 76ERS: The rookie center won an NCAA championship in his lone season at Duke and was the No. 3 overall draft pick. How well he handles the transition from the college game to becoming the centerpiece of a team still buried in a lengthy rebuilding process is one of the team’s many question marks.