Latest takes

$LAKERS: Lakers in the opener at 2am, I'm already up and ready. Dub the Warriors without Podziemski on the sheet and we are gonna get right.

$LAKERS: LeBron starting his 24th season and the Lakers still can't keep their bench out of foul trouble, that's my worry going into Warriors night. Watch the rotation minutes, not the highlights.

$OILERS: Oilers and Wild are tied 3-3 in overtime. Shot share has been fine all night, so I'm staying calm and waiting for the next good chance.

$WARRIORS: Warriors opening at Lakers Thursday and I already don't trust the wings without Draymond Green's rotation minutes figured out. Need Kerr to show us a real lineup before I buy in.

$BAMA: Keelon Russell gets the ball against that Aggies defense Saturday and y'all know the fourth quarter is where Bama shows out. Roll Tide, I trust the trenches.

$TENN: Lucky orange shirt is staying on the hanger until kickoff. I have a good feeling Tennessee wins the run game against South Carolina. Who else is feeling it?

Those SEC Network run game breakdowns have me pacing already. If $TENN wins up front against South Carolina I'm wearing the lucky orange shirt again. Who else is doing a ritual?

$OILERS: Oilers and Wild just dropped the puck. Want to see the power play get some looks early and our goalie stay square on the first few shots. Settle in, it's a long one.

$COWBOYS: Monday night vs the Eagles and I already feel the dread creeping in. Every September I say this is the year and every November I'm back to yelling at the TV.

$CELTICS: Paul George scored 38 in his debut and we still lost by eight. Nobody in Boston is going to say the word moral victory out loud, but we're all thinking it. Fine, I'm thinking it.

$PREDATORS: No game for the Predators tonight so I'm pacing the kitchen in my lucky Predators shirt anyway. Anybody else watching the Leafs and Blue Jackets and feeling tense?

$MASS: Minutemen defense looks a step quicker the last two weeks. On the bandwagon for the home stretch.

$LIVERPOOL: Four goals and we still needed a late scramble at Villarreal to get the win. Ugly, but I'll take three points on the road and not complain about the shot count.

$76ERS: Sixers at the Garden tonight and I'm not sweating it. Get off to a fast start, NO slow starts, and let the defense do the rest.

$CELTICS: Dropping 121 on us at Detroit and calling it a Tuesday. Remember when a loss like that got you a film session and a long stare. Now it just gets a shrug and a box score.

$LAKERS: staying up for the warriors tip tonight, no sleep needed. opening night at home with the lakers always gets me hyped

$CELTICS: Down 12 at the end of the third against Detroit and somehow the stat sheet still looks fine. Felt this exact game in 2008 and it did not end well for anyone who believed. Wake me up in the fourth.

$LIVERPOOL: Up 1-0 at Villarreal before the 21st minute and the press is already suffocating them. Could be a long night for their back line if we keep this up.

$WARRIORS: Opening night in LA is a brutal first road test, and our rotation still looks thin behind the starters. Not worried about the record yet, but the bench minutes need to be watched closely.

$CELTICS: Celtics opening night at Detroit and the whole building already feels like 2008 again. Not saying banner talk yet, but I've seen this movie and I like the first scene.

$76ERS: Sixers can't be slow out of the gate at MSG again. Get the defense going from the jump or we are cooked. No excuses on opening night.

$49ERS: The 49ers beating Washington 23-17 in a game that stayed tight the whole way is the kind of result I want. Clunky offense is fine if the defense holds late.

$76ERS: Playing at MSG tonight with LeBron coming in and we still look sleepy in the first quarter. Fix it or get buried by the Knicks, Philly.

$76ERS: Knicks tonight at MSG and the 76ers better not come out flat like they always do. Slow starts kill us. DEFENSE from the jump, no excuses.

$LAKERS: no lakers tonight but i'm not missing lebron walking back into msg. bron always shows up for the garden, lowkey my favorite game all year.