After months and months of pretending that we care about baseball and football and soccer, we no longer have to pretend: The NBA is here. (As well as the EuroLeague, by the way, and we mean literally right here on FloHoops.)

On Tuesday, October 16, two of the juiciest battles imaginable kick off the season. At 7 PM CT the Boston Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers in a matchup of Eastern Conference powers, and at 9:30 PM the defending champion Golden State Warriors welcome — though I’m not sure the meeting will be entirely cordial — the Oklahoma City Thunder. If the basketball gods have any kindness in their hearts, Russell Westbrook will be healthy so he can face his ex-best friend Kevin “the Servant” Durant. 

Alas, there’s so much new amazing stuff going on this year — newly developed teams with new players, with healthy players, teams with weird drama going on (hello, Jimmy Butler and Minnesota!) — but there’s also the fact that, like every year since 2014, the narrative is mostly about teams trying to figure out how the heck to beat the Warriors like the Cavs did in 2016.

Ah, well. Here’s to hoping someone figures out the answer.

1. Twitter Tales: How Good Are The 76ers?

The 76ers hung out with the Dallas Mavericks in China, and the trip included this adorable moment of superstar Joel Embiid kissing a fan on the head. This is already a noteworthy occurrence in the league, and it’s just one of many reasons why you should follow the blossoming player and character of Embiid.

It’s been an amazing experience and time out here in China... Loving it #TheProcess pic.twitter.com/GAq2EPcQzZ

— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 7, 2018

But here’s the real question at hand: Do the 76ers have enough talent and mojo to challenge the Boston Celtics for first place in the Eastern Conference? My gut reaction is to say no, in fact, they don’t — because Brad Stevens is too good, because Boston is too deep, and because Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are probably going to reintegrate into the system flawlessly — but . . . what if the 76ers actually do have enough talent?

The recipe probably hinges, hilariously, on Markelle Fultz. The 2017 overall first pick has a heck of a lot to prove, and you’ve got to think he’s determined to do so. If Fultz can actually play like a No. 1 pick, then Philly boasts a pair of superstars in Embiid and Ben Simmons flanked by some great depth and chemistry. 

2. Player Of The Week: Paul George Is Still Really Good

In a preseason date with the Milwaukee Bucks, Paul George scored 26 points in the first half, including 19 in the first quarter. With Carmelo Anthony still playing the sport of basketball but in Houston — it's true! I looked it up — PG13 could be primed for a renaissance season.

3. Get Off My Parquet, As Told By Adam Oestreich

By Adam Oestrich, of course

Hear me out: This is why I am rooting for the 2018-2019 Boston Celtics.

I was born in the Midwest. Iowa, to be specific. In the Quad Cities, if you want to get even more specific. No more specifics. When you grow up in Iowa, a pro-sports-less flyover state, you root hard for college sports. But as a diehard sports fan, the more the merrier, and you have to find yourself a pro team. So how do you do that?

I lived three hours from Chicago, three and a half hours from Milwaukee, five hours from Minneapolis, and 20-some hours to either coast. So you have options, but you are fairly limited. Of course, I liked the Bulls as a ‘90s kid, but so did everyone. I was also always looking for something no one else had, or wanted, or liked. 

Enter Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kevin Garnett is by far my favorite player of all time. He talked trash and he backed it up. He was mean, rowdy, dominant, and I loved every minute of it. He was big and would dunk on you or he could turn around on you and sink a 15-footer in your face. He was the best. And the best part was, no one else from Iowa like the Timberwolves. Why would you be?

Then in 2007 the year of our Lord, Kevin Garnett was a Boston Celtic alongside Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. Sorry Timberwolves, I’m not really hanging around to cheer on Randy Foye, Al Jefferson, and Mark Madsen. Because why would you?!

And that is why since 2007 I have been a Boston Celtics fan. And you know what . . . that is OK! And I am going to tell my son that it is OK! And that will be OK!!! 

When you don’t live in or around Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Atlanta or other cities and states that have professional sports teams in which you must root for, you get to pick any team you want to root for, and your reasoning doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but you.

That said, once you make that pick, you better stay with it. Until your team sucks and you feel like rooting for someone else. It’s not like they are coming to a city near you anytime soon.

Go Celtics, signed Adam from Iowa. 

More Kerfuffle

Episode 1

Episode 2