The NBA regular season is almost here, which means there’s storylines to follow this 2024-25 season. The preseason games have ended today on Friday and we’ve got a chance to get a look at teams and what to expect. As for me, there are a couple of question marks that have left me wondering what’s going to happen when the regular season starts on Tuesday.

Here’s the five storylines to follow this NBA season.

Can the Celtics repeat?

Of course every team that wins an NBA Championship will get this question the very next season. Can they defend their title? Well for the Celtics, they have a legit chance to do it all over again and hoist up a trophy. Teams in the past who’ve won titles end up losing role players who want bigger roles and even larger checks. However, the Celtics have nearly the same crew they won the title with. Derrick White and Jrue Holiday have returned with more money and an Olympic medal. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are looking better, stronger, and like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders from winning a title. Kristaps Porzingis is the biggest question mark for the C’s. Without Porzingis, the Celtics are a team that may just lead the eastern conference by a small margin, but with the seven footer, they’re nearly unstoppable.

Will Ja Morant morph back into a star?

The Ja Morant debacle in Memphis has lasted for longer than NBA fans would’ve liked. The Instagram lives, the antics, and then Morant getting injured was just all too bad for the organization and the high-flying point guard. The truth of the matter is that the Grizzlies aren’t expected to actually make any real noise in the western conference, but they’re expected to be damn exciting and win some games. All those expectations come from Ja Morant and whether the guns in videos are behind him. If he’s back to just playing basketball and having fun then the NBA should look out. If he’s back in legal trouble, or trending for the wrong reasons, then perhaps this may be the beginning of the end. I don’t think it is, but it’s a big question mark going into this season.

Are the Lakers and Warriors completely done?

The days of seeing LeBron James and Steph Curry go at it in the NBA Finals are past us? Well yeah. But that may be because both of them are now in the western conference, or it may just be that they’re too old to really make a big difference in the league. The Lakers have former Tennessee player Dalton Knecht who has been impressing me this preseason. If Anthony Davis can stay healthy, then maybe the Lakers have a shot at making a deep run. As for the Warriors, Draymond Green is past his prime, Klay Thomspon is in Dallas trying to start a new journey and they’re trying to surround Curry with some younger guys. In reality, I believe both teams are play-ins at best, but never doubt the greats.

Can the Knicks rival the Celtics?

This offseason has had the Knicks trending all through the summer. All-Star guard Jalen Brunson signed on with the Knicks for less money than he ultimately could’ve signed for. At first, it looked like the Nova boys were all going to be playing in NYC and tearing teams up with their chemistry, but things didn’t go that way. Donte Divincenzo and Julius Randle were dealt to Minnesota for Big Kat. And honestly, that was a good decision on the Knicks part to go up against the Celtics in a best of 7. Karl Anthony-Towns is the perfect matchup against Porzingis, and their backcourt is more than elite. The respect still deserves to be reserved for the reigning champs, but the Knicks have let the league know that they believe it’s their time to shine.

Who comes out the west?

This question is always a tough answer at the start of the season. For some reason, the western conference always seems to be the tougher side of the league that seems so unsure. The Mavericks should be frontrunners with their youth, newly-found experience, and addition of Klay Thompson, but it would be silly to count out the Denver Nuggets and they’re three-time MVP in Nikola Jokić. The T’Wolves have shown that they deserve respect and the addition of Julius Randle will help them defend the Mavericks better on switches. Then again, don’t count the Suns out of the equation just yet. Keep an eye on the race in the west.