Opening night isn't a completely accurate look into how an NBA season is going to progress. Last year, the Hornets beat the Rockets on the road, for instance, and both of the Tuesday matchups were won by teams that would eventually lose to those same opponents in the playoffs -- the Lakers to the Timberwolves and the Celtics to the Knicks . But it very often offers us our first true glimpse into the trends and storylines that ultimately wind up defining a given season.

Sure enough, a year ago the Cleveland Cavaliers dropped 136 points in a 30-point decimation of the Toronto Raptors , for instance. They had the best offense in the league across a 64-win season while the Raptors tanked. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat Nikola Jokić on the road and then took his MVP award.

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