🏀 LeBron Vs. Kawhi Is Finally Here

All eyes will be on Lakers vs. Clippers as the 2019-20 NBA season, at long last, tips off tonight. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: NBA Opening Day is finally here with a matchup for the ages ... witness the mind-blowing feats of the fastest climber on the planet ... and get ready for a duel of aces in Game 1 of the World Series. “Opening night is great,” LeBron James said recently, before immediately dispelling any notion that the NBA’s biggest superstars aren’t just as excited as the league’s global fan base for perhaps the most intriguing campaign in its history. “For me, it’s like the first day of school; going back to school. Laying your clothes out the night before. Just that excitement of getting the things back, (getting them) going.” James’ schooldays were pretty good to him — he became a national brand and graced the cover of Sports Illustrated while still working on English essays as a high school junior — so it’s fair to say he’s nicely fired up ahead of Tuesday’s big tipoff. He’s not alone. Metaphorically at least (and in some cases literally), NBA supporters have been getting busy: laying out their jerseys, warming up their vocal chords and generally salivating at the prospect of a potentially extraordinary campaign. Having emerged from a summer that was wild with free agency and trades and politically weird over the last couple of weeks, the league begins with a bang tonight, as its two chief presumptive title contenders butt heads at Staples Center. The Lakers dueling with the Los Angeles Clippers, their cross-corridor rivals, is the narrative to end all narratives heading into the new season, as both teams arrive at the starting gate laden with talent following a breathless summer arms race. James, frustrated at the lack of high-quality parts around him last season, now gets to form a two-headed monster with Anthony Davis, who orchestrated a trade to Tinseltown in a move that showed just how much power modern NBA players wield. [STORY IMAGE 1] And yet, on any given day this season, the Lakers may have to contend with the reality that there is another roster that may be stronger and deeper, just a few steps down the hall. “The battle for L.A. is by far the most compelling storyline entering next season,” FOX’s NBA expert Chris Broussard told me recently. “With reigning champion Kawhi Leonard joining the Clippers, is James still the best player in his own arena, let alone the world?” Ah yes, Leonard. It’s hard to stay under the radar when you’re undeniably more skilled at basketball than virtually every other person on the planet, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. Leonard has never been a fan of the hoopla that surrounds the league and will never be an outrageous self-promoter. He lets his game do the talking, and those talents are loud enough to pierce eardrums. After deciding to leave the Toronto Raptors (having just led that organization to its first championship), Leonard could have followed Davis and jumped aboard the Lakers juggernaut. Instead, he picked the blue-collar Clippers, on the proviso that they could also add Paul George, who signed on but will not begin his season for several more weeks due to shoulder surgery. “I’m sure Kawhi wants to take the challenge of winning independent of playing with LeBron,” Lakers legend Kobe Bryant told The Los Angeles Times. “I don’t think it was a slight at the Lakers.” Bryant is probably right, but it does set up a fascinating dynamic. Leonard is not talking big — that’s not his way — but his decision was one of the most significant personnel moves in recent NBA history and utterly shifted the landscape of the entire league, taking the Clippers from being a tireless and cohesive playoff team without a single superstar and catapulting them to would-be title contenders. “Start of a new season,” Leonard said. “New team, just the start of our journey. First game.” [STORY IMAGE 2] Leonard is a master of understatement, but there is no downplaying this one. The NBA doesn’t do “shy” when it comes to its scheduling and jumps straight into it on Tuesday. Zion Williamson’s untimely injury takes some sparkle off the other game of the night — the New Orleans Pelicans visiting the Raptors — but the Staples showdown is the opening round in what may be a season-long heavyweight slugfest. [FOX Bet]( has the Clippers as favorites to win it all, with a league-best +375 odds to emerge NBA Champions. The Lakers are very close behind, at +400 on the morning before the NBA season officially tips off. The Eastern Conference follows as favorites to win the NBA Finals, with the Milwaukee Bucks at +550 and the Philadelphia 76ers at +700. Let’s be clear, the Lakers and Clippers are far from being the only loaded rosters in the NBA. Virtually all the chatter around the Houston Rockets recently has involved general manager Daryl Morey’s Tweet about Hong Kong, but let’s not forget that by re-teaming Russell Westbrook with James Harden, they have a dynamic one-two punch of former NBA MVPs. Giannis Antetokounmpo will be on a mission to atone for the Bucks’ playoff disappointment from last season, while some are tipping the cohesive, ultra-organized Denver Nuggets to sneak to the top of the Western Conference. For that to happen, the L.A. teams will need to trip over each other’s feet — which, given how much is at stake, is not entirely implausible. Yet after all these months of waiting and anticipation, you still can’t shift the sense that in some way or another, the destiny of this season’s outcome will hinge on the happenings in L.A. In Davis, James finally has the foil he was pining for through those frustrating months of last season. Leonard, willingly contrarian, has the situation of his dreams before him — the chance to upset the established order. Something has to give, and the struggle begins now. [STORY IMAGE 3] Here’s what others have said ... Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight: “I think we’ve gotta reorient ourselves to a world in which there aren’t any teams as dominant as the Warriors. Everybody has flaws. Everybody has warts. Everybody could use another player.” Danny Chau, The Ringer: “All around the world, there are people uttering a wholly original prediction, never before heard across all ages of civilization — The Clippers are going to win it all. The Clippers! The latest NBA campaign is just now beginning, but history, in that respect, has already been made. The Clippers are the most compelling thing currently under the NBA’s auspices. Maybe that should frighten you.” Jacob May, Sports Illustrated: “Since Kobe retired, the Clippers have won eight of 12 games against the Lakers in the building they (weirdly) share. Now that LeBron has a proper Robin in the fold, the inter-city rivalry should be hotter than ever as the Clippers also reloaded with some free agents you might have heard of. LeBron, AD, Kawhi, PG, Sweet Lou, Kuz, Patrick Beverley, Dwight Howard, Rondo, AND Alex Caruso all playing in the same game? It’s almost too much.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Anthony Davis is the Lakers’ next great hope, thousands of miles from where his playing days started at a little school that didn’t even have a gym, [writes Tania Ganguli at the]( [Los Angeles Times](. - Life after baseball, [details Aaron Dodson at]( [The Undefeated]( has already begun for retiring pitcher C.C. Sabathia. - [Ben Rothenberg at]( [The New York Times]( recaps the breakthrough season for tennis sensation Coco Gauff, who looks ahead to the Australian Open and her 16th birthday. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Meet Indonedia’s Aries Susanti Rahayu, now officially the fastest women’s climber on the entire planet. Over the weekend, she completed a 15-meter climb in 6.995 seconds, smashing the previous world record by two-hundredths of a second. by the way, she managed this mind-blowing climb while battling hand and finger injuries. (Hands and fingers being pretty important for climbing things.) It’s perfectly normal to want to watch this clip over and over again, and if you’re wondering how you can see more speed climbing and Rahayu, who is aptly nicknamed “Spiderwoman,” you’ll be pleased to know that this is one of three climbing events that will be part of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Washington Nationals at Houston Astros (FOX, 8:08 p.m. ET) Game 1 of the 2019 World Series is finally here and we couldn’t have hoped for a better pitching matchup to start things off. Max Scherzer will take the mound opposite Gerrit Cole as the Nationals go for their first-ever world championship and the Astros attempt to take their second title in three years. New Orleans Pelicans at Toronto Raptors (TNT, 8 p.m. ET) Opening Day of the 2019-20 NBA season features a big doubleheader of prime time days, starting with the Pelicans visiting the defending NBA Champion Toronto Raptors — although the Finals MVP is no longer on the roster, and the Pelicans’ No. 1 draft pick is out 6-8 weeks with a knee injury. This will still be a fascinating matchup for these new-look teams. Los Angeles Lakers “at” Los Angeles Clippers (TNT, 10:30 p.m. ET) Yes, this is the big one. The two teams who share the Staples Center are the two current favorites to win the Western Conference. We’ll get our first true look at Kawhi Leonard’s Clippers and at the Lakers tandem of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Kawhi Leonard & LeBron James both to score 20+ points: +100 As we said yesterday, this week truly might be the most wonderful time of the year. As sports fans, our cups overflow with basketball, baseball, football and hockey. And as a result, tonight offers you a ton of chances to get some action on the games. At FOX Bet, we’ve boosted the odds that both Kawhi and the King go over 20 points in their opening night duel from -200 all the way to even money. Meanwhile, in the baseball world, a Jose Altuve home run in Game 1 of the World Series is going off at +350, with the Houston Astros -220 favorites to win the championship. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Everything negative — pressure, challenges — are all an opportunity for me to rise.” — Kobe Bryant [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download the FOX Sports app for live scores and streaming [App Store]( [Google Play]( Available on: [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] Forwarded this message? [Sign up](. Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2019 FOX Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. FOX.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900