NBA Tips Off '08-09 Season Amid High Of Successful Summer

The NBA, still basking in the glow of an abundantly successful summer that saw big ratings for its marquee championship matchup and a return to Olympic dominance in Beijing, tips off its ’08-09 season tonight, and THE DAILY again covers all the league’s hot topics in its annual season preview package. Tonight could be looked at as a microcosm of what the league is eyeing this year -- the Celtics begin defense of their NBA title against LeBron and the Cavs, as the uncrowned King looks to make the jump to championship status. Out West, Kobe and the Lakers start their march to a second straight Finals appearance, but that stands to be overshadowed, literally, by Greg Oden, who is making one of the most anticipated debuts (albeit a season late) in recent memory. Of course, there are myriad other issues, and we are all over them, including the debut of the Thunder in Oklahoma City and the continued struggles of the Bobcats. We also have a roundtable discussion with several prominent NBA writers, a look at how the 76ers are marketing around new acquisition Elton Brand and a list of each club’s marketing slogans.