One-on-One: Too much Zion? Stuff you need to know about NBA schedule

Heery: What  games are intriguing to you?

Keane: Let’s pour one out for Mikhail Prokhorov’s tenure as Nets owner. The Russian playboy billionaire was the closest thing the NBA had to a Bond villain in its ranks. Sadly, there will now be zero NBA owners with a mix tape of their jet ski stunts on YouTube, though I’m still holding out hope for Steve Ballmer. Seriously, do yourself a favor and watch this maniac. Prokhorov shreds! As for Tsai, I doubt he'll be as scandalous as Cuban, but I do expect that Alibaba will finally crack down on people selling counterfeit Nets merchandise.

I'm excited for the return of Paul George to Oklahoma City when the Clippers play the Thunder on Dec. 22, because those are some of the most vengeful fans in the NBA. They destroyed Kevin Durant jerseys when he signed as a free agent -– imagine how mad they are about George leaving while he was still under contract!  Expect voodoo dolls, burning jerseys, and absolutely no Gatorade for sale in the area.

The return of the Rockets' James Harden and Russell Westbrook on Jan. 9 to OKC should be much nicer, though the team should let Kendrick Perkins throw the opening tip, to honor the Thunder's legacy of letting him touch the ball unnecessarily. I also think the Bucks-Sixers Christmas game will be an Eastern Conference Finals preview, with the bonus that the game is in Philadelphia, meaning fans might boo Santa Claus. Twins Brook and Robin Lopez, reunited on the Bucks, probably still believe in him, by the way.

The games I'm not looking forward to are the Team USA matchups in the FIBA World Cup. You could field an All-Star team of players who have withdrawn from the tournament, and it's not just stars -– rookie non-stars like Landry Shamet and Marvin Bagley have decided they have better things to do this August. Is it going to be disappointing to lack stars, or are you excited to see De'Aaron Fox and Donovan Mitchell on the international stage? And at what point have enough players quit that Team USA is no longer the favorite?

Heery: Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee's superstar, is far and away the top dude at the FIBA World Cup. And Serbia’s Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets is probably the second-best player. It would be awesome to see the Antetokounmpo brothers --- Thanasis and Kostas are also on the Greece team -- make a run in the tournament. Also, you can expect Jokic and Team Serbia’s NBA-loaded roster to stand in the way of Team USA’s path to gold. 

While they won’t have the best player in the tournament, I’m looking forward to seeing some of the new players featured on Team USA. It’s always interesting to see who asserts themselves as the alpha dog of the team. Obviously, Kemba Walker of the Celtics is in pole position for that role as he is the only All-NBA player on the roster. Another great thing about the Team USA experience is that it often acts as the prelude for players making the leap. Almost every great American player in today’s game -- LeBron, Durant, Harden, Irving  and Steph Curry -- has used the summer Team USA experience to catapult his game to the next level by practicing against the best players in the league the whole summer. Keep an eye on Donovan Mitchell, De’Aaron Fox and Jayson Tatum, all of whom have played exceptionally well in Team USA scrimmages and practices, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. 

Any thoughts about this summer’s squad or any other NBA news? What’s your take on Ty Lue reportedly set to join Doc Rivers and the Clippers’ staff?

Keane: I’m happy about Lue joining the Clippers' staff because it means he’s healthy. The stress of coaching the LeBron Cavs aged him prematurely -- his hair turned gray and he was even hospitalized. Lue started the job looking like 2008 Obama and left looking like 2016 Obama. It's not a surprise that he's working for Doc Rivers, like he's done in Los Angeles and Boston. But considering the Lakers nearly hired him in May, the move feels like a shot at revenge against the team he used to play for, that lowballed him and then chose Frank Freakin' Vogel over him, a guy who won the title just three years ago. Not that the rivalry needed any extra juice, but now Paul George and LeBron are both playing against their old head coaches. If the Clippers really want to ramp things up, there's still time to add J.R. Smith. Just don't let him play at the end of close games.

LeBron is taking the beginning of the season very seriously, since he's organizing a week of training sessions for the whole team in Las Vegas, five days before the real training camp starts. Either he's intent on getting his teammates to gel better than last season, or he's emulating Michael Jordan, who also did extra training during the summer he made a "Space Jam" movie. What should make Coach Vogel nervous is that LeBron replaced the director early in production, meaning he's not afraid to get rid of the guy in charge, even if that guy is dealing with a difficult supporting cast.

One last question for you before we wrap this up. Since Space Jam is all about NBA players having their talent stolen, who is the NBA player most likely to see his skills disappear this season?

Heery: I think we lose another member of the Banana Boat crew to Father Time this season: Chris Paul. While Paul’s basketball skills won’t ever completely erode, he’s played 37,150 regular season and playoff minutes in his career despite being a 6-foot tall point guard. I wouldn’t be shocked if his body really starts to fall apart on him this season.