The NBA season begins on Oct. 30, and we’re going to be rolling out previews from today up until the season begins. Remember Yardwork? We’ll be having one of those during the hoops season, too. Just to whet your appetite: We’re obviously bullish on the stacked Celtics, not so much on overspending Orlando; out West, we’ve bought our tickets for the Sonics bandwagon (playoffs, baby!) and think Kobe and the Lakers miss out on the postseason.

*Dallas Mavericks – Exact same team, just a year hungrier after getting booted by the Warriors in the first round. No reason to think this isn’t a 65-win team and potential NBA Finalist. Here’s the only way this team doesn’t end up with a deep playoff run: an injury to Dirk early in the season sends Cuban into a panic, and the dancing owner pulls the trigger on a dumb Kobe trade. Don’t see it happening, though. The core – Dirk, Howard and JT – will be together for at least three more years. Why blow it up?

*San Antonio Spurs – Most. Boring. Dynasty. Ever. Mortal lock: 60 wins, deep playoff run, and Big Shot Bob will sleepwalk through the regular season, and then explode when it counts.

*Houston Rockets – If we had a compile a list of the coolest NBA players, like the guys we wanted to hang with, Tracy McGrady would certainly be in the Top 3. We want him to lead the league in scoring and take the Rockets to an NBA title. Of course, he needs to keep his back healthy and finally get out of the first round to pull this off. This is definitely his year, though – finally, they have a power forward who can run and chew gum at the same time in Luis Scola, and Mike James is back. The latter is not exactly a great thing; it is, however, an upgrade from chucker Playground Alston. Can you believe Bob Sura is still in the league?

New Orleans Hornets – Nothing we particularly dislike about them … they just play in a tough conference. Chris Paul is a top-5 point guard in the league, and a healthy Peja will definitely boost a languid offense. Here’s what stinks – there’s no inside scoring presence. Please don’t try and say that David West is a reliable option. He’s a nice player who average 18-8 last year because everyone else was hurt. He’s nowhere near an upper crust PF in the NBA. Chandler is a rebound/shot-blocking machine … but has the offensive skill set of Manute Bol. And Julian Wright, a bizarre lottery pick, isn’t going to be the solution. Do like Mo Pete at SG, though. Think 35-40 wins.

Memphis Grizzlies – Will the third time be the charm for Darko? Amazingly, he’s only 22, and not even in his prime. Not to get anyone too worked up … but this may be the year to buy a Darko jersey. Do you know how many garbage points he’ll score next to Gasol? The potential is there, that’s for sure. We’re also expecting Rudy Gay to blow up this season … he’s the next Josh Smith (wait, is that even a compliment). The only real question is Conley. At what point does he take over for Mighty Mouse? Hell, when we he surpass our main man Kyle Lowry? How will a PG handle the rigors of the NBA with just one year of college seasoning? Nobody has done that successfully since Stephon Marbury. This is why we have them missing the playoffs.