Tip off!

The NBA season has officially begun and from here until the Super Bowl, three of the biggest sports in North America will be vying for attention in daily sports sections. Not to mention the stories dedicated to baseball's off-season deals and movement.

So what do the intern and I think is going to happen in the NBA this season? Well here's our predictions that we may or may not have put money on. For legal purposes, let's say we didn't.

Dan's picks
West champion: San Antonio.
East champion: Chicago.
NBA champion: San Antonio.
MVP: Kobe Bryant.
Rookie of the Year: Al Thornton.
Sixth man: Manu Ginobili.
Defensive player: Dwight Howard
Kobe will end the season on: The Lakers, with some more talent around him.
Biggest name to move besides Kobe: Jermaine O'Neal.

The Intern's picks
West Champion - Spurs
East - Nets
NBA Champions- Spurs
MVP – Kevin Garnett
Rookie of the Year- Kevin Durant
Sixth man – Manu Ginobili
Defensive player - Kevin Garnett
Kobe will end the season on - Lakers
Biggest name to move besides Kobe- Jermaine O’Neal


And in last night's action...

Defending NBA champions, the Spurs, opened their season against the TrailBlazers, who the league schedulers would've hoped to have had first-overall pick Greg Oden in the lineup instead of rehabbing his knee after micro-fracture surgery. San Antonio, with their fresh new bling, had no problem with Portland, winning 106-97.

In a rematch of one of the West's semi-finals last year, the Jazz took on the underdog Warriors and looked great, especially power-forward Carlos Boozer who walked away with 32 points and 16 rebounds in the 117-96 Jazz win.

And then there were the Lakers, with Kobe Bryant, facing the Rockets. Well, if Kobe was upset in L.A., his performance sure didn’t show it. He scored 45 while being tightly guarded by Shane Battier for most of the game. Battier did get the upperhand at the end of the game though, sealing Houston’s 95-93 victory with a late three.

Tonight: The debut of phenom Kevin Durant, the Raptors begin defending their Atlantic division title and the Bulls and Nets square off in a possible eastern conference final preview.