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Finally, basketball is back! But it's not going to be on TV, despite what you might see on the NBATV schedule.
The Phoenix Suns will officially open Talking Stick Resort Arena tonight, with the Sacramento Kings in town to kick off the Suns' 6-game preseason schedule over the next two weeks.
How to watch
The only TV coverage will be streaming live on suns.com, and that streaming only extends to 75 miles away from the arena. Otherwise, you can listen to the dulcet tones of Al McCoy on 98.7 FM Arizona Sports, and follow along on twitter and nba.com box scores.
Who is the opponent?
Why, it's the Sacramento Kings visiting the Suns! If you thought the Suns made a lot of trades and personnel moves, check out the Kings.
Head coach George Karl begins his first full season as the Kings coach with All-Star DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay in the lineup along with Rajon Rondo in the back court.
The rest of the team is full of question marks, and that's only if you don't count Rondo in the question mark group. Karl loves to see his teams run, yet Rondo is not a threat to score (even on the break) and Cousins prefers a slower pace, so it will be fun to watch all this unfold.
Some guys on the Kings will be fun to watch. Will Kosta Koufos, a Karl fave, end up in the starting lineup next to Boogie? Can Willy Trill Cauley-Stein - three years older than Devin Booker - earn big playing time right away for the Kings? Will Ben McLemore justify his top-7 status in the 2013 Draft?
What to watch/listen for, from the Suns
1) Will the Suns' "chemistry" experiment be evident from the tip? How much effort will the team put out tonight, given it's just a preseason game?
2) Will Devin Booker lead the team in scoring? Early preseason games are great for rookies and young players to show their stuff. However, Booker's got Archie Goodwin and Sonny Weems trying the same thing - to show they belong in the rotation. It will be interesting to see who's having the biggest impact throughout the preseason.
3) Will Archie Goodwin make his impact? This preseason is Archie's best chance of his career to earn a regular spot in the Suns rotation. If he can't beat out a euro guy and an 18-year old, Archie might not be the star we all hoped he'd be.
4) Will Alex Len show improvement? Len was a bit of a disappointment against the lesser competition in Summer League. He rebounded well because he was the biggest dude on the court, but his offense was still a mushy mess. I wonder what kind of impact Tyson Chandler has had on Alex to this point.
5) Will Markieff Morris take the floor? He sat out the scrimmage last Saturday, but did sign autographs and otherwise has acted like his normal self, according to reports. It's in his best interest to play great to up his trade value, but I do wonder if he will continue to have his quiet sit-out with a "hip strain".
What are you going to watch, Suns fans?