Ready Or Not, The NBA's Season Is Here

The Los Angeles Clippers added Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, and Caron Butler to a roster that already included Blake Griffin. The suddenly serious Clips are getting a lot of buzz, but they're not the only team hoping to make a run at the title.

Henry Abbott of ESPN.com's "True Hoop" blog  joins Bill to discuss the upcoming 66-game NBA season, which opens on Christmas Day.

After the lockout ended, New York signed big man Tyson Chandler, who's coming off a championship season with Dallas. Abbott says it's a step in the right direction for the Knicks.

"Chander certainly addresses [the Knicks'] biggest problem," Abbott says. "They were a horrible defensive team last year. To my thinking, it doesn't address it nearly enough. Their other two stars, Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, are among the worst in the league at their respective positions playing defense."

In the Western Conference, Abbott says the Oklahoma City Thunder are showing signs that they're in the right frame of mind for this season's tight schedule. During the compressed preseason, days off have also been rare, but Kevin Durant & Co. didn't seem to mind.

"The Thunder had a day off and the players all came into the gym, every single one of them," Abbott says. "That's what you want to see if you're a fan of a team."