VALENCIA, Spain – The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will visit seven European countries and major cities next year as part of a busy schedule featuring 13 rounds of racing.

New for next year are the extension of the season-ending playoffs to six rounds, a new event in Rome, Italy and the Euro NASCAR Finals at the Hockenheimring.

“This is probably the best calendar in the series’ history,” declared NASCAR Whelen Euro Series President and CEO Jerome Galpin. “We are very proud and fortunate to work with such fantastic track partners. We all share the common goal to offer to European fans a unique at-track experience based on Pure Racing, full access to the competition and great American fun festivals.”

“Next year’s schedule is a testament to the strength and popularity of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series,” said Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR Chief International Officer. “The series will bring exciting, side-by-side NASCAR racing to fans in seven countries across Europe. Our proximity to several big cities – including the new American Festival in Rome –  will continue to make it easy for families to see our style of racing up close.”

The European NASCAR season will kick off on April 25-26 with the traditional opening rounds in Valencia, Spain. The Valencia NASCAR Fest at Circuit Ricardo Tormo will celebrate its seventh edition. Six weeks later the series will head to Brands Hatch, England, for the American SpeedFest. The historic 1.9-km Indy Circuit will host the British NASCAR GP for the eighth time on June 6-7.

After the inaugural event in 2019, on June 21-22 Most and the Czech Republic will welcome the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series again – fresh off a multi-year contract renewal – with the second edition of the Autodrom Most NASCAR Show. Raceway Venray will once again wrap-up the regular season on July 11-12 with a repeat of the successful formula featuring one 70-lap Euro NASCAR 2 (formerly ELITE 2) race on Saturday and on 100-lap Euro NASCAR PRO (formerly ELITE 1) race on Sunday at the fastest half-mile oval in Europe.

After the summer break, it will be playoff time again with six races awarding double points. On Sept. 12-13 a brand new American Festival will make its debut in Rome, Italy at the 4-km Vallelunga road course. The Italian event will be followed three weeks later, on Oct. 3-4 by the sixth edition of the NASCAR GP Belgium at the historic Circuit Zolder in the forest of the Limburg region.

The Hockenheimring, in Germany, will host the Euro NASCAR Finals for the first time on Oct. 17-18. The iconic German track will crown the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion in the fourth edition of the American Fan Fest.

Valencia, Most, Zolder and Hockenheim will host the four rounds making up the 2020 EuroNASCAR Club Challenge calendar. The regularity-based division of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will hit the track on Thursday at the four venues and contest its fourth season.

Each week on GolfChannel.com, we’ll examine which players’ stocks and trends are rising and falling in the world of golf.

RISING

JT (+9%): There’s a reason why we tabbed him as our Player of the Year for 2020: No weaknesses in his all-around game, loads of firepower and an insatiable hunger – a wrist injury torpedoed last season’s championship push. Big things ahead.

U.S. women (+6%): After an APB was sent out for the Americans’ leading ladies following the Solheim Cup, they’ve responded with back-to-back LPGA titles to match their output from the entire season.

Nicolas Colsaerts (+5%): Le Golf National proved too claustrophobic for the 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup team, but it seemed plenty accommodating for the erstwhile Belgian bomber, who (thanks to George Coetzee’s late triple bogey) snapped a seven-year winless drought with a victory at the French Open.

Japan Skins (+3%): Back from a decade-long absence, the skins-game format definitely can be improved – we’ll get to that in a minute – but the fourball was more watchable than last year’s dreadful Tiger-Phil duel. To this observer, at least, there’s still an appetite for these starry, made-for-TV exhibitions, especially on a Monday-Wednesday night during a sleepy part of the season.

Tiger (+1%): This is a sneaky-important week for Woods, who needs to put together four decent rounds at the Zozo to convince himself – and his would-be teammates – that he’ll be up for double duty at Royal Melbourne, at the expense of leaving someone more deserving at home.

FALLING

Jordan (-1%): He made the second-most birdies at the CJ Cup while recording his second top-10 in three starts (progress!), but the same issues that plagued Spieth last season cropped up again in Korea: He ranked T-50 in greens in regulation and tied for last in driving accuracy. Was it rust, or a sign that his ball-striking is still too sloppy to seriously contend?

Viktor Hovland (-2%): During his Tour-record 19 consecutive rounds in the 60s, he went 74 under par and carried a 66.85 scoring average. All he had to show for it, somehow, was a couple of top-10s!

“Needling” (-3%): Ah, yes, it’s the most coveted aspect of these exhibitions – the precious moments when buttoned-up pros can start jawing at their opponents, like other jocks. But until these mic’d-up events include Phil Mickelson (he deserves more opportunities), Kevin Kisner, Pat Perez or other famed trash talkers – guys who don’t necessarily have a brand to protect – they’ll continue to be filled with corny one-liners that leave us rolling our eyes.

Brooks (-4%): After slipping on the wet concrete in Korea, Koepka reaggravated the same knee that bothered him for the past seven months and recently required a stem-cell treatment. He’d be wise to shut it down until December – at this point he has a 2020 season to protect.

Barcelona have paid Atletico Madrid €15 million to have the first refusal on Saul Niguez, Jose Gimenez and three other academy players, with sources from both clubs denying the payment has anything to do with the Antoine Griezmann deal.

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Barca signed Griezmann from Atletico for his €120m release clause in July. The clause had just dropped from €200m and the Rojiblanco continue to fight for the full amount, alleging that the Catalan club approached the France forward long before the clause had reduced.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) fined Barca €300 last month over irregularities regarding the transfer. Both Barca and Atletico appealed the ruling.

Spanish newspaper El Mundo claimed on Monday that Barca and Atletico have now agreed a €15m fee to settle the case. The report added that, as part of the agreement, Atletico had given the Blaugrana a preferential option on a number of their players.

A high-ranking source at Barcelona "strongly denies" that the payment has anything to do with Griezmann but confirmed that the club had acquired an option to skip to the front of the queue to sign Saul, Gimenez and several other Atletico players. The source added that Barca regularly do these types of deals.

An Atletico source also confirmed the club has reached an agreement whereby Barca are entitled to first refusal over some of their players. The source would not name the players included in the deal or the figure which Barca paid.

ESPN FC have learned that the deal was done in September and means that whenever Atletico receive an offer for the players included in the agreement, they must let Barca know immediately. The Spanish champions will then have the right to match the proposal.

It's not the first time that Barca have had a first refusal option on Spain midfielder Saul. When David Villa moved to Atletico in 2013, they were granted first refusal on Saul, Koke and Javier Manquillo as part of the deal. That option has since expired.

Saul, 24, has a contract at the Wanda Metropolitano until 2026 and a release clause of €150m.

Uruguayan centre-back Gimenez, also 24, has a deal until 2023 and a €120m buyout clause.

Sam Marsden and Adriana Garcia contributed to this report.

Less than 24 hours after playing key hands in India's 3-0 series whitewash of South Africa, Mayank Agarwal and R Ashwin will be back on the field, playing for their respective states in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-finals in Bengaluru.

They won't be on opposite sides on Wednesday though, with Ashwin's Tamil Nadu taking on the Parthiv Patel-led Gujarat at the Just Cricket Academy grounds. Agarwal, meanwhile, will link up with Karnataka for the semi-final against Chhattisgarh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Rains have lashed the city for the past fortnight, and forecast for Wednesday looks grim. With the drainage facility far from being top notch at the Just Cricket Academy, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, there is a real threat of a truncated contest or a no result, as was the case on Monday, with Tamil Nadu pipping Punjab because of more wins in the group stage.

If there is a washout, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will progress to the final owing to more wins in the group stage. Tamil Nadu were unbeaten in nine games, while Karnataka won seven out of their eight fixtures to top Groups A and B combined, before seeing off Puducherry's threat in their final-eight fixture on Monday.

ALSO READ: Pandey, Jaiswal lead list of top performers in Vijay Hazare Trophy

Agarwal's inclusion could give the Karnataka team management some healthy selection headaches. While he'll replace Abhishek Reddy in the squad, it remains to be seen if the team management would want to disturb a successful opening combination of KL Rahul and 19-year old Devdutt Padikkal, who has been among the most impressive batsmen in the tournament.

Rahul has made 458 runs in nine innings, with a century and three fifties while Padikkal is the sixth-highest run scorer overall, with 506 runs in nine innings, with two centuries and four half-centuries.

Meanwhile, Ashwin, whose inclusion could force Tamil Nadu to play two specialist spinners - legspinner M Ashwin being the other - recently became the joint-fastest to 350 test wickets along with Muttiah Muralitharan. He achieved the feat in his 66th Test.

Ashwin (357) is India's 4th highest wicket-taker in tests, with only Harbhajan Singh (417), Kapil Dev (434) and Anil Kumble (619) ahead of him in the list.

At 12.45pm on Monday, Bangladesh's cricketers decided to hold a press conference in Mirpur. They arrived near the Shere Bangla National Stadium's indoor facilities around 2.30pm, and then walked around the back to reach the Academy ground. They lined up, and asked the reporters and cameramen to gather themselves quickly. They had a lot to say.

This was the moment of truth that some of Bangladesh's top cricketers had strenuously prepared for the past three weeks, and a press conference at least two decades in the making.

Naeem Islam, who played eight Tests and 59 ODIs between 2008 and 2014 before becoming a domestic stalwart, began with the word "respect".

It is a big word, and it is something that every athlete craves, perhaps more than money or fame. But it has been in short supply in Bangladesh cricket for a very long time. This is common knowledge and it was the cause of, and the common thread in, their 11-point list of demands

"Their initial plan to announce the strike on October 16 was postponed as Shakib had to play the CPL final. Had the strike started that day, they would have boycotted the October 17 NCL matches and a no-show would have meant utter chaos"

The BCB's decision last month to do away with the BPL's franchise-based model for the 2019-20 season meant that, automatically, the domestic players' earnings from the T20 league was reduced drastically. The reason behind the decision was flimsy: Shakib Al Hasan's move from Dhaka Dynamites, which is owned by the company which employs the BCB chief Nazmul Hassan, BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick and board director Khaled Mahmud, to Rangpur Riders.

The decision also undid the transfers of Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shane Watson and, with the reduction in pay, the axing of the franchise-model hugely affected domestic cricketers. Keep in mind, the BCB had already reduced their earning capacity by putting in place a draft for the Dhaka Premier League for the last several seasons.

Then came the board's decision to allow, in the NCL, only those cricketers who passed an enhanced fitness test - which, for good measure, was announced only two weeks before the league began. This upset the players - they felt it could have been communicated during the pre-season and perhaps they could have been given more facilities to reach the required fitness levels.

So around two weeks ago, discussions began in earnest about how best to tackle their issues. The players' outrage at the board's treatment slowly gave way to more organised thinking, as they noted down the several points that needed to be addressed.

Their initial plan to announce the strike on October 16 was postponed as Shakib had to play the CPL final, which delayed his return to Dhaka. Had the strike started that day, they would have boycotted the October 17 NCL matches and a no-show would have meant utter chaos.

They used the three extra days to get more organised. Shakib meanwhile delivered stinging interviews to local newspapers that sent tongues wagging but didn't really draw a reaction from the cricket board. It seemed they had no idea of what was coming.

They planned the press conference to be a complete surprise, giving the media two hours to gather in Mirpur and, by the time the BCB officials got wind of something happening, the players were well on their way to the Academy ground as a group.

The press conference lasted only 13 minutes, but it contained more truth than any other from the past. While the headline points were the demands for enhanced salaries, there was a wider one being made: the need for systemic changes.

They wanted fresh elections in CWAB, the players' body, which has been run by the same committee for the last ten years. Naimur Rahman is its president, Khaled Mahmud its vice-president and Debabrata Paul the general secretary. All of them are very much part of the BCB. Naimur and Mahmud are board directors while Paul is employed as the match referees' coordinator.

The players brought to attention the debilitating effects of biased umpiring in the lower rungs of the Dhaka league system. This is another open secret in Bangladesh cricket, but no one has dared to speak about it because many of these beneficiary clubs are run by powerful BCB directors. The players said such one-sided, pre-fixed matches would ruin the cricketers' pipeline.

They mentioned the need for improved facilities across the country, especially in venues where first-class sides are based. They also wanted increased money for food and travel. These are among the most basic things that a cricket board must do for its players.

The players also said that women cricketers, groundsmen, local coaches, umpires, physios and trainers were also under their umbrella, making their call for strike even stronger

Jonny Bairstow hopes a prolific T20I series in New Zealand can help him regain a place in England's Test side.

Bairstow was dropped from the Test squad for the tour of New Zealand after a disappointing run of form which has seen him average 18 since February. But he has retained his place in the T20 side, some of whom - along with new England head coach Chris Silverwood - arrived in New Zealand on Tuesday while the rest were in transit.

Bairstow hopes he can impress sufficiently to win a recall for the Test tour of South Africa which starts in December and he says he doesn't mind whether the recall comes as a specialist batsman or as a keeper. Jos Buttler, who averaged only fractionally more than Bairstow in the Ashes (24.70 compared to 23.77), has been given the gloves for the New Zealand Test tour.

"I don't see why T20 performance cannot influence Test selection," Bairstow said. "If you're scoring runs - no matter the format - it definitely influences things.

"We saw Jason Roy picked for The Ashes off the back of ODIs and Jos Buttler came back into the Test team in 2018 after impressing in the IPL.

"I don't mind if I keep. I just want to return to the squad to try and get back in the side. Wherever that may be hopefully there's an opportunity that arises and hopefully I'll be able to take that when it does.

"The T20s will be a great craic. New Zealand is an unbelievable place to tour and play cricket. There are some new guys in the squad and it will be good to get to know them."

In truth, there has rarely been much issue with Bairstow's limited-overs form. He averaged 48.36 during the World Cup, including two centuries and two half-centuries, with only Joe Root scoring more runs for England in the tournament. But he accepts that concentrating on the shorter format for much of 2019 may have been "potentially difficult" going into the Test against Ireland - where Bairstow made a pair - and then the Ashes. Notably, Bairstow has been bowled 32 times in his 69-match Test career; a higher proportion than any other Test batsman this century.

"We didn't play red-ball cricket for the best part of five months," Bairstow said. "From the Caribbean tour to July I think it was and then not having any county games to get back into was potentially difficult.

"You could see that some people had played more red ball cricket than others throughout the Ashes series and that's on both sides. Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Bancroft came into it after having played county cricket. It was bound to happen with scheduling a World Cup and Ashes in the same summer."

Bairstow is also determined to use his time off constructively. While his former teammates are playing the Test series in New Zealand, he will be working hard on his game in the hope of replicating the success he enjoyed when he was left out after the Ashes tour of 2013-14. Returning to the England side with a strikingly higher backlift, he enjoyed a run of form which at one stage saw him score three centuries in six Tests and average 71.23 across a dozen Tests.

"I'm excited about having some time to work on things without necessarily being watched on telly or having my game stripped down," Bairstow said. "With the busy schedule, I've not been able to do that for four or five years.

"I'll get myself in a peak physical, mental and technical state so I can go from the T20s into two or three weeks' solid work in England working on my game. I've already had some net sessions in the past week and they have gone well.

"To refresh and re-focus is important. I want to represent England in all formats. I'll work hard in the time I have and hopefully impress enough to be in contention for South Africa."

England play their first of two T20 warm-up matches in Lincoln on Sunday. The five-match T20I series starts in Christchurch on November 1.

Among the first four members of the now outgoing Committee of Administrators (CoA), Diana Edulji has agreed with new BCCI president Sourav Ganguly's view of giving priority to first-class cricketers in India. Edulji said the CoA was working towards that but "could not finish" it. The CoA is set to hand over the reins of the BCCI to the new office bearers on October 23.

Speaking on her penultimate day in the BCCI after meeting the other two CoA members to wind up their duties, Edulji also looked back at her 33-month period, including their achievements and even the differences she had with Vinod Rai, saying she did not expect her "nightwatchman" duties to last so long.

"Yes, a lot more work [has to be done], we were working on that but could not finish it," Edulji said in Mumbai at the BCCI headquarters about the first-class circuit. "The players, the domestic structure does need a look in, so we can attract more cricketers to the game and let's hope for the best."

Among the numerous issues Ganguly has already addressed even before officially taking over as the president, was "taking care of" the share of revenue the BCCI gets from the ICC, which reduced in 2017. When asked if the CoA was somehow responsible for the drop in the BCCI's revenue share, Edulji said, "I would not want to comment on that because I would not want to say I have done something wrong or they are saying something wrong. Let's see how it goes forward, all the best to them (new administrators)."

Appointed by the Supreme Court in January 2017, Edulji and Rai had taken over, along with Ramachanda Guha and Vikram Limaye, to oversee the running of the BCCI. Guha later resigned while Limaye moved on, and Lt Gen (retd) Ravi Thodge joined the duo of Rai and Edulji earlier this year.

"It was a good experience and a long journey," Edulji said. "Didn't think that the journey would last so long, but I am happy with the end result that elections and office bearers are coming back and BCCI will be run by them now.

"No, not all (no regrets). We (Rai and Edulji) have had our differences and we aired it openly also. In any organisation, that works. And I have always batted on the front foot or bowled my armers well, but no nothing personal. It was just (on) principles that stands were taken and that's it.

"We (Rai and Edulji) have had our differences and we aired it openly also... I have always batted on the front foot or bowled my armers well, but no nothing personal." Diana Edulji on her equation with Vinod Rai

"If I wanted to say something, I have always called a spade a spade and I don't hold back. I have enjoyed my journey of 33 months, I never expected it to be so long, and as Mr Rai said, it was a nightwatchman, but this was more than a nightwatchman also. I've never heard of a nightwatchman scoring a double-hundred or triple-hundred (laughs). It was a great learning experience, handling BCCI and I hope I can do something more after I finish my cooling period (laughs)."

Was the CoA able to implement all the reforms as they were defined by the Supreme Court and the Lodha Committee's recommendations?

"Yes and no," she said.

The CoA had taken over the supervision of the BCCI during troubled times after the board was hit by a betting scandal in the IPL and the matter was taken to the Supreme Court, but Edulji steered clear of blaming previous office bearers, under whom the board had landed in trouble.

"I would not want to run down the people before, I wouldn't say that we have done a better job than them," she said. "Whatever role we had, we tried to complete our duties, let's hope it goes forward and they take in the right spirit whatever we have done and move on. Life has to move on.

"It is good that a [former] player [has become a president], he knows in and out what players' require…when he was a player what he expected from BCCI, and now when he is sitting on that seat, I wish him all the best and let's hope that he will do well and cricket should do well."

The final official CoA meeting with the three members lasted about two hours on Tuesday afternoon after which Lt Gen Thodge said they had finished implementing "almost" all of their tasks and responsibilities.

"We've almost implemented things the way we wanted to," Thodge said. "There are certain things to be done, our status report has been submitted to the court and we'll see whatever comes."

Thodge also elaborated on the conflict of interest issue that's been coming up time and again, and was even mentioned in the CoA's 11th and final status report they submitted to the Supreme Court last week.

"We (CoA and Ganguly) are in agreement with it and the last time when we had a meeting here, Sourav attended on video conference from Calcutta and we had lots of discussions on that issue," Thodge said. "He's aware, and it's one thing that needs to be addressed otherwise we'll have a problem in having anybody as a coach or for any BCCI appointment it will be an issue.

"So to facilitate cricketers being involved in the cricket administration, it is essential that conflict of interest has to be relooked into, it's not that it should totally go. Where the personal and financial benefits are there, those will be taken care of. But if the interest of cricket suffers because of conflict of interest then it needs to be addressed. I think he (Ganguly) has mentioned that same point because we had almost a three-hour discussion at that time and he's got his views on that."

Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya is accused of sexual assault in court papers submitted for filing by an unidentified woman in the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County.

Greg Kirakosian, the attorney for the San Bernardino, California, woman, submitted the 10-page lawsuit on Oct. 17, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN on Monday night, in which the woman is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages for sexual assault, sexual battery, gender violence, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The woman, who was 29 at the time of the alleged incident and a licensed vocational nurse, said she met and became friends with De La Hoya in late 2016 before they eventually began a consensual sexual relationship. However, the woman said in the lawsuit that on or about Nov. 12, 2017, she was invited by De La Hoya to see the new home he had purchased in Pasadena, California, and things turned violent during her visit.

The woman said she thought she and De La Hoya would have consensual sex that night but when she refused his requests for a specific kind of sex act an intoxicated De La Hoya became more aggressive. According to the lawsuit, the "Plaintiff repeatedly said no and demanded that De La Hoya story." It then says De La Hoya "overpowered her" and violently sexually assaulted her.

According to the lawsuit, the woman "screamed in pain," got away from De La Hoya and screamed at him, but that De La Hoya laughed "and responded by repeatedly urging Plaintiff to take a shot of alcohol." She eventually collected herself and left "in extreme shock and pain."

In the lawsuit, the woman said she "felt extreme swelling and pain" and sought medical treatment at an urgent care facility where she was prescribed medication. According to the lawsuit, the woman later was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident.

"To date, Plaintiff continues to suffer from extreme distress, humiliation, indignation and outrage as a result of De La Hoya's conduct," the lawsuit said. "As a result of said distress, Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer constant and daily symptoms of depression, anxiety, and related symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder."

The woman did not say in her lawsuit if she ever filed a report with police.

De La Hoya, 46, the Golden Boy Promotions CEO and International Boxing Hall of Famer, was in Cancun, Mexico, Monday making an appearance at the annual WBC convention and could not be reached for comment.

His spokesman provided ESPN with a statement Tuesday morning denying the woman's allegations.

"A frivolous lawsuit was filed recently alleging that Oscar De La Hoya sexually assaulted 'Jane Doe,' which is completely false," the statement said. "Oscar is a very successful businessman, running one of the country's leading sports and entertainment companies -- thus a prime target. It is worth noting that both recent lawsuits have been filed by the same attorney who is looking to make a name for himself. We vehemently deny these allegations and look forward to vigorously defending Oscar's good name and reputation."

The other lawsuit the statement referred to was a suit brought by Kirakosian on behalf of former Golden Boy Promotions employee David "Tattoo" Gonzalez, who served as an in-arena host at Golden Boy events.

In that civil suit against De La Hoya, filed in California Superior Court for Los Angeles County in early October, Gonzalez accused De La Hoya of forcing him to do personal errands for him that were not related to work, not paying him earned wages or overtime, failing to provide meal breaks, failing to reimburse expenses and negligent infliction of emotional distress. De La Hoya also has denied those claims.

How wild was this NBA offseason? The LA Clippers are suddenly the title favorites. Now that's a sentence I didn't think I'd be writing six months ago when the Golden State Warriors owned the league and the Clips were just overachieving underdogs.

Then July happened, superstars changed teams and suddenly the NBA landscape was completely different. Instead of one superteam in the Bay, the league now is full of exciting duos fighting for pro basketball supremacy.

Let's examine six of the most intriguing duos -- some old, some new -- breaking down how they fit and what their biggest questions are entering the season.

LA Clippers: The illuminati wings

Kawhi Leonard | F | NBArank: No. 2
Paul George | F | NBArank: No. 10

We'll start with the favorites.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are both back home in Southern California, and they immediately make the Clippers the team to beat. In an era when superstar wings seem to be the most important assets in the league, the Clippers will have two of the best when George returns from offseason shoulder surgery.

Why it works: George and Leonard are both phenomenal two-way players squarely in their primes who can score, defend and dominate games in different ways. On offense, these guys can get buckets effectively on all three levels: in the paint, in the midrange and beyond the arc. Leonard is a better 2-point scorer and George is better from downtown, but both are formidable everywhere. Last year, these dudes combined to score a cool 54.6 points per game at an efficient clip.

But the scariest thing about this duo is on the other end of the floor, where these stoppers will join up with Patrick Beverley to immediately form the most ferocious perimeter defense in the NBA.

Virtually every legitimate NBA contender features a dominant scorer (James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo), and Doc Rivers will have multiple defensive rock stars ready to stifle all of them. We saw this effect last season as Leonard completely derailed Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference finals. The fact that Paul George will be the second-best wing defender on the team says all you need to know.

Biggest question: Interior play

The Clippers' frontcourt is dicey, and there's major Peter principle potential with the bigs. JaMychal Green, Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell each have played well in limited roles coming into this season, but one or two of them must thrive under more pressure now. Can they do it?

Despite the decreasing relevance of bigs in the NBA, rebounding and rim protection remain among the most important jobs in the game. Can we really trust Zubac & Co. to get those jobs done in huge games against guys such as Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, Draymond Green and Anthony Davis in May and June?

At the peak of their powers, Leonard and George can help here by shutting off driving lanes and protecting their bigs.

Key stat: Defensive efficiency

The last time Rivers won an NBA title, it was because of an incredible defense. The 2007-08 Boston Celtics ranked first in the NBA in defensive rating. Last season, the Clippers ranked 19th in this key metric. That's not good enough.

If Leonard and George remain healthy and the bigs can at least be passable, this Clippers team has the potential to be incredible defensively. But potential doesn't get stops, and it certainly doesn't win in June. To win it all, the Clips need to be a top-five defense.

Los Angeles Lakers: The high-ceiling duo

LeBron James | F | NBArank: No. 3
Anthony Davis | F/C | NBArank: No. 5

Say what you want about the Lakers' front office, but there's no denying that amid a backdrop of chaos and disorder, it still managed to turn a lottery team into a contender. After all, over the past 16 months, this front office has made two clutch acquisitions: LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Not too shabby.

Why it works: Folks, is there a more terrifying pick-and-roll combination on planet Earth?

With James at the controls and Davis popping/rim running, this team is bound to turn the most ho-hum action in basketball into a highlight machine. We're about to watch two top-10 players make themselves even better.

The James-Davis pick-and-roll is offensive efficiency in a can. It frequently will lead to lobs, perfect pocket passes, open jumpers and frustrated defenders. More than any other duo in the league, this one meshes the most on the floor. The Lakers' two-man game should immediately become the centerpiece of a top-10 offense.

Davis and James are among the best paint scorers in the world. In case you think that's an exaggeration, check this out: James and Davis ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in points the paint in 2017-18. They're like the Splash Brothers turned inside out. But unlike that duo, these fellas can struggle to hit jumpers. Here's a concerning stat:

• Out of 128 players who took at least 350 shots outside the paint last season, Davis ranked 126th in efficiency, logging a measly effective field goal percentage (eFG%) of just 40.4%, per Second Spectrum tracking.

Davis has struggled to evolve into a reliable shooter. James has become decent, but make no mistake, these dudes are interior forces, and that's why it's imperative to surround them with sharpshooters. And that brings us to our ...

Biggest questions: Shooting and coaching

• Who will space the floor? Danny Green is awesome, but he's only one man. Aside from him, it's unclear how the Lakers will create space in important moments. Can you count on Kyle Kuzma, Avery Bradley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso to give LeBron and AD enough room to work? Unless the Lakers find shooting elsewhere, their opponents can afford to pack the paint to protect the rim against James and Davis. And, uh, it looks like spacing might be an issue.

• Also, coaching changes matter. In the past five years, both Steve Kerr and Mike Budenholzer have taken new jobs and immediately turned their new squads into contenders. The Lakers are hopeful Frank Vogel, Jason Kidd and Lionel Hollins can do something similar, but they're facing immediate pressure.

Can this hodgepodge of commanders even coalesce into a coherent unit, let alone coach James and the Lakers? Time will tell. Last season, the Lakers paired the 24th-best offense in the league (yuck!) with its 13th-best defense. This team needs to get better on both ends of the court, and a lot of that comes from coaching. There's no question that there's a championship needle buried somewhere in this purple-and-gold haystack.

Can Vogel's group extract it? That will go a long way in determining how successful this duo is in Year 1.

Key stat: Games played

The best ability is availability, and last year this duo combined to miss 53 games. James just had his most restful offseason in years, but he'll turn 35 in December. If either guy misses considerable time, it's hard to see the Lakers near the top of the unforgiving Western Conference table.

Philadelphia 76ers: The Process babies enter their primes

Joel Embiid | C | NBArank: No. 8
Ben Simmons | PG | NBArank: No. 15

At 25, Embiid is the best two-way big man in the sport, while 23-year-old Simmons remains an enigmatic phenom who has yet to really figure it out. In this sense, Simmons is more of the microcosm of the Sixers at-large: undeniable potential with legitimate question marks, especially on offense.

Why it works: Quite simply, it's just the magnitude of talent given their youth

Simmons and Embiid represent two huge cornerstones in the Sixers' impressive foundation. With Simmons locked up at the 1 and Embiid at the 5, this duo sets up Philly for relative success for years to come. Both players excel on each end of the court and both make the players around them look better. Ultimately, though, this team's success will depend on what the front office puts on top of its prized cornerstones.

Simmons and Embiid are unique pieces to build around, including some glaring limitations. You can't just plug in anybody around them and expect to hoist trophies, which brings us to the biggest question about Philly's young foundation.

Biggest question: Shooting, shooting, shooting

Last season, the average NBA team made 11.4 of 32.0 3-point tries per game. As a duo, Embiid and Simmons combined to yield just 1.2 made treys on 4.2 attempts (with Simmons attempting only six 3s all season). In a league quickly approaching a 40% 3-point rate, the fact that Philly's young duo combines to take just 12% of their shots from deep places a disproportionate perimeter burden upon the other dudes around them.

For the Sixers at-large to even become a mediocre 3-point outfit, the supporting cast -- now without JJ Redick, by the way -- must overcompensate. This roster isn't built for that. There are no Danny Greens or Brook Lopezes or Eric Gordons here. Most of Philly's best supporting actors are more comfortable inside the arc than outside of it. Where are all of the 3s going to come from?

Many people expect Josh Richardson to be a big part of that answer, but this guy has never hit more than 2.2 3s per game in his young career. Even if he doubles that number, the Sixers still have to find career-best 3-point productivity elsewhere on the roster.

Guys such as Al Horford and Tobias Harris will contribute a few 3s per night, but not much more than that. Either a few rotation players such as Furkan Korkmaz or Mike Scott will have career years from downtown or the Sixers' 3-point offense will be anemic and the front office might have to import additional shooting midseason.

Key stat: Ben Simmons' 3-point assists

Simmons is one of the best 3-point creators in the league. Last season, he ranked third in the league in total 3-point assists with 260, per Second Spectrum, but most of those went to shooters who have left town. If Simmons can develop chemistry with Richardson, Harris and Horford, the 3-point engine could be strong enough to carry Philly to the Finals.

Houston Rockets: Houston, we have a Westbrook

James Harden | G | NBArank: No. 4
Russell Westbrook | G | NBArank: No. 12

The Rockets spent the summer rearranging their roster and their coaching staff.

They have an undeniable system built for racking up regular-season wins. After swapping Chris Paul for Westbrook, they now find themselves trying to make sense of one of the NBA's most confounding talents and how he fits next to their franchise player.

Why it works: The beard and the 'stache

D'Antoni and Harden are two of the NBA's smartest offensive minds. If there's any pair of leaders who can assimilate Westbrook into the fold, it's this combo.

Biggest questions: Russ and a lame duck D'Antoni

• Look, there's no question that Westbrook is among the most talented and capable guards in the game right now. But it's fair to question if he can adjust his game to become a complementary part of Rocketball. The mantra in Houston is efficiency at all costs, and off-ball guards in D'Antoni's system must be able to shoot from distance and keep turnovers to a minimum. If Westbrook can channel his energy into improving his shot and reducing his turnovers, this is going to work out just fine. If he remains insistent on pairing high usage with low efficiency, this might get ugly.

• In normal conditions, D'Antoni is the perfect coach for this wacky experiment. But Houston's coaching conditions aren't normal right now. Not only are most of D'Antoni's lieutenants from last year gone, management also failed to extend his contract. Is he happy? Is he motivated? Does he have his eyes on his next gig? Who knows, but the answers to those queries will have a major impact on this duo's eventual outcome.

Key stat: Westbrook's 3-point shooting

Over the past three seasons, Westbrook has converted just 31.6% of 1,305 3-point attempts. He's bound to get better looks in Houston. Here's the thing, though: Westbrook has struggled to convert even the juiciest looks from downtown.

Out of 128 players with at least 100 open catch-and-shoot tries over the past three seasons, Westbrook ranks 119th in efficiency, sinking just 32% of those golden opportunities, according to Second Spectrum. For context, Steph Curry ranks first at 54.7%. Russ doesn't have to be as good as Curry, but he needs to be as good as, like, Andrew Wiggins (38.6%).

Toronto Raptors: The defending champs, down a claw

Pascal Siakam | F | NBArank: No. 22
Kyle Lowry | PG | NBArank: No. 39

The defending champs enter this season without Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, but they do have two huge pieces coming back that both just got paid. How close can Lowry and Siakam get to leading this team back to the promised land?

Why it works: Check the tapes

People forget that Toronto won 59 games in 2017-18 before Kawhi even got there. This team is deep and well-coached. With Lowry running point and Siakam emerging as a legitimate star, Toronto is still equipped to be one of the top two-way squads in the East.

Biggest question: Defense

Losing Leonard and Green hurts -- just ask the San Antonio Spurs. Their defense went from fourth-best in the league in 2017-18 to 20th last year, thanks in large part to the departures of those two defenders. After ranking fifth in defense in 2018-19, can Toronto absorb these two massive departures and maintain a top-10 unit?

Key stat: Siakam's points per game

If Spicy P can score 25 PPG and continue to improve his efficiency, then the Raptors' offense will be in perfectly fine shape. If his production regresses under increased attention, Toronto may have trouble scoring overall.

Golden State Warriors: Still splashy after all these years

Stephen Curry | PG | NBArank: No. 6
Klay Thompson | SG | NBArank: No. 49

The Warriors have the potential to be the scariest playoff underdog in decades. It all comes down to Klay Thompson's ACL rehab. If he can return to form by March -- and that's a big if -- and the Warriors are in the playoff hunt, look out.

With all due respect to the hot new duos across the West, nobody wants to see the Splash Brothers in a seven-game series.

Why it works: Duh, shooting

The best shooting backcourt of all time finds itself playing in an era obsessed with shooting. The supporting cast is questionable, but these dudes bring inevitable buckets at full strength.

Biggest question: How will D'Angelo Russell fit into this puzzle?

Steve Kerr figured out how to unleash the Splash Brothers. Can he also let Russell realize his potential while helping him fit into the Golden State offensive ecosystem?

Key stat: Simple: The Warriors have won the West five years in a row

Come and take it.