Scheduled
Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons
2026-27 · Regular season
Watch: Edwards and Ball, Lillard and Morant headline the NBA’s new pairings before opening night
Six official league clips from the final weekend before opening night: Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, Damian Lillard and Ja Morant, Bam Adebayo and Klay Thompson, Luka Doncic and Tyrese Haliburton's return.
In this article
Opening night is Wednesday, October 21, and the league’s own clips from this weekend point straight at the new partnerships that will decide how the first week looks. Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball sat out Minnesota’s 133-116 preseason finale loss at Chicago, so their first real test together comes at Miami. Portland’s Damian Lillard and Ja Morant already showed what they can do in a 128-118 preseason loss at Golden State, with Lillard scoring 23 and Morant adding 19 on 8-of-10 shooting.
Edwards and Ball trade the last shot
The two Timberwolves guards spend this clip passing up open looks for each other, which is a funny moment and also the central question in Minnesota: who closes games when both want the ball? Their chemistry off the court looks easy; sharing it on the court is the job now.
“More of a mismatch”: the Wolves duo sizes itself up
Ball’s case for himself is about size at point guard, and that is exactly why Minnesota paired him with Edwards. The first look comes on the road against a Heat front line built around Bam Adebayo.
Bam Adebayo gives Klay Thompson the goggles
Adebayo needling Thompson about a hot streak lands after a quiet tune-up: Thompson went 0-for-7, all but one of those from deep, in 15 minutes of Miami’s 136-115 preseason loss at Orlando. Miami will need his shooting to space the floor on Wednesday.
Morant saves the ball, Lillard finishes the play
One hustle play shows what Portland is betting on: Morant’s energy turning into easy looks for Lillard. At Golden State, Lillard made all 13 of his free throws, and Morant went 3-of-3 from three, a promising pairing heading into Phoenix’s visit.
Luka Doncic talks his way through Year 9
Doncic is relaxed and chatty here, and the Lakers will take that mood into opening night. He played only 18 minutes of the 121-106 preseason loss to Denver, scoring 15 with three threes, so his workload against Stephen Curry’s Warriors is worth watching.
Tyrese Haliburton is back in Ames
This is the most emotional clip of the bunch. Haliburton returned this preseason 472 days after his Achilles injury, playing at Iowa State in his old college number, and his comeback shapes everything Indiana hopes to do this season.
What comes next
Minnesota visits Miami at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday (Game Center). At 10 p.m. ET, the Lakers host Golden State (Game Center) and Portland hosts Phoenix (Game Center).
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