NBA Preseason 2015: Best Matchups to Watch in 2nd Week of Exhibition Schedule

One week down, three more to go in the 2015 NBA preseason. The first seven days of action across the exhibition slate brought forth a big debut for Stanley Johnson, the return of Paul George to superstardom and a bruised glute for D'Angelo Russell.

All in all, it provided more than enough ammo to begin the build to the 2015-16 campaign. Now, it's up to Week 2 to keep things going. With more games on the docket—the first week of games has a typically slow build before kicking things into high gear—we should see more moments of budding stardom, more feats of individual excellence by stars and a few more bruised glutes. 

OK, hopefully not the last one.

But with that in mind, here is a quick look at some of the best matchups we'll see over the next seven days of the preseason schedule.

Chicago Bulls at Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Saturday, Oct. 10

Time: 8 p.m. ET

The Timberwolves are worth watching every time they take court this season simply due to their abundant young talent. Andrew Wiggins appears ready for a second-year breakout, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 18 points in a sterling debut and Zach LaVine will be in the starting lineup from opening night after getting 40 nods last season.

"We have a great group of young guys who are eager to learn. And I'm using the word 'great'. Not good, but great," Kevin Garnett said, per Tim Faklis of Sporting News. "And they understand that they're willing and open to work hard and give everything. I see a lot of myself in some of these guys."

If the three-man core of Wiggins, Towns and LaVine wasn't enough, rookie point guard Tyus Jones started Wednesday's preseason game against Oklahoma City; Gorgui Dieng, Adreian Payne and Shabazz Muhammad project as key reserves. The oldest player among that group of seven is the 25-year-old Dieng, who was putting up almost a double-double per night in 2014-15.

Minnesota isn't making the playoffs this season. The West is too loaded, and its young players still need a ton of seasoning. But the talent level is remarkable here for a franchise that looked dead in the water during last summer's Kevin Love fiasco.

On the other side, the Bulls fancy themselves as an Eastern Conference favorite but remain a bit enigmatic. First-year coach Fred Hoiberg is already dealing with alleged tension between stars Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose.  Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported Butler “doesn’t have a lot of respect for his work ethic.’’

Yikes. That's not exactly what Hoiberg was looking for as he replaces Tom Thibodeau, who was seen as the "problem" by many in the Bulls organization over the last couple years. Maybe there's been more going on than meets the eye.

Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz

Date: Monday, Oct. 12

Time: 9 p.m. ET

Two of the most intriguing young teams in basketball. Portland enters 2015-16 starting a full-scale rebuild after the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge...and Wesley Matthews...and Robin Lopez...and Nicolas Batum...and Arron Afflalo. Damian Lillard is the only remaining starter from the franchise's back-to-back playoff runs, with the franchise replacing their veteran-laden roster with a ton of youth.

Third-year guard C.J. McCollum (24) projects as Lillard's backcourt-mate, Allen Crabbe (23) and Moe Harkless (22) are competing for minutes at small forward, same for Meyers Leonard (23) and Noah Vonleh (20) at power forward and Mason Plumlee (25) should start at center. Plumlee is the oldest player in the starting lineup, just a couple months older than the 25-year-old Lillard.

The Blazers are going to push the ball up the floor constantly, jack a ton of triples and come through with their fair share of highlight plays when Lillard gets in the open court. After mixing their offensive style between what best suited Aldridge and what best suited Lillard over the last couple years, the roster has been built entirely to showcase their All-Star point guard.

"Now we're back at that stage where nothing is expected of us," Lillard told reporters at media day. "But we've been working hard, I know that for a fact, and I do have confidence in what we have. I know it will take some time for us to jell together and get completely comfortable in a real game. But I think what we have is a lot better than what people think."

The Jazz were that team no one expected anything from a year ago. Now, the script has flipped. A strong second-half run allowed Utah to finish 38-44, and many expect the team to compete for one of the West's final two playoff spots.

Unlike Portland, Utah's youth-laden core is built around defensive excellence. Rudy Gobert is a dark-horse Defensive Player of the Year candidate at center, and Quin Snyder's system fits perfectly to his personnel. The Jazz allowed 94.8 points per 100 possessions after the All-Star break, a number nearly five points better than second-placed Memphis, per NBA.com.

At the very least, this game is going to be a lot of fun.

Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Tuesday, Oct. 13

Time: 10 p.m. ET

I want to see D'Angelo Russell play at full health. That's about the entire explanation needed here. Russell is insistent that he's fine after a hard fall in Tuesday's 117-114 loss to Utah, but Lakers coach Byron Scott would not commit to him playing Thursday against Toronto, per Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News.

“I had the same injury my rookie year too and it put me out for a couple of weeks,” Kobe Bryant said. “It was a tough fall. But it is what it is. I don’t think it’s something to be overly concerned about it. If he gets some rest, he’ll be fine.”

If Russell is in the lineup Thursday, odds are he won't be 100 percent and will be held to minimal playing time. It's far more likely that the Lakers hold him out so he can recover before fully deploying him Tuesday night—a game that also doubles as their Staples Center debut for 2015-16. Russell is the crown jewel of the offseason, the No. 2 overall pick who projects as Bryant's heir apparent. A smooth combo guard built in the same mold as Brandon Roy, Russell has all the makings of an instant offensive star.

Sunday's preseason opener saw Russell score just five points on 2-of-8 shooting, and he had not attempted a shot Tuesday before going out with his glute injury. Seeing Russell totally unleashed will have to wait until next week, but it should be a lot of fun once it actually happens.

Oh, right. The Kings will be there, too. DeMarcus Cousins will be playing. That's always fun. (But seriously...this is all about Russell.)

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