I wish I would have placed some faux prop bets at the beginning of the season, because “Greg Oden gets hurt again, sparks debates over whether he’s more Sam Bowie or more Bill Walton” would have been high on that list for me.

With the 76ers moving their game up to accommodate the World Series, let’s jump into the games (all times Pacific):

Hornets (0-0) at Warriors (0-0), 7:35 p.m.
Pick: Hornets -7
This one should be over early, giving the Warriors plenty of time to field more third-rate trade offers for Al Harrington.

Raptors (0-0) at 76ers (0-0), 3:05 p.m.
Pick: Raptors +5.5
Jermaine O’Neal vs. Elton Brand in the battle of two teams that are going to wind up playing each other in the 4-5 playoff matchup.

Hawks (0-0) at Magic (0-0), 4:05 p.m.
Pick: Magic -7.5
The Hawks are tempting in this matchup, but realistically, it’s in a beer-goggling kind of way.

Nets (0-0) at Wizards (0-0), 4:05 p.m.
Pick: Nets +6
Since the Nuggets are my de facto fantasy team (Caron Butler, Andre Blatche as a late pickup, Gilbert on reserve), this hurts me more than it’ll hurt them.

Heat (0-0) at Knicks (0-0), 4:35 p.m.
Pick: Heat +3
Mike D’Antoni + Eddy Curry + Stephon Marbury = Maybe the only team that’s still crazier than the Warriors.

Pacers (0-0) at Pistons (0-0), 5:05 p.m.
Pick: Pistons -10
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but . . . without Mike Dunleavy, the Pacers have no shot.

Bucks (0-1) at Thunder (0-0), 5:05 p.m.
Pick: Thunder -2
Bucks’ reward for a preseason trip to China is to open with a road-road back-to-back . . . did Herb Kohl run over David Stern’s puppy or something?

Kings (0-0) at Timberwolves (0-0), 5:05 p.m.
Pick: Kings +5.5
Can’t see the young Wolf pups covering by that much.

Suns (0-0) at Spurs (0-0), 5:05 p.m.
Pick: Spurs -2
Went back and forth three times on this one, but finally landed here. At some point, the Spurs are going to get old in a hurry. But I don’t think this is the year.

Grizzlies (0-0) at Rockets (0-0), 5:35 p.m.
Pick: Rockets -11.5
The Ron Artest era doesn’t have much of a test, at least to start with.

Nuggets (0-0) at Jazz (0-0), 7:05 p.m.
Pick: Jazz -7.5
No ‘Melo, no chance.

Lakers (1-0) at Clippers (0-0), 7:35 p.m.
Pick: Clippers +10
Just too much action. The Clippers won’t win, but Baron will keep it closer than double digits.

Season record: 1-2

– Geoff