Rockets vs. Lakers game thread: Opening night is upon us

Ohhhhh man. It's here.

The Rockets start their season at 9:30 p.m. central time in Los Angeles, taking on the Los Angeles Lakers, the last team to employ Mike D'Antoni as head coach before this July. These are the two teams still shaking their fists at Dwight Howard for helping torpedo seasons with championship aspirations. And these are two teams who should combine for plenty of points to start the season.

We've previewed every dang player on the roster, written ad infinitum about the James Harden-D'Antoni pairing and Harden's official move to point guard. We've predicted the season (Harden is my MVP pick because it turns out, gun to my head, I am a shameless homer). Now we get to watch the games actually begin.

Can Harden break the record for assists per game? D'Antoni wants him to. Can the Rockets break the record for three-pointers in a season? The NBA's smartest writer thinks they will. Can the Rockets assemble something close to a competent defense? No one knows.

But tonight, we get to begin answering these questions. Who's excited? I mean, who's REALLY excited