The NBA season tips off today with an odd matinee game between the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons that will serve as a sort of appetizer for the double-header main course later tonight: 76ers-Knicks and Thunder-Spurs.

As weird as a 3 p.m. ET game on opening day might be, however, it's fitting that it tilts the scales of teams we'll watch in favor of the Eastern Conference. Because it's the East, for once, that is the more compelling conference this season, top to bottom. I can't remember the last time we've been able to say that.

The storylines are endless:

• The Knicks are defending champs and looking to become the first repeat champ since 2017-18.

• LeBron James and Jaylen Brown joined the 76ers to help Joel Embiid get over the hump.

• Boston enters its post-Jaylen Brown era with Jayson Tatum as the lone star in town.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo took his talents to South Beach to revive the Heat.

• Tyrese Haliburton makes his return to the Pacers from an Achilles tear.

• Kawhi Leonard is back in Toronto on a good team after escaping punishment in the Clippers investigation.

• The Pistons are the reigning No. 1 seed looking to stay on top with home-grown talent.

• The Cavs are running it back after reaching the conference finals.

• The Wizards are finally ready to win with Antony Davis, Trae Young and A.J. Dybantsa.

You can see a scenario where almost any of those teams are the last standing. I didn't even mention the Hawks and Magic as returning playoff teams. Or the Hornets as a fringe playoff team that traded LaMelo Ball to get over the hump. Or rookie-of-the-year contender Caleb Wilson in Chicago.

The only teams we can say will be bad with certainty are Brooklyn and Milwaukee.

That makes the Eastern Conference so much more interesting than the West, which might have the NBA's two best teams between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder (emphasis on might), but a wider gap between those top teams and the rest of the conference.

Nikola Jokic still has a case for best player in the world but his roster doesn't stack up. The Timberwolves and Lakers also have superstars on teams that appear inferior to the Spurs and Thunder. The aging stars in Houston and Golden State haven't had much playoff success lately.

Those things all make the West feel a bit more predictable. The East, though? Good luck guessing what happens with that conference. It'll be a crapshoot, and that's enough to keep me locked in all season to see how it plays out.

Quick hits: Jalen Hurts questions ... Dan Quinn addresses viral clip ... and more

• The latest on Jalen Hurts' scary blood clot situation left us with 5 questions.

• NFL Network's Michael Robinson apologized for his "unfounded" speculation about Hurts.

• 6 quarterback options for the Eagles with Hurts likely out for the season.

• Troy Aikman's steely Monday Night Football intro won't dispel rumors of a feud with Joe Buck.

• Dan Quinn addressed a viral clip from Monday's game where he appeared unaware of the downs.

• Davante Adams replacements for the Rams after the star receiver's crushing injury news.

• 5 Colts trade candidates after the firing of GM Chris Ballard.

• The NFL offered an update on the Steelers-Saints game in Paris amid the civil unrest in France.