As we embark on another NBA season, I wanted to take some time to talk about the teams that I am most eager to see over the course of the campaign. While there are teams that will get plenty of mainstream attention, there will be plenty of talent and exciting basketball all around the league. While there are no direct criteria, my non-national teams have to have entertainment value on a game to game basis and fascinating pieces in the form of young talent or new additions. Each of these squads fits that bill and there were a few tough omissions as well.

While the list I used did not include NBATV games, it should provide a solid basis for this limited purpose. Teams with ten or more listed games on ABC, TNT, and ESPN were not considered for inclusion though they play plenty of League Pass games.

Honorable Mention: Minnesota Timberwolves- Ricky Rubio is my basketball spirit animal and if he stays healthy I will probably watch more of Minnesota than any other team on League Pass.

5. Utah Jazz: The combined age of their five projected starters on Opening Day is 108 with no starter older than 23. That is simply remarkable for a team that could actually be pretty competitive this season. As of this writing, it appears both Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors will be playing without long-term contracts heading into Restricted Free Agency next summer, which should give this season a little extra intrigue. I am also looking forward to seeing Rudy Gobert, my favorite enigma in the 2013 draft class with his impossible 7’9” wingspan.

4. New Orleans Pelicans: The first of the grand experiments because they may finish games with Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans sharing the court (and one basketball, presumably). Anthony Davis had an excellent and underappreciated rookie season but should get more attention now that the team should be more relevant after adding a ton of talent. Look for Ryan Anderson to continue to play a big role and continued development by Al-Farouq Aminu would make the Pelicans much more dangerous moving forward.

3. Memphis Grizzlies: Easily the best team to qualify for the list since they could potentially have the best record in the Western Conference in 13-14. Marc Gasol has been a joy to watch the last few seasons and Mike Conley came on as a force on both ends of the floor this past season. Tony Allen makes every match-up with a quality offensive foe substantially more fun and despite being an elite team the Grizzlies also have intriguing young talent in Ed Davis (24), Kosta Koufos (24), Nick Calathes (24) and Jamaal Franklin (22).

2. Detroit Pistons: The second grand experiment assuming they fiddle with Greg Monroe, Josh Smith and Andre Drummond playing together. The three of them gobbling up all of the available PF and C minutes is fascinating but the real question is whether we will see them close out games together. Add in the immense unbridled talent of Brandon Jennings and unknown commodities in the form of rookies Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tony Mitchell and you have a team worth following closely.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Over the past few seasons, Cleveland has amassed one of the most compelling collections of young talent the league has seen in quite a while. While some of those picks could have been made differently, they have a franchise player in Kyrie Irving and fascinating pieces like #1 pick Anthony Bennett, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson (who changed shooting hands this summer), Tyler Zeller, and one of my favorite post-lottery 2013 draftees Sergey Karasev. That alone warrants inclusion on this list but bringing in Andrew Bynum makes them a clear choice for #1. His combination of talent and contract situation (two year contract but only about $6 million of it is guaranteed) pushes the Cavs to another level of intrigue. The possibility that the team adds prodigal son LeBron James at some point in the next few summers provides another lens to view this season while Anderson Varejao has been consistently fun to watch when healthy. Regardless of how the season turns out, a healthy Cavs team will dominate my attention on League Pass.