Lineup

NBA PREVIEW

66 The Thunder

Led by Kevin Durant (right) and backed by the league's most appreciative fans, Oklahoma City takes aim at L.A.

By Lee Jenkins

72 The Heat

After pulling off the biggest coup in NBA history, can Miami make the best of its Big Three on the court?

By Ian Thomsen

78 Scouting Reports

Projected lineups, fast facts and scouts' takes for all 30 teams, plus the order of finish for both conferences

Eastern Conference

80 | Atlantic Division

88 | Central Division

96 | Southeast Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE

104 | Northwest Division

112 | Southwest Division

120 | Pacific Division

40 | BASEBALL

The Giants

Nothing is easy for this tortured team, which hasn't won it all since '54

By Joe Posnanski

46 | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Seismic Saturday

In a day that scrambled the polls, down went Nos. 1, 5 and 10

By Austin Murphy

52 | PRO FOOTBALL

Tight Ends

They're the new go-to guys in the NFL's ever-evolving air attack

By Damon Hack

60 | SOCCER

Thierry Henry

The French striker has turned the Red Bulls into MLS title contenders

By Grant Wahl

Departments

6 Leading Off

12 Letters

14 Scorecard

Is tell-all agent the new Jose Canseco?

22 Just My Type

LSU's Les Miles talks clock management

by Dan Patrick

24 Faces in the Crowd

28 Inside ...

• The NFL

Head shots on the rise

• Fantasy Football

Backups to pick up

• College Football

No-frills Spartans

• College Basketball

Returning big men

• NASCAR

SI Mid-Chase Awards

128 The Vault

Gretzky's record, '89

130 SI.com

Big Ben's return; Peter King's thoughts

132 Point After

College football the way it ought to be

by Selena Roberts

ON THE COVER

The Thunder's Kevin Durant, Thabo Sefolosha (2) and Nenad Krstic (12), photographed by Peter Read Miller

Please Recycle This Magazine Remove Inserts or Samples Before Recycling

PHOTO

PETER READ MILLER (DURANT)

PHOTO

NIGEL KINRADE/AUTOSTOCK (JOHNSON)

JIMMIE JOHNSON is on the verge of making more NASCAR history (page 38).