Celtics, Nets, Suns and Warriors get set to debut their 82-act dramas on the NBA's Opening Night

These title-targeting teams will need to douce drama, but several such squads have captured championships before

Robert Sarver's terrible conduct and forced exile. DeAndre Aytons's Cold War with his own head coach. Ime Udoka's alleged transgressions and suspension. Draymond Green's senseless punch of Jordan Poole. The Brooklyn Nets being, well, the Brooklyn Nets. 

In the midst of an increasingly competitive NBA, most of the game's favorites have another, more dangerous obstacle to overcome: Themselves.

That's one of the throughlines of the season that starts tonight. Four of the six betting favorites to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy come June are nursing the types of controversies that championship-caliber teams typically seek to avoid.