Welcome back as I launch into my second season at the helm of Position Battles. Every Wednesday, we'll take you through the key playing time controversies around the NBA and do our best to sort out the skirmishes. Whether an injury opens the door for a backup to move into the starting lineup, a rookie starts earning more PT or a bench player forces his way into the front five, Position Battles will try to bring analysis and clarity to each situation.

With the season just tipping off Tuesday night (how about those tasteful rings given to the Heat players?), it's obviously premature to see trends in playing time battles and how they will shake out over time, so for our opener, let's have a look at a few situations you need to keep an eye on early this season.

Atlanta

PF Marvin Williams was supposed to enjoy a breakout season in 2006-07. Instead, he's suffered a break of a different kind – and the busted digit will keep him out another six to eight weeks. In his stead, former ACC rival Shelden Williams gets the starting assignment. Many thought Shelden was not as NBA-ready as advertised, but now he has a chance to prove them wrong and solidify his minutes. Watch for Josh Childress to also benefit from Marvin's injury, but his PT won't suffer when the former Tar Heel returns, whereas Shelden's might.

Josh Smith may also see some time at four, which would allow Childress to get starter's minutes at three.

Charlotte

Brevin Knight begins the season as the Bobcats' shooting guard, but how long until (a) he gets hurt; or (b) he gets nudged to the bench by rookie Adam Morrison? Morrison started half of Charlotte's pre-season games (because – guess what? – Knight was hurt) and scored 11.6 PPG, but shot just 36 percent from the field. Coach Bickerstaff wants to ease Morrison's transition to the pros by starting him off as a reserve, but expect the third overall pick from June's draft to be the first man off the bench.

Chicago

Veteran P.J. Brown and rookie Tyrus Thomas are supposed to slug it out at PF, but it looks like no contest right now. Brown may be pushing 40, but he still is a great hustler who can score under the hoop and rebound. Thomas has tremendous big man potential, but issues around his defensive play have caused coach Scott Skiles to suggest his PT will be limited to begin the season. Thomas played 16 minutes Tuesday but, of course, the Bulls emptied their bench. Then again, the rook got a rough initiation to the league with a broken nose. Welcome to the league, Tyrus!

Andres Nocioni, who could have started at PF or even over Luol Deng at SF, will be the key man off the bench. Expect Nocioni to be one of the top sixth men in the association and true to form, he did his thing Tuesday, falling just a point away from a double-double and getting more minutes than anyone other than Captain Kirk. Given the blowout, however, the distribution of minutes was skewed.

Houston

There are myriad options in Houston, where the fifth starter gig is still up for grabs. Depending on who is added to the opening lineup, we could see Tracy McGrady at shooting guard or small forward while newcomer Shane Battier will handle either small forward or power forward.

But the possibilities are pretty extensive right now, including Luther Head, Juwan Howard, Steve Novak, Scott Padgett, Kirk Snyder and Bonzi Wells.

Head looked solid at times when pressed into action because of injuries to T-Mac last season, and the Rockets have faith in the soph, exercising his 2007-08 contract last week. Houston also did the same for newcomer Kirk Snyder, who has been pegged as the starting shooting guard, but is with his third team in three years and was as inconsistent as they come for the Hornets last year.

Some sources list Juwan Howard as the PF, under which configuration T-Mac mans the two and Battier handles the three spot. Howard's getting on in years at 33, but is still capable of helping a fantasy team. Owners will recall how he was one of the hottest waiver wire pickups as the main scoring option in Houston when the team was decimated with injuries in 2005-06.

Novak is wowing people with his shooting touch. The rook seems capable of dropping a beach ball into a golf cup. The 6'10" Novak could man the power forward position, helping to spread the floor with his outside game.

Padgett is a veteran version of Novak, but he's never possessed nearly as good a touch, hence his career scoring average of 4.4 PPG. He was on the bubble when the Rockets made their cuts, but Padgett has a chance to earn some rotation time.

As for Wells, he missed a good chunk of the preseason to attend to a personal matter, so it's doubtful he'll be ready to handle heavy minutes to start the season. In fact, according to coach Van Gundy, he won't even play in the opener at all although Wells insists he's ready. Will he be OK coming off the bench, or will the honeymoon period on his latest team last shorter than usual for Bonzi? It's hard to see him accepting anything less than 25 minutes per game without raising a stink.

Indiana

While Danny Granger, Al Harrington and Jermaine O'Neal make up the Indiana frontcourt, when the team wants to go big, Jeff Foster could start at C. That would shift O'Neal to PF, Harrington to SF, and either Granger or SG Stephen Jackson would get pine time under that scenario. Jackson hasn't exactly ingratiated himself in Indy with his recent off-the-court activities, so his PT might suffer.

LA Lakers

Smush Parker is the starting PG for the Lakers, but which one will show up – the one who finished the season strong (11.8 points, 4.1 assists per game in April) or the one who pulled a Houdini in the playoffs (8.9 points, 1.6 assists per game)? On Tuesday, Parker played well, scoring nine points (on just four shots) with seven assists, six boards and three steals.

Of course, if Smush tanks, who takes over? Sasha Vujacic is the primary backup and you can expect to see him get 20 minutes a night, but rookie Jordan Farmar could replace him as the main guard off the bench. The freshman doesn't get a lot of ink, but is a sleeper – especially in a Laker backcourt where the division of minutes is still unsettled.

Tuesday night, with Kobe Bryant – despite his claims that his knee felt "really good" – a spectator for the season debut, Vujacic took over the shooting guard duties. He missed all four of his three-point attempts in an undistinguished 25-minute effort. Farmer, meanwhile, nailed all three of his shots in 14 minutes, but turned the ball over twice, managing just one assist. Kobe could miss more action this week, so watch how Vujacic and Farmar play in his absence.

In somewhat of a surprise, Luke Walton, a favorite of Phil Jackson, got the start at PF, while Lamar Odom shifted to small forward, but expected starting PF Vladimir Radmanovic was on the bench. Vlad's going to have issues with his hand (which needs surgery, apparently) all season long, so may defer to Walton while he deals with the soreness.

In the middle, young Andrew Bynum will start now, but Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown will take over when healthy in a couple of weeks. Bynum has a great chance to make an impression during the early stretch of the season and he opened some eyes on Tuesday with an 18-point, nine-rebound, five-assist effort. More of that will expedite his ascension to the permanent starter role. The Lakers have a lot of money tied up in Brown, though, so let's see how things shake out when he gets back.

Miami

Regular starting PG Jason Williams needs a couple of more weeks to recover from offseason knee surgery, so ancient Gary Payton will run the offense and the unknown Chris Quinn is the backup. There's talk Miami is interested in Jalen Rose. Adding him to this mix will complicate the situation further. Payton can probably handle a larger workload for a couple of weeks (he played 35 Tuesday despite the Heat getting blow out), but should Williams' return be delayed, the Heat will need to figure something out.

New Orleans/Oklahoma

Last year, Bobby Jackson spent the season jockeying for playing time with Chucky Atkins in Memphis. He's got a new team, but a similar situation this year as Jackson will try to unseat SG Desmond Mason in the Big Easy. Mason will be motivated, as he's coming off his worst season plus is in a contract year, so he'll be hard to unseat. But even if Jackson can't crack the starting five, he heads up a fairly weak bench, so expect plenty of minutes from the energetic guard.

Orlando

Tony Battie gets the nod at PF for the Magic, but the man to watch will be Darko Milicic. A bruised back that caused him to miss 10 days of pre-season action hurt Darko's chances for the job, but it's just a matter of time before he unseats Battie. Milicic played almost 21 MPG after being rescued from his Detroit nightmare, but that number stands to rise significantly this season. Look for Milicic to get 25 or more minutes at the outset, with nice upside as the season progresses. He might be starting by Thanksgiving.

Philadelphia

Veteran Kevin Ollie, who made a career-high 23 starts last season, gets the opening night nod at PG with Allen Iverson at SG. But Ollie's track record is spotty at best, so it's not inconceivable that The Answer shifts back to the point and Kyle Korver comes off the bench to man the two-guard spot. Korver will be valuable as a great source of long balls either way, but watch Ollie's production and PT over the first couple of weeks to get a handle on this situation.

Phoenix

Kurt Thomas and Amare Stoudemire were supposed to slug it out at center for the Suns, but this one might be over before it starts. Stoudemire, still working his way back from last season's injuries may only play 15 to 20 minutes a game to start the season (he played just a dozen in the debut) and from the sounds of it, he's accepted his role as the team's sixth man and expects it to remain that way all season long. Hope you didn't draft Amare too early. By the way, if the debut is any indication, look for Leandro Barbosa to play a key role off the bench for the Suns. He put on a serious show in LA, nailing six treys on his way to 30 points.

Portland

Sorting out PT in Portland was a mess last year, and it doesn't look to be any easier this season – at least from the outset. You've got Juan Dixon and Brandon Roy fighting for SG time while Ime Udoka and Travis Outlaw battle it out at the three spot.

While Dixon dazzled at times last year, just as often he'd disappear for stretches. Roy, on the other hand, was drawing raves at the Trail Blazer camp this preseason, and he enjoyed a workload to match the hype, playing almost 35 minutes per game. The rookie showed a good touch from the floor, draining 46 percent of his shots for almost 15 PPG. He's got the edge for the starting gig now and judging by his understanding of the game, it's hard to see Roy losing the job any time soon. This is not a normal rookie with a normal rookie learning curve.

The 29-year-old Udoka, a training camp invitee, has already won his biggest battle by making the opening night roster. It's doubtful he'll be able to unseat the veteran Outlaw at small forward. Of course, once Martell Webster's back woes clear up, both men will probably find a seat on the bench. Watch for Roy to possibly see some action at the three, and there's talk he'll get a bit of point guard duty too. Mr. Versatile.