By Bill Nichols

The National Basketball Association begins its 25^th year tonight with two games. The Cavaliers kick off their first season ever tomorrow nigh.

Defending champion New York Knicks host the Boston Celtics and San Diego visits Chicago in league lid-lifters to inaugurate a gigantic 672-game schedule, largest in NBA history.

Cleveland travels to Buffalo to take on the expansion Braves at Memorial Auditorium tomorrow night, beginning, not only a new life, but a seven-game road trip for the baby Cavs.

THE CAVALIERS don't play their home opener at the Arena until Oct. 28 when they take on the San Diego Rockets.

The NBS celebrated its silver anniversary with three new teams, four new coaches and a new divisional set-up.

In addition to the Cavs and Braves, the Portland Trail Blazers take their first breath of NBA air this season. Cleveland will be in Portland Friday night to help the Blazers open their season.

THE CAVS ARE the opposition in openers for both Buffalo and Portland.

Three of the league's new coaches come from the college ranks and one filtered out of the NBA official family.

Cleveland's Bill Fitch, of course, came from the University of Minnesota while Lowell (Cotton) Fitzsimmons left Kansas State for the Phoenix Suns and Rolland Todd departed from the University of Nevada at Lad Vegas to join Portland.

DOLPH SCHAYES, former coach of the Syracuse Nats and Philadelphia 76ers, left his job as head of NBA officials to take the reins at Buffalo.

With the addition of three expansion teams, the NBA is now split into four divisions of which two are listed in the East and two in the West.

Comprising the East are the Atlantic and Central Divisions. The Midwest and Pacific Divisions make up the West.

BOSTON, Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia are in the Atlantic. Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Atlanta are in the Central. Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and Phoenix are in the Midwest and the five-team Pacific Division has Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.

The NBA won last spring's battle in the war with American Basketball Association, grabbing Pistol Pete Maravich and Bob Lanier out of the college draft. Maravich has had an up and down pre-season with the Atlanta Hawks while Lanier appears healthy for the Detroit Pistons after undergoing knee surgery last March.

The Cavaliers posted a 3-8 exhibition record and considering the opposition it was a highly commendable record. Six of Cleveland's pre-season tests were against Midwest Division foes, three with Milwaukee, two with Phoenix and one with Chicago, winning one against the Suns. This division is considered by many to have the best overall strength of any of the four.

LOOKING BACK on the five weeks of training and games, Fitch had this to say, "We have a long way to go. Our exhibition schedule pointed out our mistakes and now we're going to go about correcting them.

Although he didn't score in 13 minutes of playing time in the Cavs' final exhibition game Sunday, the 112-85 loss to Milwaukee, McCoy McLemore wound up as the club's high scorer and top rebounder in the club's 11 games.

McLemore scored 153 points for a 13.9 per game average while grabbing 81 rebounds. The team's assist leader was guard Johnny Egan who was credited with 38.