Technically, the NBA Opening Day was on Tuesday. The champion Celtics got a ring. LeBron James and his son made history. The Knicks and Timberwolves got (unfortunate) early profits in a blockbuster trade. However, in the end only four teams actually played. The first Tuesday of the season is like a soft launch. The real action always begins on Wednesday.
Of the 26 teams that did not play on Tuesday, 20 started their season on Wednesday. That means two-thirds of the league’s season openers will be played on the same night, and we’ll tell you all about it. It’s dangerous to read too much into a single regular-season sample, but here’s one takeaway from all 10 games played Wednesday. Keep this in mind as the season officially begins in the coming days.
1. Small spaces can go a long way for the Pistons.
The Pistons had the dubious distinction of being the only team in the NBA last season to rank below 25th in both 3-point attempts and 3-point percentage. Poor shooting is obviously a problem in itself, but it affects every other element of the offense. There’s not much a penetrating guard can do when an opponent can crowd the paint with all of their defenders. The complete lack of shooting prevents me from doing justice to Detroit’s young players. Under these circumstances, how much could Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey really get out of the season they had a year ago?
Even now, no one would mistake Detroit for being a great shooting team. After all, they went 9-for-33 from deep on Wednesday. However, the Pacers actually had to consider adding Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Malik Beasley. The results were promising, as Cunningham and Ivey had some space. He totaled 45 points and totaled 12 assists in a 115-109 loss to the Eastern Conference finalists. It would have been nice to win, but this is a season of evaluation for the Pistons. They need to know what they have on the perimeter, and Wednesday was a good first step.
2. Evan Mobley will be the focal point of the offense.
The Cavaliers just made Evan Mobley a max player this offseason, and clearly they intend to make him earn that money on both ends of the floor. Mobley led the Cavaliers in scoring on Wednesday, scoring a team-leading 25 points on 14 shot attempts. He also made two 3-pointers, which may not sound like a big deal, but he only made 17 before the season. New coach Kenny Atkinson, in Cleveland’s blowout 136-106 win over the Raptors, focused on using his young power forwards to run the offense, getting the ball up and shooting for himself and others. made it possible to generate. For the Cavaliers to make their two-pronged lineup work, Mobley needs to grow as both a shooter and an offensive player, and Wednesday suggested the team is committed to making that happen.
3. Giannis is not Dame’s pick-and-roll partner
There’s no debating the effectiveness of Milwaukee’s offense Wednesday. The Bucks defeated the 76ers 124-109, scoring 124 points and making 16 3-pointers. But considering everything that’s happened leading up to this opener, it’s worth considering how those points were earned. When the Bucks acquired Damian Lillard last offseason, the expectation was that he and Giannis Antetokounmpo would form the NBA’s best pick-and-roll partnership. That didn’t happen, and when asked if that led to them training together or improving their chemistry during the offseason, they revealed that wasn’t the case.
Well, sure enough, the Lillard-Antetokounmpo pick-and-roll was just a small part of Milwaukee’s offense in the opener. As was the case last season, Lillard’s preferred partner was Brook Lopez. According to Synergy Sports, Lillard scored 22 points in the pick-and-roll against Philadelphia, but only one field goal and one trip to the foul line came from the pick-and-roll with Antetokounmpo. That’s all. Lillard has been using Lopez as a screener more often, and while that play may certainly be effective for Milwaukee, the Bucks will need the coordination of their two best players to achieve their championship potential. You’ll need to find a way to make the most of it. .
He played just 13 minutes and 39 seconds, and while those numbers don’t jump off the page, take a moment to remember that on Wednesday, Lonzo Ball played in his first regular season NBA game in 1,014 days. Let’s admit it. — and in that relatively short sample, he primarily I looked like my old self. He also had a great alley-oop to Zach LaVine in the third quarter.
It’s unclear how long Ball will stay healthy this season, and he could end up being a low-time player for the rest of his career. But it’s always heartening to see players return to the court after a long absence. Any amount of Lonzo Ball is better than none at all.
5. Ben Simmons is finally a center.
For years, the basketball world told Ben Simmons he had to play center field. It was the only position that could withstand his absolute refusal to take a 3-point shot, or indeed a jump shot at all. The Nets are finally realizing that vision. On Wednesday, first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez started Simmons and four other perimeter players: Cameron Thomas, Dennis Schroder, Dorian Finney-Smith and Cameron Johnson. They almost completely staggered Simmons and $97 million center Nicolas Claxton. Before Claxton’s ejection in the fourth quarter.. Simmons functioned as a center almost every minute, even though he was still relatively small for the role.
The results were at least somewhat promising. The Hawks beat the Nets by just two points. They were outscored by 14 points in the paint, but that had more to do with Brooklyn’s offense than the defense’s lack of size. The numbers don’t earn him the award: Simmons finished with six points, eight assists, and five rebounds. However, this could be a real chance for him to revive his career. He may never be a star again, but he could be a useful role player as a big man with the ball.
6. Rumors of LaMelo Ball’s death were greatly exaggerated
It may feel like LaMelo Ball hasn’t been active as long as his brother, but that’s not entirely true. He played in 58 games over the past two seasons, but an ankle injury deprived him of a significant opportunity to develop from being named an All-Star in 2022. Fortunately, the Hornets used his absence to strengthen the infrastructure around him. He now has a true running mate in Brandon Miller, and the entire roster is full of young, upwardly mobile role players to support him. Ball’s 34-point, 11-assist, and 8-rebound performance helped the Hornets open the season with a 110-105 upset road victory over the Rockets. If he can continue to play at anything close to this level, the Hornets will look like one of the most promising young teams in the NBA.
7. Magic is on a diet.
The Magic advanced to the playoffs last season thanks to the strength of their defense, which ranked third in the league. They couldn’t get past the first round because of a 22nd-ranked offense, and despite spending a lot of money in the offseason, they couldn’t exactly address the core issues that led to the scoring battle. . Orlando still doesn’t play a traditional point guard, with most of the lineup leaning defensively. What the Magic could do to address the offense was improve their shot selection. Last year’s team ranked 29th in the NBA with just over 31 3-point attempts per game. How to deal with the heat on Wednesday? They took 49 of them and converted 18 on the way to a 116-97 victory. It’s a bold approach to modifying their offense. Perfecting their shot selection will improve their offense without sacrificing the defensive-minded lineup that made them special a year ago.
8. The Grizzlies are coming to terms with last year’s turmoil.
The Grizzlies made history a year ago by using 33 different players throughout an injury-riddled season. With a stronger, healthier roster this season, one might think head coach Taylor Jenkins will want to settle into a more stable rotation this season. no. He used 11 players for the opening game, but none earned token spots. Every player who touched the floor in the Grizzlies’ 126-124 win played at least 14 minutes. No one played more than 31 games, and I don’t want you to believe that a star like Ja Morant or Desmond Bane would have gotten this gaudy total minutes, but unfortunately it was Santi Aldama. . Granted, the Grizzlies were without several key players on Wednesday in Jaren Jackson Jr., Luke Kennard, Vince Williams Jr., and GG Jackson II, but Jenkins still played more than reasonably expected. Things progressed. He wants to see everyone on his roster, and against Utah, where his best players were able to finish the game late in the game despite playing less minutes than usual, he got the best of both worlds. I got the best of it.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson once formed the best backcourt in NBA history, but Thompson hasn’t been the same player since returning from a torn ACL and Achilles tendon. His jumper was still good, but over the past few seasons he hasn’t been able to defend or create at the same level as he once did. That decline ultimately led to Golden State’s departure, and the Warriors replaced him with Buddy Hield as Curry’s designated splash partner.
Hield isn’t as versatile as Thompson was in his prime, but what about in terms of pure shooting? The gap is smaller than I expected. Hield is a career 40% shooter from deep and has made more 3-pointers and made more attempts per 100 career possessions than Thompson. Hield has made four of the top 25 seasons in 3-pointers, while Thompson has only made three. The Warriors will miss Thompson’s presence and experience, but if the season opener was any indication, he won’t be missed on the shooting side. Hield scored 22 points in just 15 minutes and made 5 of 7 3-pointers in a 139-104 win over the Trail Blazers. With Thompson gone, the Warriors have lost some size and offensive versatility, but rest assured they still have more than enough shooting power.
10. Point guard turns out to be important
It doesn’t make sense on paper, but a season ago the Suns had the least efficient fourth-quarter offense in the NBA. Despite having three shot-producing superstars in Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, they were only able to score 105.1 points per 100 possessions in the final frame. The problem was that the Suns didn’t know how to properly utilize all of their talent, often falling into unorganized games of “your turn, my turn.”
They addressed this issue by miraculously signing Tyus Jones to a minimum salary contract this offseason, and sure enough, the Suns continued to have a legitimate offense during a 116-113 overtime win over the Clippers. It looked like it was. After scoring just 72 points in the first three quarters, the Suns rallied in the fourth and overtime, scoring a total of 44 points, thanks in large part to the presence of a true point guard. Jones finished the game with 11 points and eight assists, but more importantly, he led the Phoenix starters with a plus-six point differential. The Suns were better off keeping him on the floor. Because he was able to utilize all of their firepower within the flow of the offense. If the Suns can really figure out how to make the most of their great talent, they could make it to the majors. Western Conference issues.