The 2022-23 NBA season is underway. After Boston beat Philadelphia on Tuesday and the Warriors beat the Lakers, Wednesday night saw the full game. Here are the biggest opening night headlines for his two teams that haven’t played a game yet (the Clippers and the Bucks).
Zion, Pelicans’ Ingram Star
In his first game in over 18 months, Zion Williamson hit the Nets with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists. Williamson is clearly in good shape and has an incredible feel for setting up defenders to reach left hands, whether with his back to the basket or starting downhill momentum before the catch. It goes on. He has passed Ben Simmons in the paint for layups on numerous occasions. His second jump of him is faster and more powerful than ever. His best move is to pogo stick up for his own mistake while the others are still stuck to the floor.
Meanwhile, Brandon Ingram had 28 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists on 10-of-17 shooting. One of the better and more frequently contested shooters in the league, he made tough shots look effortlessly smooth all night long. The Pelicans looked great in the process and easily beat Brooklyn.
Ben Simmons in return somehow
Simmons finished with more fouls (6) than points (4), rebounds (5) and assists (5) in his first NBA game since June 2021. He had no real impact on the game, blocking two free throws and getting repeatedly bull rushed by Williamson in the paint. rice field.
not enough lebron
LeBron James had 31 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Anthony Davis is 27 and he has 6. Russell Westbrook added 19 points and 11 rebounds on his efficient 7/12 shooting. I can’t say LeBron played great despite the line, but overall, you can’t expect him to do more than 77 points and 31 rebounds on 49% shooting in this trio. That wasn’t even indicated by a score of 123-109.
Sure, the Warriors are probably the best team in the league. But LeBron, and the Lakers, are not in the business of judging teams against mediocre standards. He wants to compete with the best.
DeRozan keeps heat down
DeMar DeRozan had 37 points and 9 assists for Miami as the Bulls clinched a Day One win. He went 14 for 22 from the field. He made two of his three 3-pointers. By the way, DeRozan joins Michael Jordan (who did it three times) as the only players in Bulls history to record at least 30 points, five assists and five rebounds in a season opener. This guy is absolutely deadly. He picks up right from where he left off last season.
Hawks love new backcourt
Trae Young and Dejounte Murray combined for 43 points and 24 assists in their first game together as the Hawks defeated the Rockets. Young reached the free-throw line eight times, all successful. Murray recorded five steals. The only thing the duo didn’t do well was shooting 3 balls (a 2 vs 14 combination). Fresh out of a $95 million contract extension, he brought in De’Andre Hunter and combined with John Collins, he went 19-for-27 with a blistering 19-for-27 shooting that gave him 46 points, and the Hawks are on the mend. .
Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!
Rudy Gobert, who has always been frustrated by his lack of offensive engagement in Utah, attempted more shots in his debut with the Wolves than he did in any game with the Jazz last season (15). saved the day for the Timberwolves, finishing with 23 points and 16 rebounds. Want to know about Minnesota’s Twin Towers lineup?Gobert scored his two passes off Carl’s rob from Anthony Towns and prepared Gobert’s first bucket in a Wolves uniform. did.
You know it was Gobert’s night when he hit a 22-foot floater to close out the third quarter.
too many morants
The Knicks recovered from a 19 in the second half to force overtime in Memphis, but Ja Morant swooped in way too close, coming into the paint for an unsuspecting floater. Morant recorded his 34 points and his 9 assists, knocking down his 3 of his 6 3-pointers to put the Grizzlies right foot down.
Damion Lee Lifts Suns
After trailing by 22 in the third quarter, the Suns launched a massive rally to stun the Mavericks. Devin Booker scored his 28 points, but it was Damion Lee, who scored all 11 points in the 4th quarter, to beat the game winner with less than 10 seconds left on him.
Stephen Curry, Lee’s brother-in-law (Lee is married to Curry’s sister) and, of course, Lee’s teammate on the Warriors, was so excited that he woke the child up while celebrating.
Boston goes sharp
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 70 points (35 each) on 61% combined shooting (44-27) in the Celtics’ victory over the Phillies on Tuesday. Grant Williams, who was perfect from the field, combined with Malcolm Brogdon, who scored 31 points off the bench, including 3 of 3 from Deep. Boston lost his 117 points, but the defense usually looked underwhelmed in the stint. Tatum added his 12 boards and aggressively pushed the pace of mistakes. This is what all of Boston intended. At least for his one game, the drama of Ime Udoka’s suspension didn’t seem to affect the Celtics.
Banchero Goes Wild at Debut
Orlando Magic rookie Paulo Banchero announced Wednesday that he has arrived in the NBA with near-historic authority, posting 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals on 11-of-18 shooting. Did. This makes Banchero just the third player in the last 30 years to reach his 25-5-5 mark in his NBA debut, and LeBron’s James and Grant Hill, with 27 points, is the first since his debut. The most scoring debut by the #1 overall pick. Allen Iverson scored his 30th in 1996.
harden feel good
James Harden scored 35 points in an efficient 9-14 in Philly’s opener. He made 5 of his 9 3-pointers and was perfect 12-12 from the free-throw line (he was just as plagued by false falldowns/landing space fouls on 3-pointers as ever). and scored a total of 3 draws) on those 4-point plays). He didn’t isolate Philadelphia. He would pick and roll or keep moving. He doesn’t fool people, but he’s consistently in the paint and elite he remains a passer. (7 assists). As expected, the defense was lazy many times. But it’s Harden.
denver lays eggs
Not much to say about this. The Nuggets, presumed championship contenders, would end up being one of the worst teams in the league despite having a fairly full roster of rotation-level NBA players. It doesn’t matter how you look at it.
Raptors balance
Toronto was the only team in the league last season to have five players averaging 15 or more points per game, and all five of them again scored at least 15 points in their opening night victory over the Cavaliers. Pascal Siakam led with 23, followed by Gary Trent Jr. with 19, OG Anunoby with 18, Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes with 15 each. Burns, who will be in a point guard role this season, had seven assists.
Mitchell is short for the Cavaliers
Donovan Mitchell was spectacular in his Cleveland debut with 31 points and 9 assists, but when he left the court in the 108-105 loss (plus 10 with him, minus 10 without him). 13), the Cavaliers were unable to hold the fort. to Toronto. Mitchell only sat for 3 minutes and 35 seconds in the second half, and the Cavaliers lost that stint he went 13-3.
fox brave to defeat
DeAaron Fox brightened the Blazers with 33 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds, hitting 5-of-9 from deep, but Sacramento couldn’t hold on to their second-half lead at home. With just over a minute to play and the Kings one up, Fox tried to force his way to the rim against a retreating Jerami Grant, but Grant didn’t lose Fox’s radar lock. , hit in the chest for the charge. From that point on, the Blazers outscored Sacramento 10-2. It was the last of Fox’s eight turnovers. He was great in all other areas, but that alone wasn’t enough.
autopilot steph curry
Curry’s 3-point shots (13-4) were mostly missed on the Warriors’ ring night, but that doesn’t matter. He’s just a professional scorer. He simply went to the rim and reached the line until a small flurry of winds in the third quarter dropped him three seconds several times (he was 9-for-9 from charity his stripes). He seemed to sweat very little.
