The NBA is Back

As we get deep into October that can only mean one thing. Basketball is back. 

The NBA tipped off with the defending champions hosting the Los Angeles Lakers. The Finals MVP Nikola Jokic looked like he was in midseason form as he dropped a triple-double, putting up a stat line of 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists on 55% shooting. I don’t understand how this man can take almost four months off from playing basketball, go home to Serbia to see his horses, and then come back and ball up like he didn’t miss a beat. I can totally see Jokic retiring after winning another championship and when his contract is up in 2028. 

Jamal Murray and Kenatvious Caldwell-Pope added some solid production as they combined for 41 points. The Nuggets looked to be in control for the majority of the game and coasted to a 119-107 win. 

Looking at the Lakers side they have been struggling in season openers in recent years as they have now lost their last five. They didn’t even play badly, they just let the first quarter get away from them and even though they kept cutting at the lead throughout the game, the Nuggets were able to prevent any big scoring runs. The Lakers shot the ball from deep at a respectable number going 10/29 and they also outrebounded the Nuggets 44-42. However, despite outrebounding the Nuggets, they could not capitalize on their second scoring chance as they only had four points come off offensive rebounds.

LeBron shot the ball well at 63% and finished the game with 21 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. He only played 29 minutes which I am surprised about since it was the season opener. 

Looking at the later game, the Suns went on the road to the Bay to take on the Warriors. It is extremely weird seeing Chris Paul in a Warriors uniform, but it is funny that Steve Kerr is his coach after the whole fake laugh incident. 

In a game of scoring runs the Suns would come out on top with a 108-104 win. As some would expect we saw a bulk of the Suns shots coming from Devon Booker and Kevin Durant as they combined for 43 shot attempts. If you throw Eric Gordon in that mix he adds another 17 shots which would mean those three players took 63% of the team’s shots. In my opinion that does not seem like a recipe for success. But then again Grayson Allen went 0-6 and was getting exercise out on the court as he put up zero points, so maybe there is a reason for who gets to shoot on the Suns team. 

Booker would finish with the game-high of 32 points and Durant would add 18 of his own. Durant would struggle shooting the ball as he went 7/22, but clearly, he did not lose confidence as he just kept chucking the ball up.

Looking at the Warriors side, Steph Curry led the team with 27 points and Klay Thompson added 15 points. The Splash Brothers combined for seven threes on 25 attempts. In his Warrior debut, CP3 had a very CP3 game with 14 points and nine assists. 

All in all opening night was not bad. I do think there should either be only one game on for opening night and the matchup should be a rematch of the previous NBA Finals or every team should play on opening night. No in-between. 

I feel like the one game would transition well from the previous season since it is a rematch and fans and the league can see how the win or loss in the Finals affected the team the next season. Looking at the other way, all NBA teams playing would just be electric, enough said.