Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Let’s overreact to what we saw after one game of the new NBA season.
How much can be gleaned from a single NBA game in a slog of an 82-game season? Probably not much.
When we put together a list of NBA overreactions after the first games of last season, it included sterling takes like “the Pelicans are going to make a deep playoff run in the West” (they missed the playoffs), “the Lakers are going to miss the playoffs again” (they made the Western Conference Finals), and “the Blazers finally added some beef next to Dame” (who cares, they were terrible again).
Looking back on these first game overreactions when it’s all said and done is of course all part of the fun. With every team in the NBA playing a game in the first two nights of the season except for the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, it’s time to once again overreact to what we saw on opening night around the league.
Kristaps Porzingis was a brilliant addition by the Celtics
Boston started its offseason by trading its purported “heart and soul” in Marcus Smart for a stretch five in Kristaps Porzingis. At the time, I worried that the Celtics were trading their best passer from a team that needed more passing, and wondered if the offense would descend into one-on-one ball in the biggest moments even more than it already had. Trading for Jrue Holiday to close the offseason eased some of those concerns.
The Celtics beat the Knicks, 108-104, on the opening night behind a great game from Porzingis. The big man finished with 30 points, ripped five three-pointers, and blocked four shots in the win. This is exactly what Boston signed up for.
The Celtics needed a third scorer next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. It needed another big man who could space the floor. And after trading Robert Williams III for Holiday, the Celtics certainly need Porzingis’ rim protection. It looked like a hand-in-glove after one night, with the veteran big man showing off his incredible shooting range and masterful shot-blocking skills in a big win.
The Knicks did pound Boston on the offensive glass, which could be something to watch in the Porzingis-led front court moving forward. Even still, as long as Kristaps stays healthy (a big if), Boston has a dimension they’ve never enjoyed in the Tatum-Brown era with a knockdown shooter at center.
Max Strus was a great pick-up for the Cavs
The Cavs won 51 games in their first year with Donovan Mitchell last season, but the good vibes were immediately exterminated with an embarrassing first round playoff exit to the Knicks. The Cavs knew they had a huge hole in the lineup on the wing. They knew they needed more shooting. Cleveland addressed both problems by giving Max Strus a $62 million contract to leave the Heat, and at least for the first game, it looks like a smart move.
Strus made seven three-pointers as part of a 27-point scoring night. Cleveland beat the Nets, 114-113, on a clutch three-pointer from Mitchell.
Strus’ signature skill is getting up threes, and he took 13 of them in this game. Strus isn’t exactly a great shooter by the numbers — 37 percent from deep in his career — and he’ll have nights where he goes 1-for-12 and the Cavs lose because of it. Still, just getting up the threes opens up spacing for Mitchell’s drives and Evan Mobley’s interior work, and that’s important. Strus might not be the wing of Cleveland’s dreams, but he was a good solution to their problems for the money they had to spend.
The Bulls suck
It took only one game for the Chicago Bulls’ season to fall apart.
The Thunder whooped Chicago, 124-104, on its home floor to reinforce that “continuity” and “cohesion” weren’t a good enough plan for the Bulls over the offseason. Maybe they should have tried getting different and better players instead.
At one point in the second half, Nikola Vucevic and Billy Donovan got into a heated conversation on the sidelines. After the loss, Chicago had a players-only meeting, and Zach LaVine said the team played with no heart. It’s only the first game!
Billy Donovan says when he walked into the Bulls locker room tonight, players were already in heated conversations.
He asked if they wanted him to leave to handle conflict. Players said yes, so he did.
Donovan emphasized that embracing conflict is key for this year’s roster.
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) October 26, 2023
Zach LaVine: “I don’t feel like we played with enough heart. And that’s on us. It’s unacceptable. I don’t think it’s a thing people do on purpose either. But we gotta come together during those (opponent) runs.”
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 26, 2023
At least the team got a new marketing slogan out of this one: Embrace conflict! Your 2023-2024 Chicago Bulls!
Jusuk Nurkic was an inspired addition by the Suns
I really didn’t understand why the Suns got involved in the Damian Lillard trade. Phoenix was of course working to move off Deandre Ayton after the trust between the franchise and the former No. 1 overall pick had eroded. Getting a new center to replace Ayton made sense in theory, but I doubted the oft-injured Jusuf Nurkic was the big man they needed.
Through one game, my Nurkic skepticism looks silly. The Suns beat the Warriors in their opener behind a wonderful all-around game from the veteran center.
The idea behind adding Nurkic was that he could do the dirty work the Suns needed without demanding the touches that Ayton wanted. Nurkic was dominating the glass against a small Warriors front line, he was a willing passer when he got the ball in the half court, and he simply takes up a lot of space in the paint defensively by being huge. There’s a case to be made that losing Ayton could be addition by subtraction, as well.
Closing playoff games with Nurkic in the middle could still be an adventure, and his health remains a major question mark, but the Suns’ vision for him was clear to see through one game.
Pacers are ready to rise
It’s hard to take too much away from the Pacers’ season-opening win simply because it was against the Washington Wizards, who began the season dead-last in our power rankings. Still, the fact that Indiana dropped 143 points by sharing the ball and ripping three-pointers is a wonderful sign for things to come.
We tabbed the Pacers as the breakout team of the year in our bold predictions piece earlier this week. They sure looked like through one game:
Tyrese Haliburton will deservingly get a lot of the attention with 20 points and 11 assists in the win. Bruce Brown was excellent too by hitting 6-of-8 three-pointers in his first game after coming over the Nuggets in free agency. Andrew Nembhard also deserves a shout-out for 12 points and 10 assists in only 22 minutes. Nembhard was a gem as a second round rookie last year, and he’s going to be a major luxury as a bench guard who is still improving this season.
The Pacers might be way better than anyone expected.
Zion Williamson is ready for takeoff
Injuries have defined Zion Williamson’s NBA career to this point. The former No. 1 overall pick has only been regularly available for one of his first four pro seasons. After playing only 29 games last year because of a hamstring injury, Williamson is finally back in the lineup and healthy to start the new year. He looked great in his season opener, and it’s building belief that this could be the year he puts it all together.
Williamson finished with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting as the Pelicans beat the Grizzlies:
Williamson has All-NBA potential if he stays healthy — and that may be putting it lightly. The Pelicans were the top team in the West last season before he went down. The former Duke star is simply a force of nature as a scorer at the rim, and he continues to grow as a playmaker, too. Please just let Zion stay healthy.
Victor Wembanyama will be fine
You know the hype is out of control for Victor Wembanyama when finishing with 15 points in his NBA debut feels like a disappointment. The Spurs rookie got into foul trouble early and played much of the fourth quarter with five fouls.
The Mavericks beat the Spurs behind a great game from Luka Doncic. Wembanyama showed his incredible talent in flashes even on a night when he didn’t put it all together.
Wembanyama will have a learn to avoid foul trouble. That’s fine: he’s 19 years old and has a long career in front of him. There’s zero reason to be discouraged by this debut.
If preseason is any indication, Wemby is going to have a terrific rookie and continue doing stuff the NBA has never seen before. Even without a blockbuster start to his career, I wouldn’t be surprised if Wemby still puts together an All-Star case in year one. He’s that talented.
