The NBA kicked off its season last night with two star-studded matchups. The night featured the two winningest franchises of all time, and two teams who made the most recent blockbuster trade with one another. Let’s get into it:
Image: Fox News
Timberwolves 103, Lakers 110
The big headline was that we reached the climax of the Bronny James saga tonight. For three years we’ve been waiting for this moment. It began with Bronny being a potential all-time great and has simmered down into a bit of a pity party, but nonetheless it’s an incredible feat. LeBron James shared an NBA court, and threw a real, meaningful pass, to his son, Bronny. The media took their photos, those are forever etched in history, and now, we can move on, because Bronny is NOT GOOD.
Bronny went 0/2 from the floor and 0/1 from three. He did record one rebound though. I’ve watched him brick a ton of open threes over the past year, having attended multiple of his USC games, but I bet there was none that he wishes he hit more than the one his dad set him up for tonight.
As far as the game, the Lakers dominated from just about start to finish. Anthony Davis was a monster, showing that if he stays healthy for another season, he may just sneak into some MVP talks. The night went as good as possible for J.J. Reddick. He appeased everyone’s wishes by putting Bronny in and won his first game. Can’t ask for more.
As for the Timberwolves, there are going to be some short growing pains adjusting to this roster. Based on the gameplan tonight, we’re going to find out soon if Anthony Edwards can handle being a night in-night out volume shooter. Tonight he did okay. The box score would tell you Mike Conley was the one who cost them this game, turning in a -20 in the +/- department.
Knicks 109, Celtics 132
One three-pointer away. Boston was one three-pointer away from setting the record for most made in a game in NBA history (29). They tied the record midway through the fourth quarter, but proceeded to finish out the night going 0/13, falling short of setting a new one.
But besides that small lapse, everything else was picture perfect for Boston. They hung the 18th banner to reclaim their pedigree of having the most in NBA history, gave their championship rings out, and walloped their potential toughest competitor in the East.
Whatever sort of defensive identity the Knicks had in the playoffs disappeared tonight. I watched Karl-Anthony Towns sag off of wayyy too many screens for how well and how aggressively Boston was shooting threes. New addition Mikal Bridges is already getting dragged through the mud on Twitter for his shooting performance after seemingly changing up the form of his jumper. I said it was going to take some time for this Knicks team to figure itself out, and tonight was a step in that direction.
The Celtics looked every bit ready to build upon their record-breaking championship run. My guess, even though they came up just short on breaking the three-point record tonight, is that they will break it sometime this season. I don’t think they were doing anything outside of what will be their regular gameplan. My guess is that Joe Mazzulla spent his summer thinking of ways this team could get better and could only come up with one route: shoot even more threes.
The rest of the NBA (or almost the rest) gets started tomorrow. If you’re a fan of a tanking team like me, it may be your only shot to watch your team go over .500, so get locked in early before things get ugly.
And cheers to the new subscribers if you’re reading this, Tim and John Martin. Appreciate y’all.