The NBA is finally back, and the opening night double header gave us two exciting match-ups to look forward to. Here’s a quick review of how both games unfolded.
Philadelphia 76ers 117-126 Boston Celtics
The first game of the regular season saw a heavyweight Eastern Conference matchup, where the Celtics took on the Sixers at TD Garden. Of course, Boston fell just short of an 18th NBA championship last season after losing to the Warriors in the finals, and Philly were eliminated by the Miami Heat in the second round.
There were a few roster changes for both teams this off-season. The Sixers added a few solid pieces, with those being P.J Tucker, Montrezl Harrell and De’Anthony Melton, and Boston added guard Malcolm Brogdon and six-time All-Star Blake Griffin.
It was a head-coaching debut for Joe Mazzulla, after Ime Udoka was suspended for the entire season by the Celtics. He was without big-man Robert Williams, so Derrick White was inserted into the starting line-up. Doc Rivers had his full Sixers rotation available.
It wasn’t the prettiest of quarters to open the game, with the Celtics fouling James Harden on three attempts from behind the arc in the first 12 minutes which saw him end the first with 16 points and shoot 8-8 from the charity stripe.
A much better second quarter saw both teams trading some tough buckets, and Jayson Tatum scored a pair of nice reverse layups to try and get himself going. The most ridiculous shot of them all was a Harden contested fadeaway three at the end of the shot clock, and the basketball gods answered his prayer. The teams went in at the half tied 63-63, and it seemed like we were in for a down to the wire contest.
The superstar duel between Harden and Tatum continued in the third, but the C’s began to pull away and had the game’s first double digit lead with just under four minutes to go. They managed to maintain this, and were up 10 going into the final period.
It was by no means unrealistic for Philly to stage a fourth quarter comeback, but the duo of Brown and Tatum ended up being too much for the Sixers. They combined for 70 points on an impressive 27-44 from the field, finishing with 35 a piece. Grant Williams and Malcolm Brogdon were also crucial off the bench.
Maxey, Harden and Embiid each finished with 20+, and ‘The Beard’ shot 12-12 from the free throw line to see himself, like Tatum and Brown, also finish with 35 points. That gives him 12 straight games of 20 or more points against the Boston Celtics.
The win will certainly be dedicated to one man: the legendary Bill Russell.
I’m expecting both these teams to go on a deep playoff run, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this was a preview of a possible Eastern Conference finals match up.
Harden: 35p/8r/7a
Tatum: 35p/12r
Brown: 35p
Los Angeles Lakers 109-123 Golden State Warriors
The second and final game of the opening night double header saw the defending champion Golden State Warriors take on the LA Lakers.
Golden State have been the centre of attention over the past couple of weeks, after an altercation in practice between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole. Since the incident, Poole has agreed to a four-year contract extension that could be worth up to $140 million, and he is guaranteed $123 million by the end of that period. On top of that, Andrew Wiggins also agreed to a four-year extension worth $109 million, and it’s opened questions about Draymond’s future with the franchise.
There were some questions about what the Lakers starting line-up would look like, after they experimented by bringing Russell Westbrook off the bench in their final pre-season game against the Kings.
This was the first time Westbrook had come off the bench since his rookie season, but he was named as a starter for the season opener, alongside Beverley, Walker IV, James and Davis. The Warriors ran with their expected line-up of Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Green and Looney.
The first quarter saw Anthony Davis show why he’s still one of the best in the league at his position. He seemed to be everywhere for the Lakers, and put up 10 points alongside a couple of steals and a few boards in his opening 10 minutes. Hopefully he can stay healthy for them this season.
After struggling in the first, Stephen Curry started to heat up halfway through the second, scoring eight straight for the Warriors and ending the half with 16 points. It was a similar story for LeBron James, who after a slow start had 14 points and nine boards after two quarters. However he did go 0-5 from three, and both sides struggled to make anything from downtown, going a combined 8-41 from beyond the arc. It was the defending champs, however, that had a seven point lead in front of their home fans heading into the locker room.
Similar to the game between Philly and Boston, the Warriors pulled away in the third quarter. Klay Thompson opened the second half with seven quick points and a dime in the first couple of minutes, and a 21-4 run by Golden State saw them open up a lead that would be very difficult to overcome.
Despite the lead not opening up any further, the Lakers could not get within single digits for the entire final period and the Warriors cruised to a comfortable victory at Chase Center. The Lakers shot just 25% from three-point land, and despite their roster not including many great shooters, it’s still a very poor showing.
The balance of the Warriors was brilliant, with Steph Curry being the only player on the team to play above 30 minutes. It shows they can rely and trust guys deeper into their rotation, and Steve Kerr’s bench outscored the Lakers bench 41-24, with four players putting up eight points or more.
The Warriors are going to be contenders once again this season, and with the pieces they’ve got it’s likely that Golden State’s domination will not be ending any time soon. As for the Lakers, it’ll be interesting to see how their season pans out. Will Westbrook still be on the team? Will they make the playoffs? Only time will tell.
Curry: 33p/6r/7a/4s
James: 31p/14r/8a
Davis: 27p/6r/4s
JakeWJourno 
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