NBA: Surprising Performances From Opening Week
By Eric Saar
What have been the most surprising performances from the NBA‘s opening week?
It’s NBA opening week, time for power rankings on practically no sample size, tons of overreaction and lots of ugly NBA basketball as teams work out the kinks.
Some NBA teams haven’t been able to finish implementing their defensive strategy or rotations and thus give up a huge game to an opposing player. Some teams are missing players as the season kicks off and the same thing happens.
LeBron’s return to Cleveland got spoiled by a loss to the Knicks, and thus a potential great performance was ruined, but there were other great performances that took the league somewhat by surprise.
Klay Thompson
The Golden State Warriors’ starting shooting guard and half of the vaunted “Splash Brothers” with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson had himself a couple good games, following his four year, near $70 million extension. The Warriors were bound to pay Thompson as he was held out of trade talks for superstar power forward Kevin Love during the offseason.
Following a 19-point performance in their first game against the Kings, Thompson exploded for a career-high 41-point outing against the sloppy Laker defense. In the video below you can see how the defense lets him get up shots whenever he wanted. They broke the legendary rule of “hand down, man down”. Also, their rotations were slow.
He shot ridiculous percentages in this game including, 14-18 (77.8%) overall from the field, 5-7 (71.4%) from deep and 8-9 (88.9%) from the charity stripe. He also tallied five rebounds, a couple assists and only committed one turnover.
He followed that record-breaking performance with in a win over the Portland Trailblazers the next day. Thompson appears to be living up to his shiny, new contract and performances like this won’t be a surprise much longer.
Anthony Davis
What can you say about Anthony Davis. He’s a beast on the court. In a blowout win over the Orlando Magic in their season opener, Davis posted a crazy stat line. 26 points, 17 rebounds, 9 blocks, and 3 steals; all in only 36 minutes. Oh yeah, he also somehow had only one foul and no turnovers. That’s just incredible. He dominates the game on defense and is getting there on offense, continuing to evolve his game. He’s just going to get better.
In their next game, a close loss to Dallas, Davis posted another great game. In 43 minutes, he scored 31 points, pulled down 15 rebounds and had an assist, 3 blocks and two steals. This time only two fouls and a single turnover.
As long as the Pelicans can win enough games to make New Orleans relevant, Davis could be in the MVP conversation come April.
Joe Johnson
Not one of the up-and-coming players anymore, seven-time All-Star Joe Johnson put on a show against the Detroit Pistons. He posted a 34 points in 39 minutes along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. He shot 14-23 (60.9%) from the field overall, 3-8 (37.5%) from three and made all his free throws.
He might have only a couple games better than that the rest of his career, so it was surprising it happened so early in the season.
DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins is finally coming into his own, living up to the potential that was dormant in him. In a close win over the vaunted Los Angeles Clippers, Cousins scored 34 points in as many minutes, along with 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Just a masterful performance. He certainly dominates the paint. He shot 15-23 (65.2%) from the field and 4-5 (80.0%) from the free throw line.
Chris Bosh
Without LeBron, the casual NBA fan might think the Miami Heat were headed for the lottery. Not so. Welcome back number one offensive option Chris Bosh from a four-year hiatus! Bosh has been lighting it up so far in the young season.
In the Heat’s first two games, he put up great numbers, and in the third it wasn’t too bad either. In the win over the Wizards, Bosh scored 26 points to go along with his 15 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a block. He shot 9-18 (50.0%) overall from the field, 3-4 (75.0%) from three and made all five of his free throws.
The second game was even better as Miami blew out Philadelphia. In 33 minutes he scored 30 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, tallied 4 assists and a couple steals. His percentages were great with 9-17 (52.9%) from the field, including 2-5 (40.0%) from deep and going 10-11 (90.9%) from the charity stripe.
Even without LeBron, the Heat will be fine.
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