A few winners and losers from the NBA opening night, as Victor Wembanyama leaves us speechless and the Mavericks leave us shaking our heads.
Winners:
Toronto Raptors
Toronto bodied the Hawks all night on both ends, amping up the pressure and getting out in transition constantly. They had a balanced attack and showed that their system is going to prevent Brandon Ingram from dominating the ball too much. RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes looked tremendous. Toronto looked like a playoff team with depth.
The Hornets’ Youth Movement
Yes, it was against the Nets, but the Hornets’ young guys looked tremendous. Brandon Miller led all scorers with 25 points and seven assists, but they got quality contributions from first-round picks Kon Kneuppel and Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Hornets’ center position had been a real concern, but Kalkbrenner’s double-double as a starter alongside Moussa Diabate’s 13 points and nine rebounds means it might not be as much of a disaster as we thought.
The Non-Embiid Sixers
Joel Embiid was a disaster with four points in 20 minutes on nine shots. And still, the Sixers found their way to a win thanks to VJ Edgecomb’s historic debut with 34 and Tyrese Maxey’s 40-ball. The surrounding team looked legit. They’re long, athletic, can shoot, can run. It makes you wonder if the Sixers actually need Embiid to make it work with this roster.
Bulls stock
Matas Buzelis put in 21 on 7-of-12 shooting, and Josh Giddey had 19 points and 11 dimes. That’s just what you want to see as a Bulls fan as they go in with this young core.
LOSERS:
Every player not named Victor Wembanyama hoping to dominate the league in the future
Best of luck to you. Wembanyama was otherworldly vs. the Mavericks. He absolutely dominated Anthony Davis. He scored over, through, around, and between the Mavericks. He shaped the entire game and left everyone befuddled at just what to do with him. What do you do with that?
40 points on 21 shots. Three blocks. Fifteen rebounds. The Spurs beat the Mavericks by a point per minute with Wembanyama on the floor.
There is nothing like him. The future is now and everyone else might just be doomed.
Nico Harrison
“Defense wins championships.” That was the line used to justify the biggest trade in NBA history. The Mavericks now open the season as the worst defense in the NBA after one game.
The Mavericks’ lack of ball-handlers meant they couldn’t get into their offense at all. There was no movement. Cooper Flagg had zero assists at point guard. Anthony Davis had a 129.9 on-court defensive rating. That’s bad, if you’re not familiar with the metric.
Environmentalism
Tough look when avid naturalist and tree planter Kawhi Leonard gets housed on opening night by the Utah Jazz. The Clippers looked entirely unprepared and were blitzed from tip-off by the Jazz, who are expected to be one of the worst teams in the league.