Originally Posted by
CDu
And... we're off! Apologies to those here who don't follow the NBA. But there is a strong contingent of folks that do. So this thread is for them (us) as the season gets underway.
The season kicked off with a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview (I use that term loosely as the Cavs were without Irving and the Bulls were without Dunleavy and had Rose active but recovering from a broken orbital bone). The game didn't disappoint, as it was very entertaining. The Cavs jumped out early as the Bulls with a new coach and new starting PF looked lost defensively. But the Bulls answered with a flurry of 3s. When both teams went to their benches, the Bulls' depth showed as they built a comfortable lead at the end of the first quarter. From there, it would be a mostly sloppy affair with moments of brilliance sprinkled in. The Cavs would chip away at the lead slowly until late in the third quarter. This time, the Bulls' bench let them down against the Cavs' backups, allowing an 11-0 run to put Cleveland right back into the game. In fact, Cleveland would briefly regain the lead in the 4th. However, the Bulls quickly answered and rebuilt an 8 point lead. A couple of Love 3s and some brainfarts by the Bulls would cut it to 2, with the Cavs and LeBron getting the final possession. Shockingly, Lebron got the ball (sarcasm). Shockingly, he attacked the rim (also sarcasm). Actually shockingly, Pau Gasol (he of the cinder blocks tied to his feet) was able to rotate and block LeBron's shot out of bounds. With 3.6 seconds left, the Cavs ran a double-screen for LeBron, but Butler recovered to steal the inbounds and seal the victory.
In the undercard, the new-look Pistons shocked the Hawks in Atlanta. All five Pistons starters scored 15 or more points, and Andre Drummond added 19 (!) rebounds. For the Hawks, the German Rajon Rondo (Schroeder) scored 20 off the bench, but the wings (Korver and Bazemore) let them down. It was a surprisingly comfortable win for the Pistons on the road. Kudos to them.
In the late-game, the 2015 champions faced off against the up-and-coming Pelicans. But Steph Curry did Steph Curry things, scoring 40 points and dishing 7 assists as the Warriors rolled to an easy victory. It was a disappointing game from Anthony Davis, who shot 4-20 and got just 6 rebounds.
Full disclosure: I only saw the Bulls/Cavs game as I can't stay up for 10:30pm start times these days. But the stat lines for Drummond and Curry were very impressive. In the Bulls game, it was a coming out party for Nikola Mirotic (who led the team in scoring and hit a ton of huge shots) and a weird night from Butler and Rose (neither of whom shot well at all despite getting lots of good looks). Cleveland looked shaky, as LeBron's back is apparently a concern (he didn't look explosive, getting blocked numerous times and settling for mostly jumpers). Love, Thompson, Mozgov, and Smith didn't look particularly good out there. The new additions (Jefferson and especially Mo Williams) looked very good though. Williams was a huge get in the wake of Irving's injury. He's a starting-caliber PG who will torch second units once Irving returns, and can make Dellavedova an afterthought. But it all comes down to LeBron's health. He has already had an injection in the back before the season starts. That's not a great sign, as backs don't typically get better with age. The Cavs will need to monitor his minutes throughout the season to make sure he's able to give it his all in the postseason.