Winners and losers from NBA’s Opening Night

After halftime, it was all Jokic. Davis went scoreless within the second half, whereas the two-time MVP put the clamps on him defensively. On the 

Rivalries

For a league the place star gamers change groups recurrently and gamers appear to be nice buddies off the courtroom, with loyalties decided by sports activities businesses greater than the precise groups, it is refreshing to see groups that appear to genuinely not like one another.

The Lakers do not like how the Nuggets talked after beating them final Might. The Nuggets do not like that the media talked concerning the Lakers even whereas the Nuggets have been sweeping them. The Warriors squabbled with the Suns whereas Phoenix had Chris Paul, and now that they’ve CP3, he is salty about his outdated group as nicely. In the meantime, Kevin Durant all the time has one thing to show in opposition to the group and fan base that by no means beloved him as a lot as Steph Curry.

Denver performed prefer it was a playoff sport, and so did the Lakers. Nuggets coach Michael Malone even rested Jokic for brief, three-minute stretches, as if it was a playoff sport. 

Making the common season matter was some extent of emphasis for the league this summer time. All of the groups on opening evening introduced a playoff mentality to their first video games a minimum of.

Devin Booker’s toe

Just a few hours earlier than the opener, Devin Booker was listed as “questionable” with a toe harm. Then he obtained upgraded to “possible.” Then he scored 21 factors within the first half on 10 pictures.

The short-handed Suns needed to face the Warriors with out Bradley Beal, affected by again spasms, however Booker and his toe saved Phoenix afloat within the first half. He completed with a game-high 32 factors and added a team-high eight assists.

Losers

The Lakers bench

When LeBron James was on the ground, the Lakers regarded just like the group that made a shock run to the Western Convention Finals. When he sat, the Lakers struggled on each ends. Los Angeles did not get any factors from their bench till the beginning of the second quarter. In a 12-point loss, James was +7 in his 29 minutes, which means the Lakers have been outscored by 19 within the 19 minutes he sat.

Lakers bench gamers made only one three-pointer within the sport and dished simply two assists, each from new level guard Gabe Vincent. In the meantime, the Nuggets bench bounced again from the lack of Bruce Brown this summer time, getting high quality minutes from Reggie Jackson and second-year gamers Christian Braun and Peyton Watson.

Steph Curry

One big weak point for the Golden State Warriors final yr was their excessive price of fouling. They continued the reaching and hacking of their first sport of the 2023-24 season, led by Steph Curry, who picked up his fifth foul early within the fourth quarter.

Golden State’s fouling obtained so dangerous that TNT’s Stan Van Gundy overtly speculated about what the single-game document for and-ones was, after Kevin Durant scored by means of contact once more. However for the Warriors, foul hassle restricted Curry’s minutes and saved him from getting in rhythm. Maybe that’s why he shot an un-Curry-like 4-of-14 from three-point vary.

Referees 

It’s vital to keep in mind that NBA referees want time to heat up, too. Which may clarify why Lakers-Nuggets featured a plethora of missed calls, starting from missed fouls, unseen foot stomps and a spectacular dunk that was truly a blatant offensive goaltend.