NBA Opening Night Recap

(Antonio Velasquez)

  The NBA is back and the schedule makers did their thing with these 2 games. Starting off in Denver after the Nuggets received their rings they got off to an amazing start vs the Lakers. They jumped out to a 18 point lead as the energy was high. No need to talk about how great Nikola Jokić or Jamal Murray are, guys like Reggie Jackson, KCP and Peyton Watson really making plays. After being bought out by Charlotte last season, Reggie Jackson was a name floating around for many teams to add a point guard, landing in Denver he didn't play as much likely due to getting used to the system and the Nuggets making a deep playoff run. Jackson re-signed with the Nuggets after winning the championship  on a 2 year contract worth 10 million and looks like he'll be a big part of their guard rotation this year. The Nuggets are expecting Peyton Watson and Christian Braun to be impact players for them as young guys. Braun was in the rotation more than Watson last season and actually had a huge role in the Nuggets championship run last season. After losing Bruce Brown in free agency the Nuggets need Watson and Braun to take a step and continue to make plays. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a vet in this league also showed out being able to give the Nuggets 20 points on a night like this while playing the level of defense he does is amazing. 

  To the Lakers side, it was a rough start but they clawed their way back into the game just by sticking around and not getting caught up in the atmosphere. AD and Taurean Prince really gave the Lakers the boost they needed. LeBron was attacking the basket as always with just pure strength and deserved some more foul calls on those drives. A guy I was watching was Cam Reddish, after stints with the Hawks, Knicks and Blazers, Reddish landed in LA with a chance to prove himself. His on the ball defense stood out to me and he should be able to carve himself a role just with that alone. Unfortunately for the Lakers it was just a rough shooting night. Players like Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves , D'Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent all shot 37.5% or lower. That's not going to cut it but better days are ahead. Jamal Murray after the game said it's not a rivalry but the fanbases of these teams might say different.

  We move to the Bay Area where the Warriors and Suns faced off, two interesting teams for this season. The Warriors without Draymond Green and the Suns without Bradley Beal gave us a great game. A lot of us questioned Chris Paul's fit in Golden State, and I know its early but he seems to fit right in, especially with Draymond out and with Paul in the starting lineup. The Warriors lost a huge piece in Jordan Poole and will need guys like Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga to take leaps. Draymond talked about it on the broadcast that Moody is very professional and he'll be ready when he's called upon. That came to life today as Moody stepped in and did a great job spacing the floor, cutting and being active on defense. As for Kuminga, it wasn't the offensive explosion like he had in the preseason but we shouldn't expect that from such a young guy. Kuminga was very good just being solid all around and we should expect good things from him all season even when Draymond is back hopefully. Other guys like Gary Payton II and Dario Šarić struggled shooting wise but did some good things With GP2 you know your going to get defense and energy from him every night. As for Dario he shot 3/11 in total and it wasn't pretty but I like his ability to spread the floor, its how the warriors like to play. He struggled with finishing today and you hope it was just a rough game for him. In all, the Warriors went into half down 15 and came back to take the lead at one point. I think the turning point was Steph's 4th foul, even though the Warriors went on a run with him out it messed with the normal rotation plan and it didn't help that CP3 shot  4/15, Klay 6/18 and Wiggins 4/12. The Warriors will still be good, no need to worry.

  The Suns got a win today without their biggest offseason addition Bradley Beal, as Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkić led the way. Book was the guy today as he was scoring and playmaking at a high level. KD struggled to make shots today shooting only 7/22 from the field and even 3/5 at the line but we know what KD is and he decided to impact the game by getting on the glass and grabbing 10 boards. Nurkić was very good today, especially passing out of the pick and roll. Nurkić has always been an underrated passer in my opinion but today he made really good decisions, even though it only led to 3 assists you imagine this is what the Suns envisioned when trading for him. Another guy who really showed out was Josh Okogie. Okogie is a menace on the defensive end and will take the toughest assignment every night, but today he was more than just playing defense. Okogie had multiple offensive rebounds and great cuts. He even hit a clutch 3 in the corner off a Devin Booker pass. Okogie is going to be a starter for this team and a very valuable piece especially if he's hitting shots. Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen struggled shooting the ball but I still like their ability to space for the stars over the course of the season. Yuta Watanabe and Drew Eubanks also had some good minutes, Watanabe spacing the floor and giving effort on defense while Eubanks cleaned up the boards a little. Devin Booker sealed this game for the Suns creating the last 3 buckets for them off the attention he drew. You can see how his time with CP3 did him well and he is a real playmaker now. When Bradley Beal is back hopefully this Thursday I think it'll be important to keep him or Booker on the court at all times. When Booker was off the court it looked like the Suns needed someone to create offense and that should be Beal when healthy. Good start to the season for the Suns who have championship aspirations.