COLUMN: NBA opening night falls short
Finally, the wait is over. It’s basketball time. This offseason was one of the craziest in league history, which has only set up this season to also be one of the craziest and most intense seasons in league history.
On Tuesday, in an opening night Eastern Conference clash that had analysts and fans drooling, we were all witnesses to the debut of LeBron and the Heat. In a game that seriously failed to live up to its hype and excitement, the Miami Heat lost to the Boston Celtics, 80-88.
Miami’s “Big Three” were MIA in Miami. They sure looked a lot like the “Big One” we were used to seeing in Cleveland. Wade and Bosh struggled mightily to find their groove while LeBron tried to carry the team on his back like we’ve seen so many times before.
Now, I know there is a learning curve here, and Wade is still rusty from his preseason injury, so I don’t think there is any reason for concern. What I do think we can take from this game is the fact that Boston is still for real. The defending Eastern Conference champs are ready to play and showed that Miami isn’t going to walk all over the East.
Tuesday night also saw the L.A. Lakers defeat the Houston Rockets, 112-110, in a game that went down to the wire.
What? You didn’t even know the Lakers had a game on Tuesday? Not surprising. Somehow, the NBA has become a league where winning back-to-back championships and having Kobe Bryant isn’t enough to generate hype about your team. That is, not when there’s a certain player named LeBron James who’s been hogging headlines since July.
The Lakers have been disrespected and overlooked for months. Are you kidding me?! Look, I hate the Lakers, but writing them off is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. If anything, the Lakers are going to come back this season on a mission to try and show everyone how dumb it was to crown Miami before the season started.
On Wednesday, all of us Jazz fans got to see our boys back in action as they squared off against division rivals, the Denver Nuggets. Unfortunately, the Jazz were disappointing in an 110-88 loss. The Jazz shot a measly 38 percent and committed 22 turnovers.
This offseason, I was one of the people who were ecstatic when the Jazz somehow stole Al Jefferson from the Timberwolves, but the big man was quiet on opening night, posting only six points and seven boards. If the Jazz are going to have success in the future, Big Al has got to step up his game and be that 20-10 monster we were expecting.
Although the Jazz didn’t play Wednesday, there were 13 games, several of which definitely drew some attention.
Cleveland won its first game in the post-LeBron era, 95-87, against the Celtics, who ironically bested LeBron’s new squad the night before. The Cavs were led by J.J. Hickson with 21 points, showing maybe they can be good without LeBron.
Yeah, right.
Speaking of the Heat, they notched their first win of the season 97-87 against the 76ers. Wade decided that he didn’t like going 4-16, so on Wednesday he dropped 30 to lead Miami to the win.
Blake Griffin also made his rookie debut, and let me just tell you now, he is going to be G-O-O-D. Griffin tallied 20 points and 14 boards, with several jaw-dropping dunks in the Clippers 88-98 loss. The Clippers won’t be any good this season (surprise, surprise) but look for Griffin to have a standout season and as a definite Rookie of the Year candidate.
And we can’t forget the high-powered shootout the Warriors had with the Rockets. Who doesn’t love games where the final score is 132-128? Monta Ellis and the Warriors poured in 46 points to overcome the 36 points and 16 boards put up by the Rockets’ Luis Scola in what was arguably the most exciting game of the night. Expect these kinds of games regularly from the Warriors.
Games to watch this week:
Tonight’s Heat vs. Magic and Lakers vs. Suns are both pivotal conference games that should definitely be intense. The Jazz face a big test on Sunday as they take on MVP frontrunner Kevin Durant and the Thunder, and then play again on Wednesday against the Raptors.
Mark Israelsen is a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering and a lifelong Jazz fan. Comments can be sent to mark.israelsen@aggiemail.usu.edu.