Breaking Down NBA Opening Day!
Last night was the first time that a somewhat meaningful game of basketball was played in 91 days. We had been longing for this day and Opening Day did not disappoint. But let’s take a deeper dive into all that happened during the NBA’s inaugural day for the 2022 season.
(Overreactions incoming)
Brooklyn Nets vs Milwaukee Bucks
You can criticize the NBA all you want, but they sure know how to put on a show. The first game back from the 3-month hiatus features the two best teams in the NBA. The Brooklyn Nets and their Big (3-1) and the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks.
Unfortunately, the hype for this game exceeded the actual product. The Bucks looked like the dominant team as they pick up their first win of the new season and start right where they left off. Even with injuries leaving them thin, they made sure everybody knew who the best team on the floor was. Here were my biggest takeaways from the game;
Brooklyn Nets
I feel like the Nets didn’t bring the intensity in this game. The Bucks were playing an incredibly short bench and they didn’t have Jrue Holiday for the entire 2nd half. The Nets had their chances to get back into the game, but they didn’t take advantage of their opportunities. The bench was poor and it seemed like the offense was still finding its way for most of the night.
It was a game of missed opportunities for the Nets, who should have at least made this game more competitive. Still not the worst game in the world, but I did notice a few things about this game for the Nets;
The Effort Is Still A Problem
Last season, the Nets flexed their muscles at times during the regular season. But they struggled to keep that level of intensity on both ends. Their defense wasn’t great last season, but we saw it be serviceable when they at least tried. I think the same thing will be true this season.
I did not see great effort from the Nets in this game. Here were a few examples;
- Nicolas Claxton jogged down the court and it led to a wide-open Bucks 3 (they made it, but that’s not the point)
- Blake Griffin made a stupid swipe for the ball at the top of the key and then Giannis got an easy and one layup.
James Harden is also at fault here because he didn’t foul Giannis hard enough to stop him from scoring as he rumbled down the lane unattested.
And then, there’s this;
Can you guess what happened on this play?
In the Nets defense, there was a turnover on this play. But if they want to win games, they can’t have these situations where they’re giving teams so many extra possessions. Not getting back compounds their mistakes and the Bucks got an easy 3-pointer on this play because it was a 3 on 5.
Bench Production + Bad Substitutions
While the Nets are great, their bench took a step back this season. They lost Jeff Green and Landry Shamet this offseason, which is bigger than most people recognized. Both of those guys were creators and the Nets really didn’t find good replacements.
Instead of rolling out Shamet and Green off the bench, you’re now rolling out Aldridge, Millsap, and Jevon Carter. A downgrade to say the least. Aldridge and Millsap are both pretty washed at this point and Jevon Carter isn’t exactly a scorer.
The Nets have a big scoring problem off the bench because they need somebody other than Patty Mills to score. A potential solution to that would have been to sub in the rookie Cam Thomas, a natural scorer. Instead, Steve Nash kept him on the bench all game and played him just 4 minutes in garbage time.
But that was just one of the two bad rotations that Nash made. Bruce Brown also played just 4 minutes, even though he fits well with James Harden and he’s a really good perimeter defender. The Nets needed some help defensively and I’m sure Brown would have been able to help.
Patty Mills is not going to go 7/7 from outside every single night. You can’t survive with there being just one creator off the bench. You need to bring in guys who can give you a spark, on both ends. It just doesn’t make that much sense that Brown and Cam Thomas didn’t play much in this game.
The Nets roster certainly has its flaws, but they are still a really good team. Steve Nash has more options available to him, he just has to use them better.
Defense?
It’s not good. There’s my in-depth analysis for you.
Again, it’s mostly an effort thing. The Nets roster isn’t exactly built to be elite defensively, but they certainly can’t be this bad. If Steve Nash put in Bruce Brown, I don’t think things would be as bad as they were, but the defense needs work.
The Nets had some turnovers and that led to the Bucks running in transition. This certainly didn’t help a Nets team that was already struggling on defense. Giannis was able to run down the lane unattested, as there were no signs of a wall or anything like that. Giannis bullied his way to the rim all game long with little resistance.
The Nets also gave up an unhealthy amount of wide-open 3’s. The Bucks got so many wide-open looks from outside because of poor rotations & communication from the Nets. That can’t happen, especially against a really good Bucks team.
The Nets might need to go away from their switching defense because it’s not working. I know it’s one game, but I don’t know if creating mismatches for the other team is the best solution in the world. The Nets lack size and versatile defenders, so when they switch, it’s just creating more problems than there already were.
In short, the defense will continue to be a work in progress for the Nets. Half of the battle is effort and the other half is better scheming. Hopefully, in time, this defense will be able to look half-good.
James Harden + Nicolas Claxton
These two players deserve the most crap after this game, far and away. Not that I’m advocating for you to hate a certain player based on performance, but these two guys were certainly disappointing. Let’s start with the former MVP.
James Harden
20 points, 8 assists, and 8 rebounds certainly can’t be considered a bad game. Harden looked good in the pick and roll, hit some tough step-back 3-pointers, and looked overall really good. But I felt like he could have done a lot more damage offensive.
I just think he was too passive. Harden would get into the lane with the predetermined notion that he was going to pass the ball. He forced some passes to Nicolas Claxton in traffic and that led to turnovers.
Without Kyrie for the foreseeable future, Harden has to shoot the ball more. He’s too good to shoot just 16 times in a game. He needs to be more aggressive and assertive. I get that you want to get other guys involved, but you’re James Harden. One of the best scorers of this generation and a guy who shouldn’t be that passive.
(Seriously though, Nic Claxton isn’t Clint Capela. Stop throwing him the ball so much.)
Nicolas Claxton
This one pains me to write, but it must be done. I was begging for Claxton to get more minutes last season, as the Nets were much better defensively with him on the court. But it seems like he still has a long way to go in his development.
Claxton just got overpowered down low when guarding/boxing out Giannis. He still needs to beef up a little more if he wants to be effective against Giannis, Embiid, Jokic, etc.
But what I’m most disappointed in is the offense. Claxton dropped a lot of passes in close vicinity. Some of them weren’t his fault, but some of those passes were catchable and he just dropped them. I know it’s not easy, but catching those passes in close vicinity is such a crucial skill to have. Claxton will just have to improve over time.
It still wasn’t a bad game for Claxton. He had his moments with Harden in the pick and roll, but I think both of them need to make adjustments. The Harden + Claxton connection will get better as the season goes on, so expect better results in a few weeks.
Again, the Nets are good. Losing to the Bucks doesn’t sway me away from that fact. I think that they need Kyrie if they want to have an edge against the Bucks, but I still think they’re comparable to the Bucks in a seven-game series. Like all stacked teams, it takes a while for the wheels to get going. But when the wheels do start to turn, everybody should get off the tracks.
In about 20 games or so, everything will be a-ok for the Nets. Quote me on that.
Kevin Durant also had 32 points in this game. Don’t know if I’ve mentioned that yet, but yeah, he’s pretty good.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks looked dominant in this game, plain and simple. Even with a shortened bench and no Jrue Holiday in the 2nd half, their offense looked unstoppable. The defense did a pretty good job at limiting the high-powered Nets offense by forcing mistakes and capitalizing.
The Bucks got off to a great start this season, so let’s talk about it;
Giannis Is Pretty Good
Yeah, I think this one speaks for itself.
Giannis got his championship ring and followed that up with an ok performance, nothing special;
32 points – 14 rebounds – 7 assists – 2 blocks – 7/9 FT – +25 plus/minus
Not to mention that he did all of that in just 31 minutes. Giannis looked unstoppable in this game, getting to the rim with ease. He had a great block on Nicolas Claxton in the first half, rotating over for a monster block. Giannis just continues to make every look a lot easier than it should.
He even hit most of his free throws and even knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer. Giannis played a beautiful game and I think he’s in for a great season in 2022.
Domination Of Possession
The Bucks’ defense in this game was not too shabby. Durant still did his thing and Harden would have had he taken more shots, but the reason the Bucks won this game was because of their ability to limit the Nets’ possessions on offense;
- The Bucks had 22 points off of 12 turnovers
- The Bucks had 21 fastbreak points
- The Bucks snagged 13 offensive rebounds and that led to 16 2nd chance points.
So in short, the Bucks won all of the battles they needed to win. They took away possessions from the Nets and capitalized and they dominated the boards as they always do. While the Nets shot well from the field, the Bucks just had far more opportunities to score.
If the Bucks continue to dominate in the trenches like this, it becomes very hard for them to lose games. You just can’t overcome having that far fewer possessions than your opponent. This is a potential recipe for success for the Bucks, just out-hustling everybody.
Shooting + Spacing
The Bucks themselves generated a lot of open 3-PT looks. Not only did they make 17 3’s, but they did so at a 38% clip. The best thing is, some of their best shooters didn’t even play in this game. Instead of Bobby Portis and Donte DiVincenzo, you had Pat Connaughton and Jordan Nwora reigning down 3’s.
The Bucks need to be able to hit outside shots if they want to win. It makes it that much harder to guard Giannis and it opens up the floor for everybody if defenses can’t help off of shooters. I know that the Nets’ defense isn’t great, but if the Bucks weren’t making their outside shots? I imagine it would have been easier for the Nets to play defense.
That’s why it’s so important that the Bucks continue to convert their perimeter shots like this. It just makes it so much easier for everybody else to operate.
Injuries + Role Players Stepping Up
Last season, the Bucks didn’t have to deal with a whole lot of injuries. Other than that Donte DiVincenzo foot injury in the playoffs, they remained very healthy throughout 2021. They’re going to have to deal with some more
Donte DiVincenzo, Bobby Portis, and Rodney Hood were all out of this game, leaving the bench understaffed. Jrue Holiday missed the entire 2nd half with a heel injury. At times, it seemed like the Bucks didn’t have enough bodies to win this game. But two guys really changed the momentum of the game.
One of those guys was Pat Connaughton. Connaughton had a great Finals series against the Suns last year and he continued his excellent play to open up 2022. He hit shots from the perimeter, had two really pretty finishes at the rim, and played a very efficient game off the bench.
He finished with 20 points on 8/13 shooting, as he gave the Bucks a much-needed scoring punch.
Jordan Nwora, the preseason god, also had 15 points off the bench. He too provided some timely shots and will likely see a bigger role this season with his microwave scoring ability. With the current injury situation and the departure of Bryn Forbes, Nwora could see a breakout season off the bench.
Bench consistency was something that the Bucks struggled with last season. But if they’re getting 45 points off the bench when they’re missing 3 key bench players? That’s a good sign and the Bucks should have a better, more consistent bench than they had last season.
Golden State Warriors vs LA Lakers
Adam Silver continues to not fumble the bag. The second game of the 75th NBA season is another great one. The Lakers and Warriors both had busy offseasons and now they look to contend in a loaded Western Conference.
This game was easily the best game of the night. We had star power, great offense, lots of tough shots, and a very entertaining 2nd half. A 2nd half that the Warriors dominated, as their new acquisitions came through in a big way, helping Golden State upset the Lakers to start 2022.
This game was very entertaining and there was a lot to go over, so let’s get right into it;
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors played an excellent game on both sides. They played well offensively thanks to big nights from Jordan Poole and Nemanja Bjelica. Even with Curry struggling, the offense looked perfectly fine.
The defense was pretty good as well, as the Warriors contained everybody not named Lebron and Anthony Davis. This was a very promising start for the Warriors, who did a lot of good things in this game. Want to see exactly what they did? Here you go;
Passing/Movement
The Warriors put on a display with their passing in this game. Overall, the Warriors had 30 assists on 41 field goals, which just shows you how much movement this offense has. 73% of Golden State’s field goals were assisted, which is something you don’t see that often nowadays with the exponential increase in isolations.
Steph Curry creates so much movement with his gravity and all the attention he creates, but it was other guys too. Draymond Green had a few nice passes to Kevon Looney under the basketball. Nemanja Bjelica was excellent in that 4th quarter, as he was able to drive down the lane and find wide-open shooters around him.
The Warriors’ offense survived without Steph Curry on the floor and even with Curry struggling, they seemed fine. That kind of ball & player movement is so hard to guard and it makes the Warriors’ offense so lethal. They should lead the league in assists as a team, as they put on an absolute clinic against the Lakers in this game with their passing.
Jordan Poole
Jordan Poole’s potential is there and this game showed his promise. He has emerged as the Warriors’ secondary scorer behind Curry and they relied on him heavily in this game. He still had those frustrating young player moments, but he was excellent when the Warriors needed him the most.
Poole had a big 2nd half and helped fuel a comeback for the Warriors. Poole’s 2nd half demonstrated his potential and showed why the Warriors think so highly of him;
Jordan Poole In The 2nd Half;
16 points – 60% FG – 57% 3-PT – +7 plus/minus
Poole still had two terrible shot-selection choices in this game, trying to force 3-pointers when they clearly weren’t there. But other than those two bad shots, Poole was excellent. His jump shot looks really good, he hit some timely 3’s for the Warriors, and he helped the Warriors build an 8-point lead early in the 4th quarter.
With Klay Thompson out until December-January, Poole will have to continue to be aggressive. He’ll have to get smarter with his shots as time goes on, but he will be pivotal to the Warriors’ success going forward. If he plays like this, then the Warriors should get themselves off to a good start.
Veterans
The Warriors made it clear that they were trying to win. So their young players (excluding Jordan Poole) might not get the best chance to develop. It’s a tough decision to make, but it looked like the right one in this game. Would the Warriors have won this game last season with James Wiseman down the stretch? I’m leaning towards a no.
The Warriors leaned on Nemanja Bjelica, Andre Iguodala, Damion Lee, and Kevon Looney in this game. Iguodala and Lee hit some shots and Looney is just solid down low on both ends. Those guys give Steve Kerr a lot more stability in his rotation. But the player I want to talk about the most is Nemanja Bjelica.
Bjelica hasn’t played that much since the 2019-20 season, bouncing around and not making much of an impact. After seeing this game, it’s hard to see why that is. Bjelica is similar to Draymond Green in a lot of ways and he gives the Warriors a new wrinkle in their offense.
Bjelica has really deep range and can be used in the pick and roll, popping out for jump shots and stretching out the defense. He can put the ball on the floor, play in the post, grab rebounds, and even dish out passes to shooters. Bjelica did all of that and more in this game;
15 points – 11 rebounds – 4 assists – 86% FG
Bjelica played almost the entire 4th quarter and had a plus/minus of +13. He was incredibly impactful and he is going to play a big role off the bench for this team. He’s a swiss army knife of sorts and he was the difference for the Warriors in this game.
Could James Wiseman have made that impact that Bjelica did? Could Moody or Kuminga? No, they couldn’t. That’s why the Warriors are going to stick to their veterans. While their youngsters are talented, if the goal is to win, Steve Kerr has his set of guys that can get the job done.
It will be very interesting to see if the Warriors youngsters even play this season. I have a hard time seeing Steve Kerr giving them crunch-time minutes. Their development might be stunted, but the Warriors don’t really seem to care. We’ll see if this mindset affects anything for them 2-3 years down the road.
This game was a very encouraging sight for Warriors fans. Steph Curry didn’t have the best game scoring-wise, but other guys stepped up. Jordan Poole, Nemanja Bjelica, Andre Iguodala, Damion Lee, all of those guys were in double-figures.
The Warriors bench looked really good and clearly, the strategy of getting veterans for late-game situations is already paying dividends. If the Warriors continue to play like this, with their depth, they could round into a great team this season.
Oh, and Steph Curry had a triple-double. In case you forgot.
Los Angeles Lakers
{Rubs hands together}
This should be fun. The Lakers should have won this game. Given how good Lebron and AD were, the Lakers should have run away with this one. But Russell Westbrook was awful and the bench didn’t do enough. They couldn’t slow down the Warriors’ frantic passing and they lost a very winnable game.
But like all Lebron-led teams, things start off slowly. We’ll see the real 2022 LA Lakers in a month or so. Hopefully, I’m right in saying that that team in the future will also fall below expectations.
Lebron and AD Are Still Excellent, Believe It Or Not
2021 was a rocky year for this duo. Both dealt with injuries and they were both nowhere near as dominant as they were in the bubble. But this game proved that they both still have what it takes.
Lebron James
Lebron James looked unstoppable in this game. Even though this is his 19th season, he had a spring in his step from the opening tip. He was hitting his jump shots, getting to the rim, and just dominating the game.
While he slowed down considerably in the 2nd half, he still finished with a stat line that just shouldn’t be happening when you’re 36 years old;
34 points – 11 rebounds – 5 assists – 57% FG – 56 complaints
Lebron did all of this with ease and he dominated the first half. That extended offseason must have done him wonders, as I’m sure filming Space Jam is a lot less stressful than coming back from the Bubble and trying to play a season just 2 months later.
Don’t expect nights like this from Lebron every night, but I think that he’ll still be a top-3 player in the league. If he continues to shoot 5/11 from 3-PT range, then it becomes even harder to try and guard him.
All he has to do is try and save his energy until the playoffs and then go ballistic on the rest of the league. I’m not exactly going out on a limb here to say that is exactly what is going to happen.
Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis is trying to prove himself in 2022. After an injury-riddled 2021 season, people didn’t trust AD anymore. I know I didn’t, as it seemed like AD would never be able to overcome his injury/aggressiveness problems. But he put aside all of those problems in this game and feasted.
Against a much smaller Warriors team, AD dominated and looked like the version of himself that the Lakers need him to be. Ultra-Aggressive.
They put AD in the post a lot and he feasted against the likes of Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green. He hit some tough face-ups and got a few easy looks at the rim thanks to Lebron and Rondo.
AD’s overall numbers display just how dominant he can be when he’s healthy and when he’s aggressive. I have a feeling that this long offseason also benefited the usually fragile Davis;
33 points – 11 rebounds – 58% FG – 2/7 FT
Might have to make some more free throws though.
If the Lakers have a healthy Lebron and a healthy AD, they’re going to be fine. They don’t need that much from the supporting cast and I think it’s safe to say that when healthy, there isn’t a force as dominant as them. The Nets might be more talented, but as we saw in the Bubble, AD and Lebron can be a lethal combo.
But the problem is the help around them. While Lebron and AD combined for 67 points, the rest of the team’s offense was poor. The person most at blame for that?
Russell Westbrook Is Terrible
My favorite player in the league. In all seriousness, it was kind of pathetic to watch Westbrook go out there and try his best when he isn’t the right fit for this team.
Westbrook still can’t shoot the ball and it was clear that the Lakers were better when he was off the court, as demonstrated by his -23 plus/minus. Westbrook was a whopping -19 in the 2nd half, as the Lakers just couldn’t get their offense going with him on the floor.
Westbrook’s lack of shooting makes him a liability on offense. Westbrook only made one shot outside of the paint in this game. He shot an atrocious 1/7 from the field when it wasn’t within three feet of the basket.
And the thing is, I doubt Westbrook will ever fit in with this team. He just is the polar opposite player to what the Lakers need. They need shooting and a player who is just as effective off-ball as on it. But Westbrook isn’t that type of player. He never has been and he certainly never will be.
Lebron saying things like Westbrook is “too hard on himself,” doesn’t really sell me. I get that Westbrook has a lot of pressure/expectations on him, but the reason he’s not playing well is not because of his mindset. He’s just the wrong player in the wrong situation.
I hate to toot my own horn here (lies), but I think I nailed this partnership on the head. Russell Westbrook is not a winning player and he and the Lakers are destined for failure.
The Lakers Still Can’t Shoot The Ball
The Lakers still aren’t very good at this. Even though they added a lot of shooters, the shooting splits didn’t look that good in this game;
15/42 3-PT (36%)
9/19 FT (47%)
The 3-PT shooting wasn’t bad, but they definitely should have made some more. It’s a step in the right direction, but they missed some open threes that could have changed the game had they been able to make them. But the free-throw shooting?
You can’t win games being that bad from the free-throw line. Anthony Davis, a good free-throw shooter, was just 2/7 from the charity stripe in this game.
But the thing is, where will more shooting come from? I doubt that when Trevor Ariza and Talen Horton-Tucker come back the 3-PT shooting will be fixed. Maybe you just hope that some guy catches fire one night? That doesn’t seem like a fix to me, but it’s what the Lakers are going to have to do considering that nothing they have tried has solved their continued shooting problems.
Again, Lebron James-led teams always start slow. I think that the Lakers are still the safest pick to win the West, as long as AD and Lebron stay healthy. I can’t tell you how Russell Westbrook is going to perform, but if this first game was any indicator, it’s going to get ugly.
The circus has begun for the Lakers and we’re just going to see how everything unfolds.
What Are Your Thoughts From Opening Day? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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