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What is it? Are you ready for another piece of content that is trying to wrap the opening week of games in the NBA? It's time to move to FIRST IMPRESSIONS, a flimsy hook that allows me to browse the league and report some things that caught my attention / that seemed like a big problem on Twitter. Let's do that. In fact, wait, before starting this trip, be sure to take a copy of SI's NB Preview number. The three covers! Now we can start.
A quick fix for the Lakers
The Lakers experience was all that the roller coaster expected from the night. LeBron was great. The team was beaten without him. Lance Stephenson briefly hijacked the offense. Michael Beasley played center for two minutes. There are too many things to sort out here to draw definitive conclusions after a match, but let's start with something obvious: start with Josh Hart!
You've probably already been seen by a group of basketball bloggers about this Thursday night, but Hart brings more to the table than Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. More importantly, the Lakers must commit to determining which of their young central works around LeBron and which players are expendable. In the same sense, Lonzo Ball must also play more. Ball only played 19 minutes, while Rajon Rondo started and played 32. Rondo and KCP will almost certainly leave L.A. after this season, which is unlikely to end with a championship. Let the young people grow around LeBron. At the very least, you may be able to group some of them together in a larger business in the future.
Another quick thing to watch: Small vs. Big. Javale McGee was only a minus-1 against Portland. The small Lakers formations have never really moved because of shooting problems. I was McGee's toughest critic; I really do not think the Lakers center's rotation can hold up, but Javale was not a complete disaster in the first game. (The Lakers runners, by the way, had an offensive score of 87.2 in 15 minutes overall).
The Markelle Fultz Three was a good thing!
I'm not sure if anybody else has criticized the Sixers fans who have applauded Markelle Fultz for getting a double in Philly's win against the Bulls, but I hope Fultz will continue to gain the confidence to let him go from the outside. In the first quarter of the same match, the ball tilted to a very open Fultz in the left corner, and instead of throwing, he paused very briefly before dribbling the traffic. It is obvious to see that Fultz still thinks sometimes when he should play instinctively. If the fans cheering after three seemingly inconsistent years help him play more third in the future, that's a good thing. (Maybe it will not make any difference, I do not know, I'm an optimist.) I really want Fultz to succeed because the Sixers would be even more fun with another star. He will experience growth pains, but I hope he plays without fear.
A little extra: the packaging of Joel Embiid looks nice early in the season. I thought some critics in the playoffs were unfair since he was coming back from injury. I am satisfied with my choice for Embiid for Defensive Player of the Year. He attacked the two switches and tried the rim with aplomb.
The Carmelo Anthony watch in two points
Carmelo Anthony has no reason to take a single mid-range pointer this season. He shot three in Houston's first game and, to add insult to the injury, all three were pull-ups. Anthony should really shoot by three. He was 0-to-4 on three decisive shots in Houston's first game, but he has the tact to succeed in that role, and that was one facet of his game in which he excelled before last season. If Melo really fell off a cliff, he should not shoot at all, let alone take long 2s. But if he still feels confident in his attack, he has to trust the offense and get behind the line of the three points. No more wrong pump in the shots from inside the bow. Stay at home and let it fly.
MOOOOOO BAMBAAAAAA
Maybe Magic will stop adding big men as I kindly asked them after the way Bamba played in his NBA debut. I will forgive you if you did not watch Heat vs. Magic Wednesday night. In 25 minutes, Bamba reached 75% of his shots on the road, scoring three points and blocking two shots. In the 20 minutes that followed, Bamba and Aaron Gordon played together against Miami. The Magic beat the Heat by 22 points. This is a promising start, and a training that could perhaps, one day, finally help to solve Orlando's spacing problems.
Josh Richardson is the closest to Heat
Richardson's name was a hot topic in trade negotiations between the Heat and the Timberwolves. In two games, he was the Miami striker. Heat's first two games have been called last. In both cases, Erik Spoelstra called Richardson's number several times for the starting basket, avoiding Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic. (Wade got the last shot in a go-and-go against Washington.) Expect a heavy load on the offensive for Richardson this season.
Dollars are so much more fun to watch
Milwaukee was found in a thriller Wednesday night against the Hornets, and the effect Mike Budenholzer on the Bucks was at the rendezvous. Giannis Antetokounmpo finally had room! The start of Brook Lopez gives Milwaukee an essential shot. At the decisive moment of the match, Budenholzer played Giannis in the center, surrounded by Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon, Khris Middleton and Ersan Ilyasova. It was remarkable. Giannis could hold the ball at the top of the key, and no defender was in the game because he had to stay with shooters. Or, one of Milwaukee's guards could throw back and forth with snipers in corners and a devastating dive in Antetokounmpo. That's how the Bucks should have always played. I have high hopes for their attack – which ranked tenth last year – this season.
Keep an eye on Zach Collins against Jusuf Nurkic
This is an extreme cautionary warning, but Collins seemed a little more suited to the modern game than Jurkic in the Blazers' win over the Lakers. Collins does not need to be as involved offensively as Nurkic, and he is a little more versatile in defense. Maybe the second-year Collins will end up playing as much, if not more, than Nurk this season.
Pelicans need a little help
New Orleans was incredible in their win against Houston on Wednesday. A note however important: Alvin Gentry essentially played a rotation of seven and a half men. Each starter scored at least 30 minutes. Julius Randle played a 24-minute high impact on the bench, while Darius Miller and Solomon Hill combined for 32 points. The rest of the bench saw only time wasted, and this match was largely an eruption. I am curious to see how sustainable this is. An injury could really hurt this team. Anthony Davis seems ready for an absolute monster year. Ideally, pelicans will continue tinkering with the lineup to add depth in the coming months.
Random things
– Do not try dunk on Jarrett Allen!
– I thought the Nuggets had progressed by not allowing themselves to face Boban'd against the Clippers in a consecutive season. They had a great victory on the road despite a poor night of shooting. This is what the suitors do.
– Nick Nurse will have a lot of fun with the lineup in Toronto in his first year at the helm. Pascal Siakam and Jonas Valanciunas looked like his two best big guys in the first game of the Raptors.
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