Five quick takeaways from NBA opening night

For a lot of fans, yesterday was Christmas. All the rumors, trades, signings, and discourse finally come to a halt for two star-studded games to ignite the NBA season. It truly is a present every year (yes, even when we sit through Lebron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis throwing their arms in the air and begging for touch fouls that would ruin the integrity of the game). Do I sound like a Warrior's fan already? Ignore that. In all seriousness, last night was really, really fun - so let’s overreact. Here are five quick notes on the 2021-22 opening slate of NBA games.

1. Continuity wins! At last!

Three teams looked like a work in progress tonight — understandably, considering the circumstances. It was a nerve-filled, high-adrenaline return to the court. But your 2021 NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks just kept chugging along. The Bucks picked up right where they left off — devastating on both defense and offense. Coach Mike Budenholzer showcased some flexibility, especially with his positioning of Giannis on the offensive end. As opposed to last regular season, Giannis didn’t do much initiation in the half court, instead screening and rolling, lurking in the dunker spot, and posting up at the elbows. Giannis is a great initiator in transition and even semi-transition, but he struggled last year in the half court, and settled for a few too many pull-up threes. I loved the stylistic diversity today, which created loads more room for Middleton and Holiday to operate on the perimeter, and gave Giannis a more fitting role as makeshift modern center. The defense was sturdy as always, and Giannis’s rejection of Nic Claxton in the first quarter reminded us why we fondly refer to him as, “The Greek Freak”.

The shooting looked sharp (watch out for Jordan Nwora off the bench) and Grayson Allen did exactly what he should - stand in the corner and wait for Giannis to hit his shooting pocket. All in all, A+ outing from the defending champs, who should be treated as the team to beat.

2. Roles, roles, roles

Last year, Blake Griffin made something look easy that is almost impossible to replicate: immediate acceptance and excellence in a vastly new role. Griffin went from aging franchise centerpiece to hustling, sweating, diving on the floor rotational big. He went from the guy catching windmill lobs off the backboard to the guy doing the little things. It was beautiful, and a genuine testament to Blake's character and desire to win — but it deceived many. After this, the league's powerhouses started a race to accumulate as many aging stars as possible. The logic? Former great star players will find a way to be great role players. Not so fast.

The Nets and Lakers brought a combined four former All-NBA level players, and one former all-star level guy off their benches tonight. It sounds great in theory, but it’s just not that simple. These guys are used to the spotlight. Rajon Rondo wants to dribble the ball into the ground, Carmelo Anthony still hasn’t found a shot he doesn’t like, Dwight Howard just wants someone to look at him, Lamarcus Aldridge left any semblance of defensive effort in San Antonio, and Paul Millsap is just straight bad, man. Expecting these guys to groom younger players is understandable, but expecting them to excel as the seventh, eighth, or ninth men in the rotation on a team with sky high aspirations is...well...yikes. The Lakers and Nets have to find a way to create solidified roles for their rosters, and I don’t think the path will be pretty.

3. Warriors basketball is back...kinda?

The Warriors picked up an ugly one down in Los Angeles last night. There were glimpses of the old Warriors, i.e Steph sprinting off a couple down screens, bringing his gravity to the perimeter, quickly dumping it off to the screener, hence setting up two-on-ones attacking the rack. The movement was solid and more purposeful compared to last year, and it was strikingly clear how perfectly Andre Iguodala fits the system. Jordan Poole shook off some early nerves to scorch the Lakers from beyond the arc in the second half.

They even unlocked perhaps their most interesting lineup moving forward — Nemanja Bjelica at center with four willing cutters and shooters around him. All that said, they took advantage of an extremely new Lakers squad still trying to find their identity. There’s a few things to clean up. 1. Draymond wasn’t on the same page as anyone other than Steph all night. 2. The starting lineup was atrocious and pitifully Steph-reliant, and 3. Nobody came close to bothering Anthony Davis on the block. All that said, the Warriors run a legit nine deep without Klay Thompson or James Wiseman, and they beat a supremely talented team tonight without any semblance of a Curry explosion. There’s work to be done, but the future looks almost as bright as the past, if you ask me.

4. The good and the bad of Russell Westbrook

Westbrook had about as tough a debut as you’ll see for an NBA star. Combining for only 17 points, rebounds and assists is unheard of for Westbrook. His faults are well known, but the guy always stuffs a stat sheet. Tonight, he just looked out of place, clearly trying to accept a role as third in command, but struggling to capture his lightning in a bottle, instead of just spilling it...everywhere...like usual.

I was surprised to see zero Westbrook minutes without one or both of Lebron and Anthony Davis. It felt like he needed a five minute stretch of Westbrook-ball to get him going, and he didn’t see a clear paint all night. Westbrook has proven over and over again that he needs space to operate, and though I understand not choosing to contort your entire offense around your third best player, it’s odd to see a total lack of regard for his strengths. Vogel has to get creative here, and I think the first step could be sitting Lebron and Davis together and letting Westbrook gallop into the paint with four shooters by his side. The good news is the Lakers starting lineup, including their three stars, was blistering hot tonight, and the physicality of some of their super sized lineups will give opposing squads trouble all season long.

5. Lebron’s fadeaway: chills all night

LeBron has remodeled his game on a number of occasions, but always out of necessity rather than caution. James has warped himself into the ultimate versatile basketball player, effective from everywhere on the floor on both sides of the court. But then he turned 36. And in December, he’ll turn 37. Tonight we saw flashes of bully Lebron, but he relied heavily on his smooth post fadeaway, and I loved it. The Lakers main objective is getting their two show horses into the playoffs without bruises and scars. I think Lebron understands this, and I expect to see a whole lot more of these sweet fadeaways as the 82-game marathon progresses.