2010-11 NBA Season Tipoff: Which Teams Impressed Most in Their Season Openers?
The most wonderful time of the year is not the Christmas holidays, it's the annual return of meaningful NBA contests to our flat-screens.
The worst part of summer is not the heat—though that is pretty bad—it is the knowledge that the NBA playoffs are done, and you're facing almost five months without the highest quality hoops in the world.
Yes, I'm a basketball junkie. I confess.
Thanks to the miracle of a free preview week of the NBA League Pass and two DVRs, I was able to catch at least a decent portion of 14 of the 16 games over the past two days.
This article will highlight the five teams (in completely random order) that most impressed me in their first game.
Fair warning: I grade on a curve, so meeting expectations does not thrill me (Celtics, Thunder, Spurs, Mavericks). Neither do contests between two crappy teams—someone has to win, that doesn't mean that I'm going to be impressed (Nets, Knicks, Kings).
On to the first slide!
Portland Trailblazers
1 of 5
The Portland Trailblazers tipped-off their 2010-11 season with a 106-92 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Granted, the Suns, given all their offseason changes, are nowhere near the team they will be in December, but a team with Steve Nash, Grant Hill and Jason Richardson is still a dangerous foe.
More impressive than simply defeating the Suns was the balance the Blazers displayed while doing it.
Led by Brandon Roy's brilliant 24 point display, the Blazers had five players scoring in double-figures.
Nicolas Batum put on a show defensively and offensively, illustrating perfectly why astute observers peg him for a breakout season.
Portland has the look of a team that should finish no worse than third in the stacked Western Conference. As impressive as they have looked in their first two contests, it is important to note that their top two centers are still on the shelf. If they somehow get both Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla healthy and productive, that Purple and Gold bunch better start to worry.
Cleveland Cavaliers
2 of 5
King Ramon and the Cleveland Cavaliers absolutely make the list of teams that impressed me.
In their first game of the post-LeBron era, the Cavs pulled off a bit of an upset in defeating the Boston Celtics.
True, every member of the Celtics except Glen Davis and Rajon Rondo took the evening off, but it was still a very impressive showing by Cleveland.
The Cavs, contrary to popular opinion, will not stink this year. The cast of players that surrounded LeBron James last season were nowhere, repeat, nowhere near as bad as LeBron's apologists would like you to think.
Two major additions have helped to lessen the blow of the one huge subtraction.
First, the Cavs now have a real coach. Mike Brown should never have been given the keys to that particular car so soon in his coaching career. Under Byron Scott, you can expect to see a team that pushes the ball and plays well together. Should be fun for the Clevelanders.
Second, there is a real point guard in the house. I like Mo Williams, but tonight's game against the Celtics has probably given Scott all the evidence he needs to keep Ramon Sessions as the starter at the point. Mo would be much more effective playing off the ball.
If Cleveland continues to play with this much intensity and cohesion, and I expect they will, 38-40 wins is not a silly notion.
New Orleans Hornets
3 of 5
Having a new coach, several new players, a disgruntled superstar and going 1-7 in the preseason does not exactly create high expectations for your season opener.
The Milwaukee Bucks returned almost everyone from a team that made the playoffs last season, and were welcoming back center Andrew Bogut to regular season action after his painful-to-watch elbow/hand injury last season.
If I were a betting man, I would have put my money on the Bucks last night. Good thing I'm not allowed to bet.
Chris Paul made it his mission last night to remind everyone that he is still one of the two or three best point guards in the NBA. His 17-point, 16-assist evening was absolutely brilliant.
The performances by Paul, David West and Marco Belinelli proved to be too much for the Bucks, despite a very balanced scoring night for Milwaukee.
One would have to hope that Trevor Ariza (horrible signing) will not release toxic odors every night (4-13 from the field). If he can consistently not stink, and if Emeka Okafor attempts more than zero shots (0-0 from the field), the Hornets might actually be decent this year.
Los Angeles Clippers
4 of 5
The only team on the list that impressed me in a loss was the L.A. Clippers.
Sure, the 10-point loss to the Blazers wasn't that impressive, but the Blazers are one of the two or three best teams in the Western Conference. There's no shame in losing to Portland.
Baron Davis was a no-show for the Clippers. His eight points and three assists were the mark of a man no longer interested in being a professional basketball player (correct: I do not like Baron Davis).
The reason the Clippers are on this list is simple—Blake Griffin.
Griffin kicked off his sure-to-be Rookie of the Year campaign is a big way. He scored 20 points on 8-14 shooting and added 14 rebounds for good measure. He was a one-man highlight show.
There haven't been too many debut performances more impressive than that by Mr. Griffin last night.
If the Clippers can find a way to get "B-Diddy" to act like a professional, or, even better, trade him for a real point guard, Los Angeles could have two teams in the playoffs.
Golden State Warriors
5 of 5
Wow.
Led by Monta Ellis and his amazingly efficient 46 point display, the Golden State Warriors went old-school on the Houston Rockets last night.
The 132-128 final score brought back pleasant memories of Run TMC.
Ellis, Steph Curry (25 points) and David Lee (17 points, 15 rebounds) led the scoring attack, and proved to be too much for the Rockets.
Granted, Yao Ming was taking the night off, but this wouldn't have been a game that he would have impacted much anyway. This was pure run-and-gun. I loved it!
Very impressive showing for game one of the Keith Smart era.
I seriously doubt that the Warriors will win more than 35 games this season, but that would still represent an improvement over last season's horror show.
For more NBA observations, check out Smitty on Sports and Stuff.
