NBA: 10 Things We Learned from the First Weekend of Preseason Games

After a whole weekend of basketball, the preseason is already nearly halfway over!

Admittedly, that means that 11 of the 30 preseason games which are going to be played have already been played, so it's a bit of a function of the brevity of the preseason. 

With any preseason there is a reasonable assumption that you can't read too much into it. Having said that, it's the only barometer we have of where things are going to be at the start of the season. Since there are only two games, starters are getting more time than they typically would in a preseason opener. 

Here are 10 things we learned from the preseason that will mean something going forward. 

Ricky Rubio Has Potential

Ricky Rubio played in his first-ever NBA game, finally.

For a player that has taken this long to get into an NBA uniform, he's generated an astounding level of buzz and criticism, and he has become both a surefire thing and a surefire bust. 

Here's what Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes about his debut. 

"

OK, so he's probably not as great as those fans who came to his see debut and went all agog every time he made even the simplest of plays.

Sure, his jump shot isn't the prettiest thing in the world—he went 1-for-4 from the field but 4-for-4 from the line—but from just one night you can tell he's going to make his teammates happy—and maybe wealthy—because of his passing.

If you can be a star averaging maybe eight points a game, this guy can in time be it.

He almost always found the open man with the right pass at the right time and would have reached double digits in assists rather than his seven-assist, six-point, six-rebound night if his teammates had converted more of his setups.

"

Rubio showed, at the very least, potential, and that's enough to generate excitement in Minnesota, where the team has been horrible for years. 

Golden State Will Improve Defensively

Golden State and defense have been, for the most part, mutually exclusive things for the last several years. 

That is supposed to change with the new head coach, Mark Jackson, emphasizing it.

There's never been any question that the Warriors have the ability to score with arguably the most exciting backcourt tandem in the NBA, featuring Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis.

The Warriors came out defensively strong, yielding just 40 points in the first half.

While the second half saw them falter, the start has to be promising. The San Jose Mercury News beat writer Tim Kawlamic writes, 

"

Typical Warriors: defense, defense, defense, just can't get that ball in the basket.

Wait. That's not at all the Warriors' history or habit, at least not in the past 400 years or so.

Which made Curry's first-half moment distinctly worth noting at the Warriors' exhibition opener against Sacramento on Saturday.

Everything except the miss.

Add in several other strange and mysterious occurrences—like Oracle Arena crop circles!—of Warriors team defense, help defense, responsible defense, rotating defense ...

And coach Mark Jackson's first time on the Warriors sideline was certainly not a debacle.

Andris Biedrins, in particular, seemed fully invested in the new regime and the need to bang into whomever he could on defense.

"

These things take time, but it appears that the first major hurdle—getting the team to buy in—is one that Jackson has cleared, and that's going to mean a lot.

Richard Jefferson Should Have Been Amnestied

In a game in which neither Tony Parker nor Tim Duncan played, you would expect to see Richard Jefferson take his game up a level, right?

Especially when you consider that the Spurs, after going back and forth on giving him the amnesty, showed faith in keeping him.

Or, saving that, at least he should not completely and horribly suck.

Yeah, you got the completely and horribly suck. 

Jefferson's line on the night was positively scrub-worthy—two points, four boards and two dimes in 18 minutes. 

Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Oh well.

The Wizards Are Going to Struggle to Start

The Wizards were, frankly, blasted.

They got drubbed by the 76ers, 103-79, and honestly, it was worse than the score indicates, as the Wizards trimmed that lead by 11 points while Philadelphia rested most of their starters for the bulk of the final frame. 

In fact, only Jodie Meeks even played more than 21 minutes. 

The Wizards just stunk everywhere, shooting .329 from the field and .300 from the arc.

They had only 10 assists compared to 20 turnovers. 

The Wizards are one of the younger teams in the league, and they are the type of team that really needs a training camp. They will struggle a lot at the start of the season. 

Boston Is Going to Struggle This Year

Boston struggled to beat the Toronto Raptors.

Yes, it was a preseason game and yes, it was in Toronto and yes, they were without the services of Paul Pierce. 

Having said that, allow me to repeat. 

The Boston Celtics struggled to beat the Toronto Raptors. 

The Celtics learned they won't have Jeff Green this year, too.

The fact that Boston needed Gregg Stiemsma to tip in a game-winning shot with 12 seconds left shows where the Celtics are.

The reality is that this team might not be home-playoff caliber and could easily see themselves dropping into that 6-8 seed range. They are more pretender than contender for the first time since the original Big Three came together. 

The Thunder Are the Team to Beat in the West...Maybe

The Thunder put an absolute beat-down on the Dallas Mavericks, the team who won last year's NBA Championship. 

Ordinarily, you would say that the team that won last year would be the team to beat, but when they lost a key piece of that team to free agency, it opens up the conversation. 

When the team that lost the Conference Finals comes and beats the tar out of you on your own court, it swings that door open even wider.

The Thunder had a 22-point lead on the Mavs after three quarters, and they absolutely owned them. 

One very notable caveat to this, though, is Dirk Nowitzki wasn't playing. 

For now, it's hard to say too much, but the Thunder could be working their way into that "top status" this year. Another beat-down in Oklahoma City would open that door even further. 

The Knicks Need Baron Davis

For the most part, the New York Knicks looked pretty good in their season opener, beating their rivals, the New Jersey Nets. 

Most noteworthy was the performance of starting point guard Toney Douglas, who showed once again that he is a nice backup to have, but simply isn't going to be the kind of point guard who leads a team to an NBA title. 

Douglas just had five points and five assists in the game, and frankly, that is not enough to get it done. 

The latest news is Baron Davis is going to be signing with the Knicks, and they need him.

That acquisition should be enough to make the Knicks the third-best team in the East. 

Kyrie Irving Has the Heart to Lead an NBA Team

Kyrie Irving really couldn't have scripted a better NBA debut.

Dan Gilbert couldn't have, either, but if he did we know which font it would be in.

Irving scored 21 points off the bench, adding three dimes and six boards in less than 27 minutes of play. More importantly, he drained five free throws in the last minute of the game. 

Yes, it's just a preseason game, and it's just the Detroit Pistons, but you have to appreciate the willingness to be the man from a rookie and the fact that he was ice from the stripe. 

Irving will have his ups and downs, but the first indications are very positive. 

The Bulls Defense Is Already in Form

The Chicago Bulls gave up 33 points to the Indiana Pacers in the first quarter.

Then they started playing the "Thibodeauian" defense that carried the Bulls to the NBA's best record last season. 

Over the last three quarters, the Bulls gave up just 51 points, and in the second quarter allowed only two field goals the entire period. 

Look for the Bulls to continue or possibly even improve on that type of defense as the season starts off.

Their defense will certainly be able to keep them in the conversation for the NBA title. 

The Heat Won't Be Starting off Cold This Year

The Heat got off to a horrible start last year as they tried to get the chemistry of their Big Three working together.

If last night's game was any indication at all, they won't be having any struggle to start of this season's games. 

Essentially, they beat the tar out of the Orlando Magic and made Dwight Howard look like a scrub, holding him to five points on 2-of-9 from the field. 

Meanwhile, the Heat shot 71 percent in the second half and 82 percent in the fourth. Free-agent acquisition Shane Battier didn't play, but rookie Norris Cole had eight points and eight assists. 

D-League player Terrel Harris made a persuasive argument to keep him around, scoring 16 points. 

While there are some questions about what the rotation will look like, the nucleus of the team has played a season together, and the destruction of Orlando indicates this year they will be ready when the season starts.