After 149 days of negotiations and players being locked out from training facilities, the opening day of the NBA season provided mixed results with several star players performing below par.
Lockout legs have been witnessed throughout the year in the NFL, costing several teams’ playoff spots. Will NBA see the same result?
KNICKS STEAL WIN
To tip the season off, the Boston Celtics traveled to New York where they entered the fourth quarter ahead 87-79, before a Knicks surge led by Carmelo Anthony stole victory in the final 16 seconds of the game. Missing three shots under two minutes, two by Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, the Knicks stole a win after being outplayed all day.
Anthony starred for the Knicks with 37 points, 17 in the final quarter while Rajon Rando led the Celtics scoring with 31. Tyson Chandler impressed in his first game for the Knicks blocking six shots after being traded from the Dallas Mavericks.
Lockout legs restricted Garnett, who made just six of 13 shots including clutch misses in the final minutes of the game.
MIAMI OUT OF THE BOX WITH A VENGEANCE
In the rematch of last year’s final, the Miami Heat traveled to Dallas to take on the Mavericks. Leading the game all day, the Heat came out fired up scoring 32-17 in the first quarter. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade continued to torment a weakened Dallas, entering the final quarter 97-68 before the Heat second team came on.
Running away 105-94, Miami looked the best of the ten teams to play on opening day. James dominated the court with 37 points and seven defensive rebounds. Dwayne Wade chipped in with 26 points. Playing just 28 minutes, John Terry led Mavericks scoring with 23 points.
Well below his best, lockout legs affected last season’s playoff MVP Dirk Nowitzki, who managed just six shots from 15 attempts for 21 total points. A team struggling with fitness, no Dallas player played more than 30 minutes. For the Heat, Chris Bosh managed only 24 minutes of game time.
DERRICK ROSE CAN JUMP
In another close encounter, the Los Angeles Lakers looked set to upset the Chicago Bulls before a spectacular shot by 2010 MVP Derrick Rose gave the Bulls a one point victory, 88-87.
Up by six points with 54 seconds on the clock, the Lakers possession game turned on them with two turnovers in the final minute. Bulls forward Luol Deng hit a layup before a missed Kobe Bryant jump shot turned the ball over to the Bulls. A shooting foul against Lakers Pau Gasol led to two converted free throws by Deng.
With the game clock down to 20 seconds, a poor pass by Kobe Bryant turned the ball over again. With four seconds on the clock, a 191cm Rose elevated himself to convert a one hand over the shoulder shot, over a blocking 213cm Pau Gasol with what will be one of the shots of the season.
Rose continued his MVP form making 9 of 13 shots for 22 total points with five assists to lead the team in both scoring and assists. Despite leading the Lakers with 28 points and six assists, Kobe Bryant turned the ball over a game high eight times. Already an injury concern going into the game, landing on his troublesome wrist several times will see him below his best in the coming games.
ONLY A MATTER OF TIME TILL DWIGHT HOWARD LEAVES ORLANDO
Leading all night, the Oklahoma City Thunder made easy work of the Orlando Magic entering the final quarter 18 points up. Despite Thunder guard Russell Westbrook hitting just six of his 17 shots for 14 points, the Magic never really looked in the game.
Thunder forward Kevin Durant continued his form as the top scorer of last season with six assists and a game high 30 points. Ryan Anderson led the Magic with 25 points.
The centre of speculation over the off-season, Magic captain Dwight Howard struggled all day after requesting a trade which was denied by the Magic front office. Howard made just four of 12 shots but had a game high 15 rebounds. Lockout legs look to have hit the entire Magic team who scored off only 30 of their 81 attempts. Howard will continue to request a trade up until the March trade deadline.
CHRIS PAUL, WELCOME TO LOS ANGELES
In the final game of the NBA’s opening day, the much anticipated debut of Chris Paul as a Clipper did not disappoint. Paul had no team chemistry problems as he made seven of 12 shots for 20 total points and a game high nine assists including the shots to ice the game.
In a to-and-fro affair, the Los Angeles Clippers drove up the highway to Oakland where they walked out winners over the Golden State Warriors 105-86. Outscoring the Warriors 30-18 in the final quarter, the acquisition of Paul is likely to have the Clippers playoff bound this season.
Clippers forward Blake Griffin led the team with 22 points assisted by off-season acquisition Chauncey Billups who chimed in with 21. Forward David Lee top scored for Warriors with 21 and a game high 12 rebounds.
Affected by lockout legs, Golden State guard Monta Ellis disappointed, hitting just six of his 19 shots. For the Clippers, Deandre Jordan led the game with eight blocked shots but his free throw shooting left plenty to be desired. Converting just four of his 12 free throws, the Clippers must address this immediately.
With a greatly satisfying day for fans, the NBA season is finally back but the lockout has clearly affected the preparation of many teams. Slow starts following lockout have cost several NFL teams (San Diego, Philadelphia, Arizona and Seattle) playoff spots despite excellent form over the second half of the season.
With a shortened season to 66 games, there will be little time for NBA teams to find their feat and overcoming lockout legs will be critical to playoff runs.
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