With many people having mixed emotions on the NFL and their rules, Oct. 16 was a date that millions of people were waiting for. Finally, after a long offseason, the NBA was back and this time with a different and interesting year. There are many questions to be answered this season: Who will beat the Warriors? How does Lebron James look in LA? How is the Eastern Conference without James? Will Carmelo Anthony hurt or help the Rockets? Will Paul George and Russel Westbrook work in year two? All these questions and more will be answered this year, and it all started Oct. 16.
Tuesday highlighted two big games, the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers, as well as the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors. First up was the 8:30 p.m. match between Ben Simmons’ 76ers and Kyrie Irving’s Celtics. This was a well-anticipated game for basketball fans because, with the leaving of James, these are two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference that can make it to the NBA finals. All eyes were close on Irving because of the rumors that he wants to leave Boston, and Gordon Hayward as he made his return from the horrific leg injury that ending his season early last year. Although the two stars for the Celtics were the ones to watch, it was Jayson Tatum and the rest of the bench that stole the show. Irving and Hayward shot a terrible 6-21 and only combined for 17 points. Tatum, on the other hand, scored an impressive 23 points along with the bench who scored 44 points and climbed the latter for 27 rebounds. Despite the loss, Ben Simmons showed little rust in the matchup shooting 7-14 from the field while recording 15 rebounds and eight assists, making him two shy of a triple-double. Joel “The Process” Embiid did not shoot the ball well going 9-21; however, he still managed to put up 23 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in the game.
The Celtics as a team shot better from the field and three-point range with a shooting percentage of 44 percent compared to 39 percent; also, a 29 percent from three compared to 19 percent. The Celtics also won in the assist category 21 to 18, rebounds 55 to 47, blocks 6 to 5 and turnovers 14 to 16. This game was very anticipated as a preview to who could be the new top team in the East. Even though the Celtics won by a large margin, the 76ers should not be a sleeper team to anyone.
The second game was a 10:30 p.m. matchup between the Warriors and the Thunder, whenever these two teams face off everyone tunes in because it is always the battle of Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook. The only problem this time is that Westbrook was out after having knee surgery earlier in the year. Even though Westbrook has had knee problems in the past, this one is not as serious as the rest. It was a simple surgery to drain some fluid in his knee, and he should be back earlier rather than later. This Thunder team played well and held their own against the two-time reigning champions only losing 108-100. Paul George led the team in minutes with 37 and points with 27. His shooting was a little off, only shooting 9-23 from the field and 4-12 from three. However, his defense was on point like it usually is because he brought in four steals. Westbrooks replacement for the game, Dennis Schroder, didn’t play too bad as he put up 21 points, 7-19 shooting, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals of his own. This team seemed to flow better with the absence of Carmelo Anthony as he was traded and eventually ended up on the Rockets.
The Warriors, as usual, came to play as they were led in scoring by Steph Curry. He had a great night scoring 32 points, on 11-20 shooting and 5-9 from deep. He was followed up by who some consider to be the new best player in the league, Kevin Durant. Durant scored 27 points on 9-21 shooting; however, he failed to hit from deep shooting a terrible 0-5. Klay Thompson had a quiet night not holding up to his reputation as one of the splash brothers only scoring 14 points on 5-20 shooting and 1-8 from three. This game was close most of the way and went into halftime where the Thunder only trailed by 10. After the half, the Thunder got hot taking the lead at 69-66, before the Warriors rallied and took the lead right back. In the end, the Warriors had a better shooting percentage from the field 44 to 36. However, the Thunder took the win in the category of three-point percentage 27 to 26 percent. The Warriors also won in assists 28-21, rebounds 57-46 and blocks 7 to 6.
Nevertheless, the Thunder won in steals 11 to 7 and turnovers 12 to 20. The biggest difference and the reason why the Warriors won is that of the free throw percentage. The Warriors shot an impressive 94 percent, while the Thunder shot a terrible 64 percent. The Thunder shot significantly more free throws 37 as compared to the Warriors 18. They did a great job of getting to the line, and if more were scored, they could have won the game. This was a great matchup in the West that showcased two of the most talented teams. With the return of Westbrook, this year’s Thunder team should be a good one.
