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| Kobe and the Lakers dug themselves an early 0-2 hole. (image by Don Ryan/AP) |
By the end
of the second game day of the NBA’s 2012-2013 season, a lot of my friends were
sobbing (no, really – SOBBING). A lot of my friends, you see, are Laker fans, (a
lot of them are Heat fans, too, which at times makes me wonder why I’m friends
with them in the first place!!! Haha!!!) and they’re not accustomed to seeing
their team go 0-2 to start a season. Now considering how the Lakers built up
their roster this year and considering the “lightness” of their first two
assignments – a Dirk-less and Kaman-less Mavericks team and a Portland five
that didn’t even make the playoffs last year – LA’s golden boys should’ve gone
2-0, right?
SHOULD HAVE.
But my LA fanboy buddies shouldn’t despair too much. Sure, the Lakers are 0-10
with the current roster and, maybe worse, Mike Brown is STILL the head coach,
but a team that has Kobe, Gasol, Dwight, and Nash is bound to get better. It’s
a team bound to win at least 50 of the remaining 80 games. It’s a team, oh,
wait, Nash just got injured.
Now for
another Western team that made a BIG change – the Houston Rockets.
The ‘12-‘13 Rockets
can’t look any more different than they did last year. No Luis Scola. No Chase
Budinger. No Kevin Martin. No Kyle Lowry. In their places we have two slightly
overrated and overpaid players (Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin), and two slightly underrated
guards (Carlos Delfino and James Harden). Of these new faces of the Rockets
franchise, Harden has the biggest chance of busting out this year, and that’s
exactly what he did against the Detroit Pistons yesterday (37 points, 12
assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 treys – WTF).
The 6’5
combo guard who helped lead the OKC Thunder to the NBA Finals last season is
talented enough to carry a team on his broad shoulders, and hungry enough to
make a name for himself outside the imposing shadows of Kevin Durant and
Russell Westbrook. He should reunite with his old superstar teammates as an
All-Star this year, especially if he continues to drop numbers similar to what
he dropped on the Pistons. It’s worth noting, however, that I think he STILL
would’ve been an All-Star had he stayed with OKC.
Oh well, the
Thunder’s loss is the Rockets’ gain. And, well, going back to the Lakers,
Harden going to Houston and the one-way-player Kevin Martin going to OKC can
only be good news. With one third of the Thunder’s own Big Three elsewhere, the
West is ripe for the Lakers’ shaking.
Oh, wait,
yeah.
Nash is
injured.
Oops.
Game
Recaps (courtesy of the Sports Network):
Philadelphia 84, Denver 75
Spencer
Hawes recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds to help the
Philadelphia 76ers spoil Andre Iguodala's homecoming with an 84-75 victory over
the Denver Nuggets in the season opener for both teams at Wells Fargo Center.
Hawes also registered five blocks, while Jrue Holiday netted 14 points and
handed out 11 assists for the new-look Sixers, who were playing without key
offseason acquisition Andrew Bynum, who is sidelined indefinitely with a right
knee injury. Iguodala, who was shipped to Denver in the four-team deal that
landed Bynum in Philadelphia, spent his first eight seasons in the City of
Brotherly Love after the club used the ninth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft
to select the University of Arizona product. The All-Star swingman finished
with 11 points, while Ty Lawson led the way with 16 points and seven assists
for the Nuggets, who finished 38-28 last season before losing in seven games to
the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
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| Spencer Hawes continues his strong play from last season. (image by H. Rumph, Jr./AP) |
Indiana 90, Toronto 88
George Hill
floated home the go-ahead bucket with 2.1 seconds remaining as the Indiana
Pacers rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to upend the Toronto
Raptors, 90-88, in the season opener for both teams at Air Canada Centre. David
West carried the offensive load with a game-high 25 points for the Pacers, who
finished 42-24 last season and were beaten in the Eastern Conference semifinals
by the eventual champion Miami Heat. Paul George contributed a double-double
with 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Roy Hibbert added 14 points and nine
boards in the victory. Kyle Lowry, who was acquired from the Houston Rockets in
the offseason, paid immediate dividends for the Raptors with a team-high 21
points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Andrea Bargnani scored 16 points,
while Jose Calderon donated 15 points off the bench in the defeat for Toronto,
which finished 23-43 in 2011-12. Jonas Valanciunas contributed 12 points and 10
rebounds.
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| David West will shoot more now that Danny Granger is out indefinitely. (image by Tony Dejak/AP) |
Houston 105, Detroit 96
James Harden
made sure his debut with the Houston Rockets would be one to remember. The
newly acquired guard posted a game-high 37 points and 12 assists to lead the
new-look Rockets to a 105-96 win over the Detroit Pistons in the regular season
opener for both teams. Harden, who was dealt to the Rockets in a multi-player
deal on Saturday, also had six rebound, four steals and knocked down 4-of-10
3-pointers. Harden's new backcourt mate, Jeremy Lin, had 12 points and 8
assists while Carlos Delfino added 15 points and seven boards off the bench for
Houston, which has beaten the Pistons in seven of its last eight matchups.
Brandon Knight paced Detroit with 15 points and Greg Monroe added 14 points and
eight rebounds for the Pistons, who look to bounce back from a woeful 25-41
finish last season.
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| James Harden should be an All-Star this year. (image by Duane Burlston/AP) |
Chicago 93, Sacramento 87
A balanced
scoring attack in the absence of Derrick Rose is what the Chicago Bulls were
looking for, and that's exactly what they got in a 93-87 season-opening win
over the Sacramento Kings. Joakim Noah totaled 23 points and 10 rebounds,
Carlos Boozer added 18 and eight and Richard Hamilton netted 19 points in the
victory. Kirk Hinrich, starting at point guard with Rose still recovering from
a torn ACL suffered in Chicago's first playoff game last April, shot just
1-for-7 from the floor but handed out seven assists and only committed two
turnovers. Tyreke Evans scored 21 points to lead the Kings, who have finished
in last place in the Pacific Division the past four seasons. Marcus Thornton
and DeMarcus Cousins added 15 and 14 points, respectively, in the loss.
San Antonio 99, New Orleans
95
Tony Parker
drained a 3-pointer late and Tim Duncan netted a pair of free throws to secure
the victory, as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the New Orleans Hornets, 99-95,
in the season opener for both teams. Parker, who finished with 23 points and
six assists, buried a three with 49.6 remaining to give San Antonio a 97-95
lead. Duncan powered the Spurs late in the fourth, scoring nine of San Antonio's
final 12 points. He scored a game- high 24 points and also pulled down 11
rebounds and blocked three shots. Anthony Davis, the top overall draft pick in
2012, did not disappoint for the Hornets in his regular season debut. He led
New Orleans with 21 points on 6- of-12 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds.
However, fellow rookie teammate Austin Rivers struggled most of the night,
shooting just 1-of-9, scoring seven points.
Utah 113, Dallas 94
Mo and
Marvin Williams combined for 42 points on Wednesday, leading the Utah Jazz to a
113-94 thumping of the Dallas Mavericks at EnergySolutions Arena. Mo Williams
finished with 21 points and six assists, while Marvin Williams ended his night
with 21 points and a trio of rebounds for the Jazz, who went 36-30 last season
and lost in the first round to the San Antonio Spurs. Paul Millsap netted 13
points and ripped down 15 rebounds, and Al Jefferson contributed a
double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds in the victory. Darren Collison
led the Mavericks with 17 points and seven assists, while Brandan Wright added
15 points in the setback. Vince Carter and O.J. Mayo scored 12 points apiece
for the Mavs, who opened their 2012-13 campaign with a 99-91 win over the Los
Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
Golden State 87, Phoenix 85
Carl Landry
scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and scored the go-ahead basket
with 1:22 left as the Golden State Warriors edged the Suns by an 87-85 count in
the season opener for both teams at US Airways Center. Landry made good on
7-of-9 field goal attempts overall for the Warriors, who have now won two
straight in Phoenix since ending a 13-game road losing streak in this series
last February. Klay Thompson added 16 points in the triumph, while Brandon Rush
contributed 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting off the bench. Goran Dragic, signed by
the Suns as a free agent to fill Steve Nash's spot after the two-time NBA MVP
joined the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason, totaled a team-best 17 points
and dished out eight assists. Luis Scola, another newcomer to a revamped
Phoenix squad, posted a double- double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in his
first outing with his new club.
LA Clippers 101, Memphis 92
Jamal
Crawford poured in 29 points on 10- of-14 shooting in his Clippers debut,
masking slow season openers by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in Los Angeles'
101-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in a chippy rematch of last season's
first-round playoff matchup. The Clippers outlasted the Grizzlies in seven
games last postseason, and Wednesday's meeting was appropriately decided in the
closing minutes. Paul and Griffin each made just 4-of-10 from the field to net
12 and 11 points, respectively, in the win. Paul also dished out 12 assists,
while his backup, Eric Bledsoe, added 13 points off the bench. Rudy Gay led
Memphis with 25 points, Marc Gasol scored 20 and Zach Randolph totaled 15
points and 16 rebounds in the loss.
Portland 116, LA Lakers 106
Nicolas
Batum had 26 points and six rebounds and sixth overall pick Damian Lillard
registered 23 points and 11 assists in the Portland Trail Blazers' 116-106
thumping the Lakers. Wesley Matthews added 22 points for the Blazers, who
turned 25 turnovers into 28 points. After missing on 11 of his 14 free-throw
attempts on Tuesday in the Lakers' opener, Dwight Howard nailed 15-of-19 from
the charity stripe and tallied a game-high 33 points and 14 rebounds. Kobe
Bryant added 30 points and six boards, but committed seven turnovers for Los
Angeles, which has started the year 0-2 following an 0-8 preseason. Steve Nash
left the game with a left leg injury in the third and did not return.
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