Random Observations:
- Highlight Recap: LeBron James fastbreak dunk. Shaq attempts to bring the basket down. Steve Nash sets up Hakim Warrick for a dunk. Dwyane Wade steals and slams. Robin Lopez swats Andre Miller. J-Rich throws it down. Lamar Odom reverse dunk. Lamar Odom coast-to-coast drive.
- So… the Miami Heat weren’t so hot in their much anticipated debut game against the Celtics, shooting just 36% from the floor (Wade/Bosh combined for 7/27). Miami dug themselves a big hole early, but LeBron James did have a nice third quarter, scoring 15 points in the period to help the Heat make it interesting. Miami never was able to get a lead, though, and Ray Allen knocked down a dagger three-pointer (one of his five threes in the game) to finish it off. Neither team really looked sharp, but I suppose that is to be expected on day one of the season. I have seen a lot of knee-jerk reactions regarding the Heat during my travels around the internet this morning, but I’m not too worried. We need to give these guys a little time to adjust to playing together. They didn’t get to work things out during preseason due to injuries, that probably doesn’t help. Miami actually got plenty of good looks last night, they just couldn’t buy a basket at times… and as poorly as they played they still only lost by eight points.
- The most entertaining part of opening night was the Lakers ring ceremony. David Stern said “Champeenship” a couple times, Some Laker coaching staff member lined up next to Kareem gets skipped when they’re handing out the rings, and Phil Jackson thanks DJ Mbenga and Adam Morrison… quality stuff.
- After trailing for much of the game, the Lakers got a two-point comeback victory over the Rockets. First of all, lots of happy fantasy owners after this game: 29/11 for Pau, 18/16 for Scola, 24/9 for Brooks, 27/7/5 for Kobe, and 26 for Kevin Martin with a few threes. I have none of those players in any of my four leagues. Figures. Anyway, this was a pretty good game, Houston gave LA a nice run for their money on ring night. Shannon Brown came up huge for LA in the fourth, scoring 14 points in about 6 minutes, knocking down threes all over the place. New Laker Steve Blake hit a big three pointer with 18 seconds left.
- I didn’t get to see a whole lot of the Blazers/Suns game, although I did switch to it periodically throughout the night. I can tell you that the Blazers won by 14, that Nicolas Batum was huge with 19 points and 11 boards, and that former Suns coach Terry Porter is apparently the sidline reporter for the Blazers TV crew these days. I’m guessing Terry would probably rather be coaching… tough break.
Quote of the Day: Marv Albert tells us about the oldest players in the league…
“Take a look at the oldest players in the league, Shaq has edged out Kurt Thomas this year.”
Steve Kerr quickly pointed out to Marv that one can’t really be “edged out” when it comes to age, as it’s not like these guys are racing each other. No one ever gets passed in the age competition. Good one, Marv! I guess just like the players, the commentators also need a little time to get into their rhythm.
Photo of the Day: courtesy of Yahoo! Sports…
Good stuff strobber for the first day. Hopefully we can spice things up with more color soon.