The First D.A.Y.
Chicago makes an early statement and the Lakers show alot of heart…
L.A. LAKERS 114 PHOENIX 106
The most shocking game of the year! Phoenix looked like Phoenix early, hitting their first 9 shots and Nash finished the first quarter with 7 assists. Kobe didn’t play cause his knee isn’t ready yet. The Suns jumped out to a big lead and I stopped watching and went over to my girlfriend’s house. Somewhere in there Amare, who came off the bench, flashed those beartrap hands on a bounce pass and dunked it, though the dunk didn’t have his typical BEASTiness in it. Still early. The story of the game was that after giving up 41 points in the first quarter, the Lakers settled down and Lamar Odom led the way to a huge comeback win, putting up probably the best numbers of his career 34, 13 and 6. You should never take a boxscore involving the Phoenix Suns at face value, but Andrew Bynum had his best night with 18, 9, and 5, Kurt Thomas looks like he’s back at it with those open pick n roll jumpers hitting 5 of his 6 shots, and Barbosa hit 6 of 8 threes on his way to 30 points. After one night of NBA action, the top two scorers in the league are Odom and Barbosa.
CHICAGO 108 MIAMI 66
At least the Heat got their rings in a boring ceremony before the game. This was the worst blowout loss for any defending champ in their first meaningful game after winning a title, EVER. The Bulls treated this like a statement game, I suppose. De-fense. Lots of trips to the line early (how does it feel to watch that, Miami?) and Chicago was actually running a little bit to build up their lead. Wade looked great early on but he had no help and this game was over before halftime. Ben Wallace grabbed 11 boards in his Chicago debut and Tyrus Thomas showed what he can do, while the Bulls got what they needed on offense from Hinrich and Duhon. The most interesting part of this game was in the ring ceremony when they announced Wade before Shaq. Hmmmm… the Finals MVP and current potential league MVP threat takes a backseat to an aging legend out of respect. NBA players have such fragile egos. And how much did Spike Lee get paid to make those Wade commercials? He’s just sitting there talking to the camera. That commercial where he delivers anew basket and a bunch of balls to some kids must have taken a lot more work. Whoever had to stuff all the basketballs in the car was working harder and getting paid I’d assume one ten-thousandth as much as Spike.
12 Responses to “The First D.A.Y.”
Nov.1 at 11:39 am
nic says:
ah, what a 1st night. both my squads pulled a W, that shaq/dwade interview was hilarious (”did you miss shaq this summer?”), and it was FANTASTIC to see ernie johnson macking the entire TNT audience last night. hey - since ej is a linkstigator, someone should put up a “love for ernie” post so that all the rest of us can overwhelm him with our joy at his fortitude.
Nov.1 at 11:46 am
JG says:
Kirk KILLED the Heat last night. D-Wade had it goin’, but somebody, anybody else has gotta step it up for the Heat
Nov.1 at 11:50 am
Timbo says:
Welcome to the League Tyrus Thomas! Sincerely, Broken Nose
Nov.1 at 11:52 am
M.K. Petrik says:
Because our sports channels in Canada (TSN, Sportsnet and The Score) didn’t broadcast either game last night (considering it was Opening Night) I could only watch the highlights the next morning and for Miami to get their rings and banner raised and then get b*tch slapped by the Bulls (not taking anything away from them) is a disgrace!
Nov.1 at 12:44 pm
Dblizzy says:
Man that Bynum kid looked pretty good last night. he was horsing the whole Suns frontline, not that the Suns are big or anything, but i was inmpressed. He’s only 19 and can only get better but he’s got the whole banging around in the paint thing down pat. And he shoved and dunked on Shaq last yr he should get respect just for that. it’s funny cuz they interviewed him and he was all respectful and soft-spoken, but he’s got a mean streak on the court. in the pre-season he was posted deep and that russian kid or whatever he is didn’t pass him the rock, and he screamed at him “give me the f*ckin ball. Love those NBA tv camera mics, they pic up every sound on the court. maybe he needs to teach Eddie Curry some manliness. lol
Nov.1 at 12:54 pm
Max Airington says:
I love the ‘lights out’ look at Staples.
Nov.1 at 1:06 pm
peteb80 says:
How long until Wade writes “All Alone 3″ on his sneakers?
Nov.1 at 1:14 pm
rob stewart says:
I know we are only one game deep into the season but Bynum could be a most improved candidate. I think he averaged like 1 point last year.
Nov.1 at 1:50 pm
Dblizzy says:
Glad to see Ernie back too. he’s the best in the business. the whole panel had baldies last night, so he fit right in.
Nov.1 at 2:39 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Just off one steal and dunk, I already love Thabo Sefolosha.
Nov.1 at 3:06 pm
allenp says:
Sam, I like the Converse commericials. I thought it was interesting to hear Wade just speak about what players think.
Nov.1 at 3:51 pm
Darksaber says:
Thabo is for Switzerland, what Dirk is for Germany… the AWAKENING. Seriously, print and news media over here are BUGGING because of that cat. Never thought that after the OG Dream Team, anyone could rekindle the fire of B-Ball in these alps, but lo and behold, Sefolosha (at least for one night) got stuff done. I love this game, more than ever. Now Stern, about forbidding the sweatbands and sleeves….