What NBA Tip Off tells us

Nagpuputukan dito!

The greatest basketball show on Earth has resumed and it kicked things off with very entertaining games.

First, let’s tackle the less-talked-about Phoenix vs. Portland game. And then one of you guys says, “There was a Phoenix-Portland game? See, there was so much attention on the Black Mamba, The Young Big Three and The Ancient Big Three that everyone forgot about Captain Canada and that big man who always gets injured. Everyone expect for Phoenix Suns and Portland Trailblazers fans.

 

Steve Nash and Jason Richardson got little help from everyone else as they led the Suns with 26 and 22 points respectively. Hedo Turkoglu, who started at power forward for the Suns, was held down to 6 points in 27 minutes of play, while reliever Hakkim Warrick scored 10 points after seeing action for 18 minutes. Hmmm. If that’s the case, maybe Alvin Gentry should consider having a natural PF start alongside Robin Lopez instead of imitating the Orlando Magic of two seasons ago. Being the brilliant playmaker he is, Nash could probably help Warrick turn into a post threat that could give them a low-teen scorer.

On the other side of the fence, it’s the usual suspect for the Blazers as Brandon Roy torched the opposition with 24 points, highlighted by 4 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc.

The game was actually tightly contested for the first three periods, until Nicolas Batum stole the show late in the fourth to close the game at 106-92 in favor of Portland.

Batum and teammate Marcus Camby finished with double-doubles. Batum had 19 points and 11 rebounds Camby had 13 and 10. I’m putting emphasis on rebounding because the Blazers owned the Suns in terms of that stat, 48-30. Portland was able to put up more shots and points than Phoenix thanks to an 18-7 advantage on offensive rebounds.

Opening night tells us that Phoenix misses Amar’e Stoudemire. While Stud isn’t a topnotch defender, he can score and rebound. And though Warrick looks promising, Nash has to do better than 9 turnovers to prove that he’s still a Top 5 point guard even in the absence of his ol’ pick-and-roll buddy. And good news: Greg Oden survived his first game.

Argh! Not again?!

Now on to a game that went down the wire, Rockets vs. Lakers.

Yao Ming has returned to finally give Houston a legit center, but his game is still on vacation. Yao only scored 9 points in 23 minutes, but managed to grab 11 rebounds before fouling out. That should give Rockets fans a reason to smile. Brad Miller, who backs the Chinese superstar at center, also had 9 points and grabbed 9 rebounds after getting similar amount of playing time.

Kevin Martin and Aaron Brooks combined for 50 points and may have what it takes to be the next best backcourt duo this side of Texas since Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley.

Luis Scola is definitely underrated if he can finish with 18 points and 16 rebounds against a still formidable Lakers frontline minus Andrew Bynum. And Chase Budinger provided firepower off the bench with 13 points.

Are we forgetting somebody? Shane Battier still loves locking horns with Kobe Bryant, and this combination is always fun to watch. We’ve all seen how Battier has gone after Bryant time and time again, and though the Black Mamba dumped 27 on him on opening night, that fierce determination to make that shot hard for Kobe will always be there. And have you seen this guy face guard? That kind of defense pushes shot difficulty level from very hard to very harder.

But even with all those contributors, the Rockets still fell short against the defending champs.

Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom crashed the boards and combined for 21 rebounds while scoring 29 and 14 respectively. Ron Artest may have been a little excited about the ring and shot more than he should have because it took him 15 shots to get 8 points. Meanwhile elder statesman Derek Fisher didn’t bother drinking some water from his fountain of youth.

Opening night tells us that the Lakers are still the team to beat. If the performance of Shannon Brown and Steve Blake, whose three-pointer held off the Rockets to the tune of 112-110, is any indication, the Lakers have a stronger bench this time around. And the Rockets, if they stay healthy, can return to the playoffs.

Time for some bromance.

And to save the best for last, we have the Boston Celtics stunning the new look Miami Heat, 88-80.

For a team with so much win-now pressure on their shoulders, this isn’t a good way to start a campaign for the Heat.

Lebron James showed that there won’t be any slowing down even if he’s on a star-studded team. He filled every statistical category you could think and didn’t even spare the turnover category. He finished with 31 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts, 1 stl, 2 blks and 8 TOs.

Dwayne Wade produced 13 points but his 4 out of 16 shooting and 6 turnovers hurt his team. And Chris Bosh barely made his presence felt with his 8 points and 8 rebounds. Now let’s compare how the older counterparts of the so called Three Kings fare.

Ray Allen was on fire as he went 7 out of 13 and scored 20. Paul Pierce missed a double-double with his 19 points and 9 rebounds, while Kevin Garnett didn’t let such opportunity passed him by as he finished with 10-10. And as the Boston trio combined for just 9 turnovers, Miami’s troika combined for 15.

Adding to the Heat’s woes was Rajon Rondo who out-assisted the whole Miami team by dishing out 17 dimes.

Shaquille O’Neal is still decent as a starting center and Glen Davis still a great big coming off the bench.            

Opening night tells us that Boston is still a force to reckon. This team is aware that their still the Beast of the East. They remember that they were one win and one center away from winning another title, and this time around, they have more reliable centers aboard. The Big Thee plus Rondo is still reliable as ever.

As for Miami, opening night revealed a lot of not-so good things. Three more consecutive losses could mean bye-bye Eric Spoelstra and a bar owner filing for bankruptcy. Steve Kerr could be right. A team with more than two superstars that require lots of touches is bad thing (e.g. 2003-2004 LA Lakers). And just like in the past, a Lebron-led squad will disappoint. Make no mistake, the Heat will get many Ws. They could even lead the league just like the Cleveland Cavaliers did for two straight seasons. But just like that team, they could fall short in the playoffs.  The Heat can give out all the excuses in the world, but when they meet the Cs in April, the guys in green know they got Miami’s number.

If the Heat wants the Larry O’Brien trophy, they should understand that even three superstars can run out of steam when their playing against 8-10-12 guys a night.