Opening Night in the NBA!

The Cleveland Cavaliers.. Uhh, i mean the Miami Heat!

Last night was officially the first night of the NBA season and i for one was very excited. I've been waiting in anticipation for the past couple of months for this season to kick off and it started last night with 3 great match ups. The new look Miami Heat "took their talents" to Boston to face the Rajon Rondo and the "Big Three". I was stuck at work until 10:30 and had to DVR this game, i tried hard not to load up ESPN MVP on my phone while at work to avoid seeing the score (okay, i peaked). As i sat awake at 3:30 this morning, i found myself wondering why? This game reminded me of a Cleveland vs. Boston game from last season, only the Cavs weren't making very many plays. Shaq was there, although, he was wearing green, Wade was basically Mo Williams and Bosh tossed up some very pedestrian numbers (8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block, on 3-11 shooting from the field). I understand that Miami isn't going to "click" at the drop of a hat, Bosh and Wade are assuming new roles this season and they're going to have to find ways to be effective and unleash Lebron at the same time. This is something the Heat will struggle with at times. Throwing this revamped unit onto the floor in Boston, against the reigning Eastern Conference champs was a hostile way to start the season, but, these are the games that Miami is going to HAVE to win come April.

Quote of the night supplied by King James: "We all know Rome wasn't built in one day. We understand that. We just need to continue to get better."

Stat Line for Miami: Lebron James leads the way with 31 points, 4 boards, 3 dimes, 2 blocks and 8 TO's. Mo.. Err, Wade notched 13 points, 6 dimes, 4 boards, 3 steals and 6 TO's. Nobody else was in double figures for the Heat, although, Haslim did chip in 8 points and grabbed 11 boards. Bosh was a non-factor, only putting up 8-8 on 3-11 shooting from the field.

Let's talk about Boston, they looked like they never missed a beat, playing great defense and jumping out to double-digit leads a few times throughout the night. Ray Allen led the way with 20 and Pierce added 19 of his own, to hold on after the Heat went on a 10-0 run late in the 4th quarter. Pierce laid down the law in the 4th quarter, scoring 10 of his 19 points late. Chants of "Overrated" could be heard echoing from every corner of the TD Garden as Lebron and company tried for a late run. Rajon Rondo had his difficulties shooting, as he went 2-9 from the field, but, made it clear that he's the play maker in Boston, pouring in 17 assists to go along with 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Rondo looked to have a little off season rust, as far as shooting went, he was met and blocked a couple of times at the basket and really didn't look to score much in the 2nd half. Kevin Garnett worked a double-double, notching 10-10 (7 TO's) as Boston "slayed the Giant" in game 1 of the regular season. I honestly had Boston winning this game, at home. It's clear that Miami has the early ballots to win the Eastern Conference, given their newly acquired star-power, but, you can still find my bets placed on Boston or Orlando to take the east. Boston and Orlando both have some great qualities that Miami doesn't have yet, and possibly never will. They both have great interior defenders, in KG and Dwight Howard, who can control the lane and make it tough on guys like Lebron and Wade have a large impact inside. They can also control the tempo at which Bosh plays the game. I'm not saying that Miami won't win games, or that Miami can't win the conference, I'm just saying that they have some issues to figure out, and teams such as Boston and Orlando already have these things figured out and are ready to play for the hardware.

Nash... The scorer?

Game 2 saw a rematch of last year's first round matchup between the 3 and 6 seed's in the Western Conference playoffs, which ended with the Suns winning in 6 games. Steve Nash led the new, smaller, run-and-gun Suns into Portland to go toe-to-toe with Brandon Roy and the Blazers. The Suns are, and will be missing the 6'10, 250lb, 5-time all star, Amare Stoudemire. Phoenix's season may not be lost, but, if Nash is going to have to do the things he did last night to stay in games, score, score, score, I'm not sure that these Suns can make the playoffs. With Nash leading his team in scoring (26 points) while sacrificing his greatest attribute, dishing the rock, Phoenix could be in serious trouble. Nash had 6 dimes last night and 9 turnovers to go with his 26 points and a loss. Jason Richardson started out hot and finished with 22 points on 12-17 shooting from the field (3-4 from 3-point land). Robin Lopez, 5-5 with a blocked shot and newly acquired, Hedo Turkoglu, 6 points on 4-11 shooting need to turn it on and get more involved in the scoring game if the Suns are going to have a shot at making a playoff run this season. Turkoglu flopped in Toronto last season after much success in Orlando, with the Magic, where he did a lot of ball handling and was the Magic's go-to-guy in the 4th quarter. Since leaving Orlando, via free agency after the 2008-2009 season, Turkoglu has failed to find his rhythm. Turkoglu was met with a loud roar of boos from the 20,603 in attendance at the Rose Garden, this was no doubt a reaction to Hedo's verbal commitment during free agency last season, before jetting to greener pastures in Toronto.

Portland looked to control the glass against the smaller Suns, and they did, out-rebounding Phoenix 48-30, the Trailblazers also had 5 players in double figures, including, Nick Batum (19), Marcus Camby (13), Andre Miller (10), Wesley Matthews (13) and Brandon Roy (24). Portland outscored Phoenix 106-92 in a game that saw 20 lead changes and 5 ties. Portland closed the game on an 18-1 run and outscored the Suns 31-11 in the final quarter to jump out to a 1-0 start. Pheonix needs to find a way to use Nash as the play maker instead of the play finisher, i don't mind Nash having 25+ points in a game, but, he needs to look to create for other players first, which means that Turkoglu, Lopez and Grant Hill really need to step it up if this team plans on doing anything this season.

Game 3 was the Lakers at home against the Rockets. Yao ming was to be limited to 24 minutes per contest for the seeable future, or, at least until he can get his endurance back and get into better basketball shape. I'll be the first to admit that it was nice to see Yao back on the floor, and he played pretty well in his 24 minutes of action, notching 9 points (4-11 shooting), 11 rebounds and 2 blocks, before fouling out at the 24 minute mark (coincidence). This was a night in LA in which the champion Lakers raised their 16th championship banner and received their rings (in which Ron Artest plans to hock). The Lake-Show came out in somewhat of a daze in the first half and into the 3rd quarter, being down 82-71 late in the 3rd, before new addition, Steve Blake, buried back-to-back 3's, dwindling Houston's lead to just 5. The Lakers play carried on into the 4th quarter as they went on a 15-4 run, giving them a 6 point lead. Shannon Brown came into the game and scored 14 or his 16 points in the 4th quarter, including four 3-point buckets to really drive the dagger into the Rockets. Pau Gasol led the way for LA with 29 (11 rebounds) and Kobe chipped in with 27, Lamar Odom notched 14 and 11 rebounds on a night where Luis Scola seemed to lose the 6'10, Odom, on a regular basis. Odom player very opportunistic basketball and the Lakers bench looked to have no chinks in it's armor.

How much can he do with limited minutes?

Health is always an issue.

Houston wasn't without it's share of big moments and nice signs for the future of this season. The Rockets came out in attack-mode, led by their back-court combination of Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin, the two combined for 50, and tallied up 7 three's. Brooks also poured in 9 assists and looked to have unmatched speed by anyone the Lakers assigned with the task of checking him. He caused a lot of havoc for LA in the paint, though it may not show in the stat column, Brooks spent a ton of time under the hoop, passing and setting up the Houston offense. Kevin Dallas Martin hit a few clutch three's and was able to get to the line 7 times, going 7-7. It always amazes me that a guy of Martin's smaller stature, and who is viewed as a jump shooter can get to the line so regularly. This guy, when healthy can make teams pay at the charity stripe, Martin is a career .856% FT shooter and no slouch on the move, he has very good body control and gets to the rack with more ease than most people would think. I think Houston really has a bright future with the 27 year old Martin and the 25 year old Brooks in their back court. If Yao can stay healthy and get back into basketball shape, Houston could be a deadly team, come April and May.

That's my take on opening night in the NBA: