First Takes

The 2023-24 NBA Season opened with a bang last October 24. We saw 2 heavyweight clashes, and this was followed by a flurry of games the next days. By now, we have seen all 30 teams playing their first game. And we wonder what these games tell us, as we move along through the 82-game season grind. Here then are the biggest first impressions made by the teams:

1. Denver Nuggets Demolish the LA Lakers. The Nuggets looked superb in their first game as defending champs, easily dispatching a supposedly stronger Laker team. The Nuggets remain as the top favorites to come out of the Western Conference. Notwithstanding the transfer of Bruce Brown to the Indiana Pacers, the team remains solid as a rock; with the Nikola Jokic-Jamal Murray tandem, plus steady starters Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell Pope and Michael Porter Jr.

2. The Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavs stand out. The 2 were impressive in their debut games this season. They look ready to pose that challenge for the Western Conference title. Phoenix, minus Bradley Beal who was on sick bay, took down the Steph Curry- Chris Paul led Golden State Warriors. Devin Booker is showing he is ready for the big-time. Dallas showed how dangerous a harmonious Luka Doncic/Kyrie Irving duo could be, as they upended the San Antonio Spurs and their new wonderkid, Victor Wembanyama. Dallas also paraded a surprise package in Dereck Lively II, whose 16 points/10 rebounds double-double output is one for the rookie books.

3. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics loom as the east’s top teams today. The Bucks, with new transferee Damian Lillard teaming up seamlessly with Giannis Antetokounmpo, upended the Philadelphia 76ers; while the Celtics, with new guys Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, took down the New York Knicks. Damian was superb in his debut game with the Bucks, collecting 39 huge points for the win. His presence will open up the defense, allowing Giannis more open spaces for his inside incursions. Kristaps was clearly the big difference for the Celtics, banging in 30 points in his Celtic debut, a franchise record. The Bucks and the Celtics will be the teams to beat in this year’s race for the eastern pennant.

4. A long season ahead for the Warriors? The Golden State Warriors’ loss to the younger Phoenix Suns, who played minus their third star, Bradley Beal, is an omen of things to come. The Warriors were also without their defense hub in Draymond Green. The Warriors are an aging team – however slowly – and they will need more help. By putting Klay Thompson at small forward and Andrew Wiggins at power forward to accommodate Chris Paul, they become a relatively smaller team. This puts them at a great disadvantage in the rebound battles.

5. Watch out for Wemby. Victor Wembanyama’s debut with the San Antonio Spurs was an eye-opener. The Spurs lost to a tougher Texan rival, the Dallas Mavs. Wemby may not have dominated and got into foul trouble early, but clearly the upside is there. He will need to bulk up, if he is to survive the NBA wars. But the future certainly looks bright for the young Frenchie.

For the first time ever, there is an in-season mini-tournament that will starts on Nov 3. The in-season tourney is expected to drive additional interest in the early portion of the regular-season. It will provide players and teams with another competition to win and engage fans in a new way. Winner for the abbreviated tournament takes the NBA Cup. The new tourney is an experiment that will have a format following the exciting knockout rounds going to the NCAA Finals. All games played will still count as regular season games except for the Finals which will not form part of the regular season. Here, even the strongest teams can be booted out in the knockout win-or-go-home games. This should be an interesting fast-and-furious mini-tourney.

The NBA is off to a flying start. There are new players, new alignment of stars and new coaches. As the performance of some older stars start to dip (Lebron James, Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, Russell Westbrook, etc), there are mid-level stars who are ready to take over (Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, etc). Plus there are exciting high-flying rookies whose death-defying moves bode well for the NBA. Plus European-bred players euro-stepping their way to the league. The in-season mini-tourney for the first-ever NBA Cup is something to look forward to. It tells us that the NBA is dynamic and forward-looking. It sees good ideas and are willing to try them. Let’s see how it goes.

Cover photos courtesy of CNN, Sports Illustrated, NBA.com.