NBA: 3 observations from opening night as the Brooklyn Nets shine

3 takeaways from the NBA’s opening night

Less than three months after the NBA concluded its bubble experiment with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their 17th championship in franchise history – or 12th if you’re feeling petty – the Association returned to action Tuesday night.

Ushering in a shortened 72-game schedule, the doubleheader on TNT featured a little of everything: triumphant returns, atrocious basketball, and the inexorable feeling that the global pandemic is still with us.

To help break it all down, here are our three takeaways from the league’s opening night. Remember, it can only get better….probably.

NBA opening night takeaway: The Broadcast was a mess 

While the broadcasting duo of Marv Albert and Chris Webber rarely make for appointment viewing, the audio presentation Tuesday night was particularly rough. Though Albert still possesses the ability to make you feel the tension on the court through his words alone – picking his spots to raise the tempo of the broadcast, and using just the right amount of inflection that you almost intuitively understand the context of a play without having to look at the scoreboard – there’s no denying he’s a step slower.

Operating in the 54th year of his career, Albert has lost a bit of the whimsy that once allowed him to carry games.

Switching between the action on the court, an ad read, and banter with his colleagues, Marv excelled at ensuring telecasts were entertaining regardless of your rooting interests. While it’s understandable that at 79, Albert’s fastball may not be what it once was, what makes it noticeable is the lack of support he generally receives from his partner Chris Webber.

Despite the hall of fame snub having undeniable enthusiasm and love for the game, Webber rarely offers anything other than a mixture of platitudes:

"“If you’re a young player out there, watch the way Kyrie plays”–cliches, and, at times, even pure nonsense – “I love the stability Andrew Wiggins brings to the Warriors”(!!)."

To make matters worse, the technical difficulties the two encountered during the game, made for a broadcast that was nearly unwatchable.

Seemingly calling the match from two different locations as a result of health protocols, Webber and Albert was never able to develop a rhythm, often talking over one another, or leaving long pauses between comments as the game rolled on. Most notably, however, was the half-second delay between the on-court microphone – that registered a “clank” every time a ball was off-line –  the video feed, followed by another split-second pause for Albert’s audio to catch up.

With the Nets pushing the ball after every miss – and there was quite a bit of them from the Warriors – what often resulted was Albert finishing the call of the previous play, as the shot on the next possession was in the air.

If the league was ever going to institute a “mercy” rule, it isn’t clear who would have wanted one more Tuesday night: Golden State, or the TNT crew.

NBA opening night takeaway: Kevin Durant looked rejuvenated…and unafraid 

Perhaps the most important development of the night, the play of Kevin Durant was enough to raise the hopes of

Nets fans everywhere. Eighteen months since the last playing in a game, Durant looked every bit the perennial MVP we’ve come to know him as.

Sustaining a tear to his Achilles tendon, concerns had been raised over KD’s ability to regain the athleticism that was so central to his offensive skill-set. While initial reports had provided room for optimism that the forward had retained his explosiveness, there remained worries that the fear of potentially re-injuring the leg would prevent him from playing with comfort.

One game into the season, it seems that we can put those fears to rest.

Racking up 22 points in only 25 minutes of action, Durant served as the offensive fulcrum that Brooklyn has long desired. Whether he was spacing the floor from behind the arc, operating in the mid-range, or pushing the Nets in transition, it was difficult to take your eyes off the forward, for how easy he was making it look.

Yet, it was a missed field goal attempt that may have stuck out the most.

Coming midway through the opening quarter, the Nets held the ball at the top of the arc and fired an entry pass to a cutting Durant off the weak side.  With the Warriors anticipating the move, Golden State immediately dropped their defender from the key, in an attempt to sandwich the forward between defenders. Though he was able to corral the pass, Durant could only fire an awkward shot that bounced off the side of the rim, eventually being bailed out by a late whistle that sent him to the line.

It was a play that we’ve seen from KD a thousand times over the course of his career – baiting defenses towards an overreaction, and eating the free throw attempts as his just desserts for enduring the contact – and it was its normalcy that was immediately noticeable. As Celtics fans can attest, having spent the last several years oscillating between frustration, and understanding as they watched Gordon Hayward, serious injuries can at times be most damaging in the hesitancy they inspire in players, as much as the physical side of the ailments themselves.

On opening night, we watched a Kevin Durant play that not only looked as dangerous as he once did but one that looked completely unafraid. That, in it of itself, must be a scary proposition for the rest of the league.

NBA opening night takeaway: Los Angeles, A Tale of Two Cities 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The Lakers are world champions, the Clippers are enduring the aftereffects of a monumental collapse. Dickens’ references aside, the second match of the league’s doubleheader was a stark reminder of the diverging fortunes between the two organizations, not only because it began with the Lakers receiving their championship paraphernalia, but because of the vast gulf in intensity between the opponents.

While the Lakers were eventually able to narrow the Clips’ early lead in the second, and third quarters, the other LA team came out firing early and often. Utilizing their prized offseason acquisition, Serge Ibaka, the Clippers proved adept at outmaneuvering the Lakers all night. By stationing their new big man behind the arc, and creating driving lanes for Kawhi and George to exploit, the Clips could finally feature a balanced floor attack that did not suffer for its’ lack of size on the defensive end.

Stymied last season in part because of the inflexibility of their interior players, the Clippers were often forced to choose between defense and offense when constructing their lineups. With Montrezl Harrell giving up significant size advantages against opposing bigs, and Ivica Zubac featuring a limited offensive repertoire, Doc Rivers and company had good, but rarely great options. With the addition of Ibaka, LA not only solved one of the few roster concerns the team had but may have made the most impactful personnel move in the chase for the Finals, this side of James Harden being traded.

As for the Lakers, their at times lackluster effort was to be expected. Recovering from a deep postseason run, on an unusually short turn around, Frank Vogel had spoken openly about the need to ease his aging lineup into the rigors of the new season.

If there was a takeaway for the defending champions, however, it might have been the play – or lack thereof – of Marc Gasol. Playing in his age-35 season, the younger Gasol brother had joined the Lakers hoping to provide flexibility similar to that of Ibaka with the Clippers. Though the Lakers possess the ultimate trump card in the league, with their ability to station Davis at the 5 – giving Los Angeles a form of their own death lineup – the Lakers have historically proved reticent towards employing such groupings, hoping to spare AD the rigors of the position.

In collecting five fouls in just under 12 minutes on the court, however, to go along with a single rebound, Gasol’s performance may leave them no choice.

Though he is unlikely to be quite so bad moving forward, the center was repeatedly burned off picks, with the Clippers increasingly targeting him at the point of their attack. Despite almost every center in the league, working at a disadvantage against wing players, the degree to which Gasol fell behind the offense was concerning and might indicate a trend that won’t be quite so reversible even with rest and rhythm.

For a franchise that always seems to find an answer, however, chances are that the Lakers won’t be too worried.