It is too early to read anything into the new NBA season. After all, the 2022-23 campaign is only getting started.
Then again, premature assumptions are all part of the fun of following sport, especially basketball.
Things began well for the Golden State Warriors as the defending champions beat the Los Angeles Lakers on opening night.
Hauls of 33 points from Stephen Curry, 20 from Andrew Wiggins and 18 from Klay Thompson were enough to see the Warriors beat LeBron James and the Lakers 123-109 on Tuesday, though they will likely expect a sterner test from the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
The visitors have two-time MVP Nikola Jokic to call on, with the Serbian showing off his abilities with a strong opening performance against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Jokic recorded 27 points, four rebounds and six assists, though it was not enough to stop his team suffering defeat.
The Jazz ran out 123-102 victors, with the Nuggets defense unable to stop their opponents from scoring 75 points in the first half at Vivint Arena.
Coach Michael Malone was pleased with his team's response in the second half, but acknowledged the league will not allow you to "pick and choose".
''In that first half [the Jazz] outworked us and I think to a man everyone in [our] locker room would agree,'' Malone said. ''We looked like a different team, felt like a different team [in the second half]. But in this league you can't pick and choose when you play.''
Against a Warriors team capable of taking a game away in an instant, that has to be the main area of focus for Denver at Chase Center.
Following the Draymond Green-Jordan Poole incident that Steve Kerr described as "the biggest crisis we've had since I've been coach here", the Warriors will be hoping to further put that behind them with another home win.
Repeat their impressive showing from their opening game, and you would be a fool to bet against that happening.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Golden State Warriors – Stephen Curry
I mean… who else?
Curry continued his inspired form from last season's Finals to top-score against the Lakers, recording six rebounds and seven assists on top of his 33 points, though he only shot four from 13 three-point attempts.
If he can find his range against the Nuggets, who knows how many points he could put up? Which will take pressure off his teammates and allow them to focus on stopping Jokic.
Denver Nuggets – Aaron Gordon
In reality, it's Jokic, but his high levels are almost there to be taken for granted right now.
In addition, Wednesday showed that even a brilliant outing from him does not lead to a win for Denver without others helping him, which Gordon at least did, and will likely need to do again.
His 22 points, 10 rebounds and two assists provided some support, but those points scored and rebound numbers were way up on his average for last season (15.0 and 5.9 per game) so the test will be to repeat it.
KEY BATTLES – Nuggets have to tighten it up
Although the Nuggets leaked points like a sieve in Utah, it was not due to one particular opponent running riot.
Utah's top scorer was Collin Sexton with 20, but seven Jazz players reached double figures on the night, showing that Denver did not seem capable of stopping anyone from finding the hoop.
They averaged 110.4 points against in the league last season, the 14th best in the NBA, and will surely need to keep the champions down there or below if they are to stand a chance.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Nuggets actually enjoyed a productive time against the Warriors last season, winning the first three meetings against them, before Golden State took the fourth. Since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, the Warriors have won 16 of their 27 clashes (Denver winning the other 11).
Heat beat Bulls to set up rematch with Celtics; Pelicans hold off Kings
Tyler Herro fell an assist shy of a triple-double and scored 24 points as the Miami Heat rolled to a 112-91 win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday to secure the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Jaime Jaques Jr. added 21 points, Kevin Love had 16 and Bam Adebayo 13 for Miami, which advanced to face the league-leading Boston Celtics in a rematch of the last two East finals.
They were the No. 8 seed last season also and survived the play-in before going all the way to the NBA Finals.
The Heat were without star forward Jimmy Butler and won’t have him available for the Boston series, either.
Even without Butler, Miami took control with a 19-0 run in the first quarter, and a 14-0 surge midway through the second half. Herro finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Heat eliminated the Bulls in the last East play-in game for the second straight season.
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points and Nikola Vucevic had 16, 14 boards and five assists but the Bulls were unable to become the fifth team in the last 35 years to make the playoffs after not spending a single day all season over the .500 mark.
The Heat were held to 13 points in the second quarter but still took a 47-37 lead into the break because the Bulls went 8 for 39 from the field after opening 4 for 5. Chicago missed 14 of 15 shots in one stretch.
Chicago got as close as 70-60 in the third quarter before Miami essentially iced the game with the 14-0 run.
Pelicans continue mastery of Kings
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 19 with 12 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans secured the eighth seed in the Western Conference with a 105-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Trey Murphy III had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists as six players scored in double figures for the Pelicans, who won all six meetings this season against the Kings and now move on to face top-seeded Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs.
The Pelicans are the first team to 6-0 in a season (without a playoff series) against an opponent since Denver against Minnesota in 1994-95.
New Orleans played without leading scorer Zion Williamson (left hamstring), who will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
De’Aaron Fox poured in 35 points and Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists but the Kings shot just 40.9 percent (36 of 88) from the field and misfired on 30 of 41 (26.8 percent) from 3-point range.
Sacramento got just 12 points from its bench compared to 34 for New Orleans.
'Lot of value' in Warriors keeping Curry, Green and Thompson together, says Kerr
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes there is a "lot of value" in the team keeping their core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson together, as the latter of the trio prepares to hit free agency.
The Warriors' season came to an abrupt end on Tuesday as they were dumped out of the Play-In Tournament by the Sacramento Kings, falling to a 118-94 defeat to their upstate rivals.
It is the third time in the last five seasons that Golden State – who have won four NBA championships under Kerr – have missed out on a playoff berth.
That has led to questions being asked about the team's future, and they have a decision to make over Thompson as the 34-year-old prepares to become an unrestricted free agent.
While the Warriors have outlined their desire to keep Thompson, he has been linked with the Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks and says his priority is playing for a championship contender.
Speaking at his exit interview on Thursday, Kerr spoke of the difficulties of breaking up great teams and said he was keen to continue working with the Warriors' 'big three'.
"It's rarely a storybook," Kerr said. "Even the '96 or '98 Bulls, the team was broken up and we won the championship in our last year but there was a documentary about what a disaster the whole thing was. It's impossible for this stuff to end perfectly.
"I do think there is a lot of value to having our three guys being Warriors for life. I think there's a lot of value in ending with dignity.
"For those three, I really want to see all of them finish their careers here, but also finish out their careers with a sense of pride and dignity in what they're doing."
Much of the Warriors' season was overshadowed by discussions regarding Green's ill-discipline, with the forward being ejected four times in 2023-24.
Green also missed 16 games after receiving an indefinite suspension for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face in December, an incident that Kerr described as "unforgivable".
However, Kerr still believes Green is worth the trouble, saying: "Yet I forgave him. He's one of the most competitive, one of the smartest players I've ever been around.
"Yet he makes these decisions that hurt the team, that aren't smart. So how do you reconcile all that? It's really difficult.
"The number one thing I would say is, if we decided he wasn't worth it then we would have moved off of him years ago.
"But he's worth it and he's worth it not only because of the banners that are hanging out there but because he really is a wonderful human being."
Leonard questionable for Game 1 versus Mavs as Clippers monitor 'unpredictable' situation
Kawhi Leonard is questionable for Game 1 of the Los Angeles Clippers' playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks as he continues to be troubled by inflammation in his right knee.
Leonard has undergone surgeries to repair damage to the anterior cruciate ligament and the meniscus in his right knee in the last few years, having torn his ACL during a second-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz in 2021.
The six-time All-Star has not featured for the Clippers – who clinched the Western Conference's fifth seed – since the end of March, missing their last eight games of the regular season.
Speaking ahead of Thursday's practice session, the Clippers' president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Leonard had work to do to make Sunday's matchup at Crypto.com Arena.
"He's doing everything, our medical staff is doing everything to get the inflammation down so he can play," Frank said.
"Progress has been made, but the inflammation needs to continue to reduce so he can do functional basketball movements.
"There is no gamesmanship here and we're very sensitive of the fact that questions are going to be asked and want to be as transparent as possible. It's okay to say what the truth is. It's unpredictable.
"We're hoping it's trending in the right direction. It's a very accurate statement. When it gets to a point where he's able to play, then that's when he'll be back on the court."
The two-time NBA champion averaged 23.7 points and 6.1 rebounds through 68 regular-season appearances in 2023-24, the former figure falling just short of his 23.8 points per game last term.
Despite Leonard's importance to the Clippers' chances of defeating Luka Doncic and company, Frank says no risks will be taken with his fitness.
"In terms of where we're heading, is it possible he could play? Sure, it's possible. It's Thursday. With each day we'll know more and more," Frank said.
"Obviously if he's not healthy to play at a certain moment then he won't be out there. When Kawhi is healthy, he plays.
"Some things you can't control, regardless of how meticulous he is with his body and everything that goes into playing. You can only control what you can control and you've got to surrender to the things you can't."
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