The Daily Fix: Debuts Feature Bynum on a Basketball Court and Kevin Durant’s Dirty Celebrations

Initially, I was planning on saying that Miles Plumlee’s athleticism was the most shocking part of tonight’s crowded slate of NBA games, but upon further review, the highlight of Kevin Durant making a 3, turning in the opposite direction, jogging to half court, then slowing down to slap himself in the ass was the most shocking part of the night. Maybe it’s not that strange and I’m overreacting, but Durant just doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who slaps himself in the ass after he makes shots. It was just surprising.

Aside from that, the night could be described as ballin’, dope, pretty darn good, sweet or pretty Miles Davis, depending on where you grew up, how old you are and ethnicity. I would say that it was good enough for me to rarely move for six hours.

I Can’t Believe I Just Saw That

Brooklyn Nets 94, Cleveland Cavaliers 98

In all seriousness, the most surprising part of the night was seeing Andrew Bynum on the court for the Cavaliers. I flipped back to the Nets, and I just hear “oh, that’s Bynum” and my first thought was “that has to be Marreese Speights,” knowing damn well that Speights is in Golden State. It was just incredibly weird; I never expected to see him out there. That being said, Bynum played just eight minutes, scoring three points and grabbing three boards without really factoring into the decision.

The bottom line for Cleveland is that they pulled the game out late and their victory came with a few good signs. Tristan Thompson, fresh off becoming a righty (that still sounds so weird to me), scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds, looking much improved in the low post. Thompson’s ability to finish with either hand around the basket is something he should mold his game around, as his length and athleticism allow for him to create shooting angles with ease. In the backcourt, Kyrie Irving didn’t set the world on fire, but he did score 15 points and dished out nine dimes, so no one in Cleveland went home feeling like they didn’t get their Kyrie fill.

Anthony Bennett played just 15 minutes, going 0-for-5 from the field, and scoring two points. It was definitely a debut he’ll do his best to forget.

For the Nets, the loss came half price, as Deron Williams sat out late in the game due to minute restrictions. The Nets new Big Five didn’t have the best debut in the world, but since D-Will wasn’t on the court in crunch time, the loss is less of a blow. If this team is going to be successful, they’re going to win a lot of tight games with their veteran guile. If Williams isn’t playing, this is a fringe playoff team.

Numbers: Brook Lopez led all scorers with 21 points … Williams, Kevin Garnett, Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce combined for just 45 points … Jarrett Jack scored 12 off the bench in his first game in Cleveland … Dion Waiters scored 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting and he looks like he has trouble going with the flow offensively.

Miami Heat 110, Philadelphia 76ers 114

Dwyane Wade sat out tonight with sore knees and Michael Carter-Williams came a steal and three rebounds away from a quadruple-double in his first NBA game. MC Dubs (that’s what the kids are calling him) scored 22 points, dished out 12 assists, recorded nine steals and grabbed seven boards tonight, obviously putting his pathetic preseason in the rear view mirror. Evan Turner added 26 points and five dimes and Spencer Hawes contributed 24 points and nine rebounds.

LeBron James scored 25 points and dished out 13 assistsand Chris Bosh added a double-double of his own with 22 and 10. Ray Allen, who didn’t start in place of Wade (Roger Mason Jr. did), scored 19 and grabbed six rebounds. Down the stretch, LBJ had a chance to win the game for the Heat, but turned the ball over and missed a “funny looking runner” (that’s a quote from my notes) instead. If there’s one thing the King does poorly, it’s hold the ball for 20 seconds at the top of the key and then race down the lane at full speed at the end of games; you’d think he would have stopped doing it by now.

The over/under for Philadelphia on the season is 16.5 wins; everyone who took the over is pretty stoked after tonight.

Defense is Overrated

Orlando Magic 115, Minnesota Timberwolves 120 (OT)

The closest game of the night gave us the play of the night. Trailing by three with 12.5 seconds remaining in regulation, Minnesota took the ball from the sideline after a timeout. Rick Adelman drew up a nasty play and Kevin Love sank a 3-pointer to tie the game up. Kevin Martin, Love and Nikola Pekovic lined up close to each other a few feet back from the elbow. Martin curled around the impenetrable wall that is Pekovic and headed towards the basket. Once the outside defender took Martin, Pekovic laid a nasty down screen on Love’s defender, freeing the big man for the game-tying triple. The Wolves pulled it out in overtime on the heels of Love’s game-high 31 points and 17 rebounds. Aaron Afflalo led the Magic with 28 points and Nikola Vucevic posted a 22-and-16 night.

Atlanta Hawks 109, Jose Calderon” href=”http://hoopshabit.com/daily-fix-featuring-texas-triangle-infatuation-jose-calderon/”>Dallas Mavericks 118

After one game, the Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki Project looks like they could cause some problems for opposing defenses. The two combined for 56 points on 19-of-31 shooting, including 6-for-9 from distance and 12-for-12 from the stripe. Pretty efficient for a guy who shoots off one foot and a gunslinger, eh? Vince Carter added 21 off the bench and Jose Calderon dropped 11 dimes in his Mavericks’ debut. Dallas scored more than 30 points in every quarter but the second.

Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 24 points, nine assists and four steals. Paul Millsap scored 20 points in his Hawks’ debut. Cartier Martin scored 17 off the bench in just 17 minutes.

Western Conference Showdowns

Memphis Grizzlies 94, San Antonio Spurs 101

Quick hits: San Antonio jumped out to a first half 20-point lead and although the Grizzlies came back in the fourth quarter, they weren’t able to make up for the egg they laid in the first half … Zach Randolph scored just two points in 26 minutes … Memphis finished with six guys who scored nine or more points … Boris Diaw and Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 14 points each … San Antonio had six players with double digit scoring numbers … Tim Duncan scored just three points in 17 minutes.

Oklahoma City Thunder 101, Utah Jazz 98

Kevin Durant is going to have to do everything for OKC without Russell Westbrook and tonight, he did. Durant scored 42 points and took over late in the game. KD went 22-for-24 from the free-throw line, which made up for his subpar shooting night (just 9-for-24 from the field).

Alec Burks led the Jazz with 24 points and also added six rebounds and six assists. Derrick Favors dropped 15 points, nine ‘bounds and five assists in his first game after being awarded a giant deal. Mike Harris scored 13 points off the bench for the Jazz, prompting most of the population to say “who’s Mike Harris?” I only know him because he used to play for the Rockets.

Denver Nuggets 88, Sacramento Kings 90

Quick hits: DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 30 points and 14 rebounds, looking like the franchise guy that Sacramento envisioned when they extended the embattled youngster … Ty Lawson led the Nuggets with 20 points and eight assists … Nate Robinson failed to score in 18 minutes on the floor (that rhymed) … Andre Miller looked solid in his season debut, scoring 12 and dishing out three assists … Ben McLemore shot just 1-for-7 in his NBA debut, scoring four points … Greivis Vasquez scored 17 in his Kings’ debut, but only dished out four assists.

Dunlap vs. Reichert: Round One Goes to Dunlap

Portland Trail Blazers 91, Phoenix Suns 104

First of all, I need to address Miles Plumlee’s athleticism. I’m a white guy, so it’s not racist for me to admit that white guys are generally less athletic than black guys; if anyone disagrees, go watch a high school basketball game that pins a suburban school against an urban school. Obviously, there are exceptions to every rule and Plumlee is certainly one of them. The second-year former Dukie scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, including a couple spectacular put backs. I was absolutely blown away by his athleticism. I hope he reads this and blushes.

Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe looked solid in their debut as a tandem, combining for 48 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds. Both of them were instrumental down the stretch, although neither could really cover Damian Lillard.

Unfortunately for Blazers’ fans, it was the same old story in Portland tonight: No help for Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge. The Blazers’ top-flight inside-out combination tallied a total of 60 points, which by my calculations means that the rest of the team combined for just 31. Yikes.

Laugher of the Night

Los Angeles Lakers 94, Golden State Warriors 125

Klay Thompson scored 38 to lead all scorers, as the Lakers looked nothing like they did the day before. There’s really nothing else to say.

Actually, I lied. The Warriors had five different guys that scored seven points. That is neat.

The Rest of the Night (That Couldn’t Be Put Into a Category)

Milwaukee Bucks 83, New York Knicks 90

The Knicks were beating the aching Bucks 56-31 at halftime, but Milwaukee fired back, outscoring the Knicks by 15 in the third quarter, before tying the game at 80. Once the game was tied, the Knicks started playing the most suffocating defense of the night, forcing a number of offensive miscues that derailed Milwaukee’s comeback.

Brandon Knight left the game after playing just two minutes with an apparent hamstring injury. Down the stretch, Milwaukee leaned heavily on their bench; no one was projecting this kind of minute distribution:

Gary Neal: 32 minutes (16 points and five assists)
Nate Wolters: 30 minutes (nine points and four assists)
Zaza Pachulia: 34 minutes (13 points and 11 rebounds)
Larry Sanders: 12 minutes (zero points and four rebounds)
Ersan Ilyasova: 20 minutes (10 points and two boards)

For the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony led the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but he didn’t exactly look like he was in midseason form. Iman Shumpert had the most impressive start to his season of any Knick, scoring 16 points and looking like a menace defensively.

Pablo Prigioni posted a pretty-Prigioni stat line: seven points (3-for-3 shooting), five assists, three rebounds, three steals and four turnovers. The weird part is that he looked good, too. You know what they say: Craftiness and pure point guard-ness don’t show up in the box score.

Tyson Chandler shot a 20-foot jump shot … and it went in.

Charlotte Bobcats 83, Houston Rockets 96

Dwight Howard had an impressive Rockets debut, grabbing 26 rebounds and adding 17 points to help the Rockets top the lowly Bobcats. Heading into the game, the Rockets headlines were about Jeremy Lin’s demotion to the bench, but new starting point guard Patrick Beverley injured his ribs after playing just 10 minutes, which took the wind out of that storyline’s sails.

Al Jefferson’s first game in Charlotte was a struggle, as he scored 13 and grabbed eight boards on 18 shots. Rumor has it that his fingers were sore from counting all his money.

Jeremy Lin added 16 for the Rockets and Francisco Garcia dropped 19 points off the bench. James Harden led the Rockets with 21 points and five assists.

Washington Wizards 102, Detroit Pistons 113

Just like in the Toronto/Boston game, Detroit kept Washington at an arms length for most of the game, with every Washington run being answered with a run by Detroit. This is what the three-big lineup for the Pistons did tonight:

Josh Smith: 19 points (8-12 FG), five rebounds, five assists
Andre Drummond: 12 points (6-7 FG), 8 rebounds, 26 minutes
Greg Monroe: 24 points (6-15 FG, 12-15 FT), 16 rebounds

Not too shabby, eh? Chauncey Billups and Will Bynum came to play, too, scoring 16 and 19 respectively, with both dishing out five helpers.

Trevor Ariza led the Wizards with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Bradley Beal and John Wall combined for 37 points, but shot just 14-for-39 from the field, including 2-for-10 from distance. Marcin Gortat played just 17 minutes off the bench, although he did score nine points and pull down nine boards.

Boston Celtics 87, Toronto Raptors 93

Quick hits: The Raptors kept Boston at an arm’s length for most of the game, although the C’s cut it to a possession or two half way into the fourth. The Celtics could never fully bridged the gap, though, with Toronto quickly bringing the lead back to 10 … Rudy Gay and his new X-ray vision led the Raptors with 19 points on 8-of-18 from the field … Jeff Green led the Celtics with 25 points on 8-of-16 from the field … Brandon Bass added 17 on just seven shots … Terrence Ross played six fewer minutes than Landry Fields, which is just silly to me (not everyone agrees with me about Ross, though).

Indiana Pacers 95, New Orleans Pelicans 90

Indiana outscored New Orleans 36-24 in the fourth quarter to become the first team in the league with two wins. Paul George led the Pacers with 32 points and George Hill added 19. Surprisingly, Indiana’s much-improved bench added just 10 points, with Chris Copeland posting a DNP.

New Orleans was led by their new “Big Three,” which scored 69 points. Unfortunately, after signing Tyreke Evans to a long-term deal in the offseason, it has to be a little disconcerting that they aren’t flaunting a “Big Four.” Evans went just 2-for-8 coming off the bench for four points in 23 minutes. Will Monty Williams have problems with Evans during the season? It’s probably too early to tell, but they seem like they have clashing personalities.

On a more positive note, Anthony Davis went tit-for-tat with David West, bodying the veteran with a competitive flair I didn’t see from Davis in his rookie year. David scored 20 points, grabbed 12 boards and blocked three shots.

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