Atlanta Hawk
Observation: Reaching the Eastern Conference Finals was not a fluke for Atlanta
The Atlanta Hawks did not just beat the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night in their season opener, they absolutely destroyed the Mavericks! In a battle of Trae Young versus Luka Doncic — the two players that were traded for one another during the 2018 NBA Draft — Young’s Hawks got the upper hand early on in the game and they never looked back.
Between having a great balance of shooters in their starting lineup and bench rotation, as well as having a handful of key guys who just play their role so well, Nate McMillan’s squad is legit.
Many believed that the Hawks made the Eastern Conference Finals as a “fluke” last season, but this team is not only deeper than they were a year ago but more experienced as well.
There are a lot of young players on this Hawks’ roster, but they play so well together and Trae Young seems to calm everything down, even if he is not making most of his shots.
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Atlanta is definitely a team who can finish with a Top-4 record in the Eastern Conference this season and they are definitely a team who can make it back to the ECF this season.
Boston Celtics
Observation: Key young talents will be the x-factors for Boston this season
The Celtics-Knicks game in Madison Square Garden was arguably the best season opener this year, as it took 58 minutes to decide a winner! The Knicks came away with the amazing double-overtime victory, but new head coach Ime Udoka definitely has to be pleased with the way his team played.
Jaylen Brown was fantastic, as he had 46 points (8-14 3PT), 9 rebounds, and 6 assists one week after having COVID, and while Jayson Tatum struggled in this one, making just 7 of the 30 shots he took, other young talents on this Celtics roster stepped up.
Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Aaron Nesmith, and Robert Williams are all going to be essential pieces of this Celtics’ roster this season and they are going to have to continue to grow together in order for this team to have a shot at making a deep playoff run. Boston was without Al Horford and Josh Richardson in this game as well, two of their key offseason additions. When this team is at full strength, they will definitely be a tough team to face.
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The Celtics’ bench has always been a question mark through the years, but if their young players continue to step up, Boston could absolutely be a dark-horse team to make the Eastern Conference Finals.
Brooklyn Nets
Observation: Rotations seem a little off and unbalanced
Kyrie Irving is going to be brought up every single time someone talks about the Brooklyn Nets this season and rightfully so, but the Nets do not necessarily need him to win a championship.
James Harden and Kevin Durant are two former league-MVPs and two of the best scorers of this generation, so Brooklyn is going to be at the top of the NBA standings all season long. However, with all of the new faces on their roster, it could take some time until this team reaches its full potential.
Figuring out who to play on a nightly basis will be a tough task for Steve Nash in his second season as the Nets’ head coach and outside of Patty Mills, nobody really stepped up for this team on Opening Night.
The Bucks seemed to get the shots they wanted against Brooklyn and their second-unit was definitely more comfortable than that of the Nets. LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap, and Bruce Brown combined for 25 total minutes off the bench, which is going to have to change.
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Aldridge and Millsap may be older, but they are probably the best two frontcourt players on this Nets’ roster, and as for Bruce Brown, he came on last season in a big way as a guy who can do a little bit of everything for this team on the floor.
Plus, Durant and Harden seemed to play a lot better last year with Brown by their side on the court, so all season long, we will definitely see the Nets move pieces around and change their rotations quite a bit. It is just the first week of the season though, so there is nothing to be worried about in Brooklyn, even without Kyrie.
Charlotte Hornets
Observation: This is LaMelo Ball’s team now
The 2021-22 season looks to be another developmental year for the Charlotte Hornets, this team is really fun to watch! Not only do they have the best play-by-play announcers in Eric Collins and Dell Curry, as their heads almost explode every time the Hornets make a basket, but can we institute the Sophomore of the Year award for LaMelo Ball this year?
After winning Rookie of the Year last season, Ball entered this year with high expectations to be “the guy” in Charlotte and he delivered during their season opener, shooting 7-9 from three-point range en route to a 31 point night. The young point guard almost finished with a triple-double as well, as he had 9 rebounds and 7 assists in this game.
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Gordon Hayward is the former All-Star on this roster and Terry Rozier was one of their leading scorers last season, but this is LaMelo Ball’s team and they are going to go as far as he is able to take them.
Guys like Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington, Jalen McDaniels, and others are still young, emerging talents, but this Hornets team definitely has the talent to be able to sneak into the postseason. They lost in the 9/10-seed play-in game a season ago and while they may be in the same situation again this season in regards to the play-in tournament, there is a lot to like about this Charlotte team.
Chicago Bulls
Observation: Bulls’ bench will decide their season trajectory
The Detroit Pistons put up a great fight against the Chicago Bulls in both teams’ season-opening game, but Chicago was able to come out on top due to Zach LaVine’s 34 point night. Overall though, this was not an impressive showing for a Bulls’ team that has entered the new season with very high expectations.
After adding Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline last season and adding Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso in the offseason, the Bulls are expected to be a “sure-thing” playoff team in the Eastern Conference this year, but this team definitely has some problem to sort out.
The Bulls’ bench only scored 10 points against the Pistons, who finished last in the Eastern Conference standings last season, and 7 of those 10 points came from rookie Ayo Dosunmu, who played a total of 11 minutes. The only other basket came from a lone three-pointer by Alex Caruso.
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In order for this Bulls team to live up to the hype around them, their bench is going to have to show life throughout the season and they will need guys like Derrick Jones Jr., Tony Bradley, and even Matt Thomas at times to step in, three guys who recorded DNP in the Bulls’ first game of the season.
Coby White is out right now recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, so when he returns he will give this bench a big lift, but overall, bench scoring is going to be where the Bulls make or break their season.
