Sacramento Kings
Observation: Marvin Bagley III did not play
Beating the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland in their opening game of the 2021-22 season was definitely a big win for the Sacramento Kings, but they were without one of their better players in this game.
Marvin Bagley III did not play in this game and he may not play at all early on in the season after he and the organization have not seen eye-to-eye on things lately.
Near the trade deadline last season, the Kings looked to trade Marvin Bagley III and they ended up holding onto him instead.
Then this past offseason, they looked to move him again but did not like the trade offers they were receiving for him. Recently, they declined to offer him a contract extension and now, Bagley and his management are not happy with the Kings’ front office.
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The Kings won their first game of the season, but they have missed the playoffs for the last 15 years and they are dealing with yet another toxic-looking situation with a player on their roster. Moving Bagley seems like something that is going to happen this year and the Kings may be losing value right now with him sitting out.
San Antonio Spurs
Observation: The young Spurs are very fun to watch
With DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills, and Rudy Gay all departing in the offseason, the San Antonio Spurs are entering a new era with their young talents and they actually looked really good in their season opener. Now, they played the Orlando Magic who is not expected to do much of anything this season, but Keldon Johnson, Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, and Jakob Poeltl are all really fun to watch on the court together in San Antonio!
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Their backcourt is really strong in terms of potential and skill level right now and while they may end up missing the playoffs, all of San Antonio’s starters scored in double-figures against Orlando.
Being able to push the ball in transition and continue playing solid defense will be the way the Spurs remain relevant in the Western Conference this season. This new era of Spurs basketball is definitely going to be fun to watch, but it will take time for them all to reach their full potential.
Toronto Raptors
Observation: The Raptors need to figure out who they are as a team
Is this team going to focus on perimeter scoring offensively or will they once again be a very dialed-in defensive team that turns turnovers from their opponents into the offense?
There are so many questions to be answered about this Toronto Raptors team and opening night for them went just as you could have expected with Kyle Lowry gone and Pascal Siakam still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
Toronto lost 98-83 to the Washington Wizards in Toronto and this Wizards team has a lot of questions surrounding them as well! Pascal Siakam being out definitely played a role in the Raptors not being the best versions of themselves in their first game of the new season, but nobody really looked ready to play in this one for them.
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Finding their identity and figuring out what direction this franchise is going to trend in is the biggest question facing the Toronto Raptors right now and until they figure this out, they will be nothing more than a mediocre team in the Eastern Conference.
Utah Jazz
Observation: It was just the Thunder, but the Western Conference still goes through Utah
The Jazz annihilated the Oklahoma City Thunder in their season opener, as many expected them to do, but something stood out about this year’s Jazz team in this game. They were playing the Thunder, so take this with a grain of salt, but Donovan Mitchell and this team looked so much better defensively than they did last year in the playoffs.
Maybe this is because it was just the season opener and they have fresh legs under them, but the Jazz looked extremely active in this game and they were very prepared to win.
Utah does not lose much at home, so it will be interesting to see them stack up against teams like the Warriors, Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, and Suns in the Western Conference this year, but it should not come as a surprise to see them finish with the best record out West again.
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This team has a plethora of three-point scorers, the best defensive big man in the league in Rudy Gobert, and more bench options than they had a season ago, which is why the Jazz are going to be a tough team to beat this season.
Can they finally make a deep playoff run and possibly make the NBA Finals?
Washington Wizards
Observation: Montrezl Harrell is still one of the better “Sixth-Man” in the league
There were a lot of questions about the Washington Wizards entering the season, especially after moving Russell Westbrook for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, and Montrezl Harrell in the offseason, but they surprisingly looked great in their opening game against the Raptors.
Beal did his thing on the offensive end of the floor, but the extra contributions he got from Kuzma, Harrell, and Dinwiddie were key in this one.
Those three guys combined for 46 points on 17-34 (50%) shooting in the Wizards’ first game of the season, giving this team optimism the rest of the way.
With more depth than they have had over the years and Bradley Beal still being one of the best scorers in the league, the Washington Wizards are definitely a team to watch in the Eastern Conference.
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I have had my own doubts about the Wizards, but this win over the Raptors has definitely caught my attention, regardless if it was the first game of the season and the Raptors were without Siakam.
