5 things we learned from week 1 of the NBA

lebroncavs

The most wonderful time of the year has returned for basketball fans. The NBA season opened this week and there have already been several intriguing highlights. Top story lines include LeBron James’ return to Cleveland; Kevin Durant’s injury that will keep him out of action for several weeks; Phil Jackson becomes president of the New York Knicks; and Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant return after experiencing season-ending inures early in 2013.


Here are the five things we learned from week 1 of the NBA


APTOPIX Lakers Knicks Basketball

Kobe Bryant has very little respect for Dwight Howard

Kobe Bryant pressured Dwight Howard to be a better player during Howard’s brief tenure as an L.A. Laker. But after Howard left the Lakers and millions on the table to sign with the Houston Rockets, it was apparent that no love was lost between the two. During their first match-up against each other, Howard and Bryant got into a shouting match. Bryant called Howard “soft” and a “teddy bear.” It was the first real evidence that the two superstars never really got along as teammates.


lebroncavs

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavs are not ready to be crowned champions

LeBron James’ return to Cleveland was the most anticipated game of the week. Kevin Hart hosted a pre-game show in Cleveland that featured Kendrick Lamar. It was an NBA Finals-like atmosphere and James and his Cavs came out flat against the New York Knicks. James appeared nervous and his teammates never appeared to have chemistry. Although their loss to the Knicks doesn’t mean they will have a bad season, it’s highly likely that the Cavs aren’t legit championship contenders yet.

kobe-bryant-lakers

The L.A. Lakers are the unluckiest team in the NBA

The Lakers enjoyed years of domination as a dynasty in the 2000s. However, the team is only a shell of their former greatness. The Lakers loss Steve Nash for the season and promising rookie Julius Randall also went down on the first game. Nick Young continues to nurse a broken finger and will be back on the court in a few weeks. However, the Lakers string of bad luck is unfortunate for what could be Kobe Bryant’s last year.

kevin_durant

The Western Conference will be a brutal fight to the end

The Western Conference will resemble a brutal death match. There are at least nine teams in the Western Conference that would be title contenders if they were placed in the Eastern Conference. Every night will be slugfest as teams will fight to dethrone the San Antonio Spurs.

young, Derrick-Rose

Chicago Bulls are the best team in the Eastern Conference

While the Western Conference will be extremely competitive, the Eastern Conference will likely be decided by Christmas. It’s apparent that the Chicago Bulls are the best team in the East and the Cavs are a close second. Every other team is playing for exercise and revenue.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join our Newsletter

Sign up for Rolling Out news straight to your inbox.

Read more about:
Also read