The Warriors won their championship rings and also beat the Lakers. The Celtics won against the 76ers.
“I respect Russell Westbrook, but I think the Lakers should trade him. They’re taking all the joy out of his life and basketball, and it makes me angry.”
The other teams in the league will start playing games on Wednesday and Thursday. Some people are looking forward to seeing Zion Williamson play. He was injured last year and didn’t play at all.
Turner Sports on Monday announced that “Inside the NBA” crew Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal have all signed long-term extensions.
Let’s celebrate the 2022 championship one more time on Ring Night. We should appreciate these moments and this era because it doesn’t happen often. With seven championships, the Warriors are tied for third place for the most championships in NBA history. This is especially impressive because four of those championships have happened in the past eight seasons. There will come a day when Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green aren’t playing for the Warriors, and the wins and titles won’t come as often as they do now.
James Harden had 16 points in the first quarter. He made all eight of his free throw attempts, and was 2-for-3 on 3-pointers and 3-for-4 from the field. He was fouled on a 3-point attempt three times, and made six free throws. He also completed a four-point play. He looked more healthy and in shape than he did last season. He finished with 35 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
Mazzulla took over for coach Ime Udoka when Udoka was suspended just before training camp opened. Mazzulla is the youngest coach in the league. He earned his first win in the season opener. Mazzulla played at West Virginia and began his coaching career in 2011. Mazzulla was a behind-the-bench assistant last season. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens believed in Mazzulla. Mazzulla has earned the respect of Celtics players. It was a great start for Mazzulla and the Celtics.
The Celtics coach who is suspended should be preparing the team for the playoffs and possibly a championship instead of being suspended. The team says he violated team policies, but it is implied that he had an inappropriate relationship with a team staffer. He was a good coach, helping the team improve from 23-24 to 51-31. Now it is doubtful that he will coach again.
The Sixers got new players for their bench in the offseason, but they only scored a combined 8 points. The other team’s bench scored 34 points.
The Lakers started the game poorly, making only 1 of their first 15 3-point shots. They improved slightly but still finished the game with a poor 10-40 record from 3-point land. This is an area of the game that the Lakers need to improve drastically. Last season they were 22nd in the league for 3-point percentage and 18th for 3-pointers made. LeBron James made 3 out of his 10 3-point shots, Anthony Davis made 0 out of his 3, Lonnie Walker IV made 0 out of his 3, Juan Toscano-Anderson made 0 out of his 3,Russell Westbrook made 1 out of his 3 and Patrick Beverley made 1 out of his 5.
The NBA approved a harsher penalty for transition take fouls this offseason. A transition take foul is “an intentional foul committed by a defender to deprive the offensive team of a fast-break opportunity.” This season, when the team on defense commits a transition take foul, the offensive team will get one free throw and the ball. Last season, there were more than 1,700 take fouls.
The NBA game has been stained by the take foul, and FIBA (the international basketball federation) has had a significant penalty for this practice for a long time. It is well past time for the NBA to take similar action.
Elvira Olson is a news reporter for the ABC News affiliate in Los Angeles. She has more than 20 years of experience in journalism and has won numerous awards for her work, including an Emmy.