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The NBA Preseason Ends Today. Here’s a Lowdown on What Went Down!
It’ll be a different story when the teams meet again
We’re pretty pumped for the NBA season 2017-18 opening on Tuesday, October 17. But at the same time, we find ourselves hung up on the NBA preseason. The hope here is that the victories are repeated moving forward, the flukes eliminated and the mistakes corrected when the points finally count. Keep scrolling for major highlights from the final days in the preseason!
As the preseason wraps up, some NBA coaches air their concerns over the move to speed up this leg in the NBA.
The shortened preseason is meant to give way to an earlier start to the regular 2017-18 season. Ultimately this also gives way for an overall schedule adjustment: more days between games.
“I understand they want to give the players rest but they’re trying to smash training camp into three weeks,” said Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd. “There [are] just too many injuries throughout the whole league. So hopefully they’ll address that in the summertime.”
via Sporting News
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy shares this sentiment and added: “I’m rushed. I’m looking at my list of things I still haven’t talked about. But we’re all in the same boat. I’m sure that’s something the league will keep an eye on. They’re doing the best they can in the league office. This was thought out over time and they’re trying to help the players. Whether that is a benefit or not, we’re going to find out.”
via NBC Sports
The Golden State Warriors ended the preseason strong.
The team may have ended the preseason with the same number of wins as losses (but thankfully points don’t count yet, right?) but they continued to show promise through and through. “The search for cracks in the Golden State Warriors' monolithic facade will be a full-time job this season. Twenty-nine other teams will strain their eyes, obsessively searching for tiny openings, praying for any sign of vulnerability,” concludes sports correspondent Grant Hughes. “And what about improved chemistry with yet another year of the same core playing together? Added shooting from Omri Casspi and Nick Young? Greater frontcourt depth? A likely progression to the mean for Curry's shooting numbers after hitting a career-low 41.1 percent of his treys last year? There are possible avenues toward even more dominance. The monster may still be growing.”
The Golden State Warriors played against the Sacramento Kings on the final night, winning the game with an 11-point lead (the final score was 117-106).
via @NBA on Twitter
Curry, among others, had us at the edge of our seats as early as now. Just watch this snippet from the Warriors’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Shanghai:
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The Boston Celtics prove they’re something we already know they are: a superteam.
“Kyrie Irving is still the same guy. He's actively looking for his shot first and foremost coming off screens. Part of that is what the defense has given him. (Philadelphia dropped in pick-and-roll coverage, which is handing him points.) But there are no real signs yet of a wildly different Irving. He's not making any incredible shifts in making the Celtics more dynamic. He's simply getting buckets, which is what he does,” shared sports correspondent Matt Moore. “Notable, however, is the fact that he and Al Horford have some great chemistry already. Irving has found Horford on pick-and-pops and in transition. He's actively looking for Horford, and that's a great sign, given how often Irving outright ignored Kevin Love in Cleveland.”
Keep your eyes on Jamal Murray.
The 20-year-old Denver Nugget Jamal Murray got to the start in the final game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. “He shot 42.9 percent from deep in his first four preseason games, needing just seven field-goal attempts to hang 20 points on the Lakers on October 4,” continued Hughes. “Throughout his rookie year, Murray looked the part of a dynamic scorer...right up to the point when his shots clanged off the iron. If the preseason is any indication, there'll be far less clanging this year. And that should help the Nuggets push toward a win total in the high 40s.”
via Clutch Points
Another player under the microscope? Lonzo Ball.
While some NBA fans argue this LA Laker is one of the overhyped players, correspondents like Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe are claiming it: “Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball is going to be the best pure point guard in the NBA.” Here, the folks at ESPN chime in:
The Lakers have themselves an ideal finale.
The two LA teams faced off at the Staples Center on the final day of the preseason with the Lakers emerging victorious with a 7-point lead.
via @NBAonTNT on Twitter
Here’s to ending the NBA preseason on a high with the top 10 plays from games on the final night:
Featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ben Simmons, Marc Gasol, Andre Drummond, Robert Covington, Kemba Walker, Tobias Harris, Tomáš Satoranský and Daniel Kickert.
