“Please place your phones on airplane mode”
New season, same #AirplaneMode! #KiaTipOff19 #HeatTwitter pic.twitter.com/5uYXykdvcn
— NBA (@NBA) October 24, 2019
Panel:
Adrian Wojnarowski (Second Half Only):
First Half
Monologue: Nets don’t have to win this season, but it’s fun to watch Kyrie try
Good or bad sign for Nets vs Wolves?
“This is a great sign. It reminded me of myself. A local kid living out his dream. He put the fans on notice” – T-Mac
“I’m not sure this is what the Nets want to play every night, Kyrie dominating the ball. But I’m not going to worry about this on opening night” – Windhorst
Encouraged or discouraged by Wiggins vs Nets?
“I’m neither encouraged or discouraged at this point. This is who he is. He’s a tremendously talented player who can score who doesn’t seem to get the most out of his incredible athletic gifts, especially defensively. He’s not a difference making player” – Windhorst
“I’m just waiting for that next step and I haven’t seen it. It’s like he hasn’t gotten better” – T-Mac
Barkley: Kawhi is better than LeBron
Is that…
“I don’t even think it’s that controversial” – Windhorst
“Offensively, LeBron is not the same player anymore. Kawhi is a better basketball player” – T-Mac
“I think it’s a consistency issue right now with the two of them. On a given night, LeBron can be as good or maybe even better than Kawhi maybe even on his best night and that can still be the case right now. It’s just that Kawhi is going to consistently be better in a way that LeBron just can’t anymore” – Nichols
OTD in 2012 – Blake Griffin with the insane 360 layup, plus the foul!
Better move and finish?
Donovan:
Dame:
T-Mac: Both
Nuggets from two: 33%; Nuggets from three: 56% vs the Blazers
Made 18 3s and 16 2s
Reaction to Fultz’s first game with Magic?
Had 12 points and 6 assists off the bench vs Cavs
“I wasn’t surprised. He’s confident” – T-Mac
Did the ghosts of college players past trip Grayson Allen?
“The answer is yes” – Windhorst
“He’s a changed man” – T-Mac
Beal ejection too quick of a hook?
“That tech is going to get rescinded” – Windhorst
Moving on…
First impressions of Luka & KP?
Combined for 57 points in their win over the Wizards
KP after the game:
“I’m here to win. I’m not here to chase something individually”
“I like these two together. I want to see more” – T-Mac
“This is a big bummer for the Mavericks because this was 3 years in the making. They’ve invested their future in making this pairing happen. They could be a playoff team this year. This could be the beginning of something really special in Dallas” – Windhorst
“They have a chance to be really great if you put the necessary pieces around them” – T-Mac
76ers shooting still an issue?
Windhorst:
“I don’t know where they’re going to get their shooting from, other than Tobia Harris. They have to play inside out” – T-Mac
Second Half
Make-Or-Break season for Rockets?
“Daryl Morey is under the most pressure. They owe him significant money for a few years going forward. There’s not a lot of empathy around the league for Daryl Morey” – Woj
“They’re thinking championship. They expect Harden and Westbrook to figure it out and take this team to the promise land. I don’t see it because I just don’t know how it’s going to workout with Russ being on the ball. I think James wants the ball” – T-Mac
“For Houston, defense is a big part of the equation. But they’ll score points” – Woj
Expectations for Harden-Westbrook?
“I want to see how Westbrook plays. Rockets are all about efficiency. Does he go back to playing the efficient way that he played when he was MVP?” – Windhorst
“If they don’t win a championship, there’s going to be a very difficult period of time” – Woj
“There will be a price to pay later on when Daryl Morey is gone, Mike D’Antoni is gone and probably James Harden and Russell Westbrook are all gone” – Woj
Warriors have issues even Steph can’t solve by Nick Friedell
Reaction to Steph taking high road on MJ’s HoF comments?
👀 Stephen Curry responds to Michael Jordan saying he's not yet a Hall of Famer. 👀#DubNation @GregAnthony50 @TermineRadio pic.twitter.com/gGILy94KQB
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) October 23, 2019
“I don’t expect anything else from him. The man is 100% in” – T-Mac
“It was the way [MJ] he said it that kind of caught people’s attention” – Nichols
Bulls players punching time cards?
“This is whack, man! I’m not doing this, especially if I’m a vet” – T-Mac
“This is what the ownership wants Jim Boylen to do. This is one of the reasons why they fired Fred Hoiberg because they want Boylan to install a workman like, no nonsense, ‘we’re going to work harder’ mentality. This is who he is” – Windhorst
“My issue with this is that I just don’t think it has the fluidity or flexibility to serve him well in the future. I wonder if a few months from now there will start to be some gymnastics and it will fall by the wayside and then it’s not effective at all” – Nichols
OTD in 1997 – Jason Caffey (Bulls) with the reverse dunk in preseason at Chapel Hill. And Steve Kerr loves it!
Beef squashed?
What did Pop & Marcus Morris talk about after the game?
Rookie Range
PJ Washington sets record for most 3s in debut
7-11 from three
Drummond vs Everybody
Andre Drummond: 32 pts, 23 reb vs Pacers
Hawks at Pistons
Ceiling for Trae Young & Hawks this season?
“I see them approaching .500” – Windhorst
“It’s a young team, I love Trae but we got to give them some time. I see the Hawks at an improvement of 34 or 35 wins” – T-Mac
Better bet: Clippers (-1.5) or Warriors?
“Clippers to win” – Windhorst