By Joey Pickus, staff writer
From a possible game of the year candidate to an early case for the MVP to impressive performances from rookies, the first week of the NBA did not disappoint. On October 19th, the Milwaukee Bucks opened the season off against the Brooklyn Nets which is a possible preview of the eastern conference finals. Before the game, superstar Giannis Antetekoumpo, along with others, received their ring from winning the 2021 NBA championship. This game resulted in a 127-104 Bucks win with Antetekoumpo leading the way with 32 points.
The next day, the New York Knicks played the Boston Celtics on national television. The two historical teams both looked great to start the game, but there was one stand-out performance, Jaylen Brown. The 25 year older out of UC Berkeley scored 20 points in the first quarter and finished the game off with 46. Brown being able to step up while the leading scorer of the team, Jayson Tatum, is off his game a bit is huge, but wasn’t enough in the back and forth game that led to 2 overtimes.
Warriors point guard, Steph Curry, is off to an amazing start of the season, putting up numbers that could lead to another MVP trophy. Curry dropped a triple-double in a win against the Lakers, a 45 point double-double, which consisted of 8 threes, in a win against the Clippers, and a 27 point double-double in a win against the Kings. The three-time champ is 3-0 and is averaging 31 points a game. With Klay Thompson returning this season, the Dubs look to do some damage this year.
In the first week of the season, some young stars shined as they tried to make a good first impression. Evan Mobley looked very comfortable in his first game as he scored 17 points, along with 6 assists and 9 rebounds. Mobley also showed off his defensive capabilities against Atlanta when he had 4 blocked shots and looked great when forced to switch onto guards. The second overall pick, Jalen Green scored 30 points on 8 threes against Boston on the 24th as he also threw down 2 dunks. Boston also had some trouble with Toronto Raptors rookie, Scottie Barnes. The wing out of Florida State scored 25 points on all three levels, particularly the mid-range, and prove that he can guard 1-5 on the NBA level. After a slow start to the season, Josh Giddey, point guard from Australia, went off in his third game with 19 points, 4 steals, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds.
When asked about how his favorite team performed, senior Bilal El-Bedawi claims, “I am pretty happy with how they played, especially how they closed out the game against the Pacers”. This opening week has been very much anticipated by NBA fans around the world and it did not disappoint.