As an homage to Son, the fearless leader of Razzball Hoops, we’re kicking the 2021-22 season off by celebrating the traditional way. Play the music, DJ!
Hell yeah. It feels official now. The NBA and our fantasy hoop dreams are back, baby! It was a light schedule last night — the defending champion Bucks hosted the Nets to start, followed by a Warriors/Lakers nightcap — but even dipping a toe in felt good. I’ll say that it was an especially nice night for yours truly, as tickets for the hometown Bucks and the ring ceremony that prefaced the start of the season fell into ole Mr. Hooper’s hands. Not a bad way to get the season rolling. Speaking of good beginnings, this Giannis fellow doesn’t seem to have slowed down at all from the last time he’s been around…
Giannis Antetokounmpo
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 32 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12/25 | 7/9 | 4 |
The two-time MVP and reigning Finals MVP looked every bit the part in game 1. If the dead-eye free throw shooter from July is here to stay, then look out. The 10-count routine has been shelved and the quicker sequencing produced great results tonight. He looks committed to working with the three-point shot (1/4 tonight), so on good nights like this one you’re getting the whole package. Why didn’t I draft him anywhere?
James Harden
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 20 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6/16 | 4/4 | 4 |
If you asked how he played when I was walking out of the building, I would have said that he seemed disinterested and checked out–a tough look for game 1, honestly. The near triple-double, while inefficient, tells a different story.
Kevin Durant
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 32 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 13/25 | 3/6 | 1 |
Yes, watching KD miss half of his free throws in person was weird. Thanks for asking. The fact that this was just another night for Durant speaks to his superstar status. Dude seemed asleep for a half and still grabbed a 30-piece.
Patty Mills
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 21 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7/11 | 0/0 | 0 |
Kyrie who? Mills didn’t start, but he did draw almost 30 minutes tonight while Bruce Brown only saw a minimal amount of mop-up time. Patty could be a big piece for Brooklyn, especially if Irving remains absent and Joe Harris (3/9, 9 points) can’t break out of his 2021 postseason hangover.
Nic Claxton
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6/9 | 0/3 | 3 |
Gonna need some defensive stats for this “Brooklyn’s Big Man” thing to be worth it. The free throw shooting doesn’t look better live.
Khris Middleton
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 20 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8/17 | 3/4 | 1 |
Coming off a Golden summer, Khash is steady as ever.
Jrue Holiday
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5/7 | 0/0 | 0 |
Only played 17 minutes tonight, as he exited early with a heel contusion. Evidently, MRI results have already come back and they’re “good” and “positive.” Holiday is an injury worry, as he’s had an extremely busy summer of basketball. Not an ideal start, but bullet dodged it seems.
Pat Connaughton
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8/13 | 0/0 | 0 |
Of his eight makes, four were triples and two were dunks. Pat Connaughton is the analytics NBA actualized.
Grayson Allen
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 10 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3/10 | 1/1 | 0 |
Any night you miss seven threes, it’s safe to say that things could have gone better. That’s a lot of misses. That said, Allen got a ton of good looks tonight. A 6/10 from three and 19 point night was absolutely on the table. If you’ve got him (and I do) don’t be discouraged by night one. There will be chances aplenty for Allen while Donte DiVincenzo is working his way back.
Jordan Nwora
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 15 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6/13 | 0/0 | 0 |
As long as Middleton is healthy there’s nothing actionable on Nwora yet. But! There aren’t a ton of good options behind Khash at the three and Milwaukee would be wise to develop Nwora over the course of the season to help with the postseason arms race. Given how many blowouts can be expected for the champion Bucks, I could see Nwora being a bit of a thing. Inconsistent, but a thing.
Brook Lopez
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3/9 | 0/0 | 0 |
You drafted Brook for triples and swats, so how upset can you be, really?
Steph Curry
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 21 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5/21 | 9/9 | 4 |
Could have been the lead after messing around, but the shooting is rough and you’ve got to knock off the champ to be the champ. He said in his postgame interview that he “played like trash.” I’ll take him at his word. Just leave the counting stats on the way out, will ya?
Jordan Poole
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 20 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8/18 | 0/1 | 2 |
In 25 minutes. It will be Jordan’s show for as long as Klay is out. The preseason hype looks good, at least through one game.
Draymond Green
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 6 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2/5 | 2/4 | 5 |
Expect a lot more of this. Low usage, few points, lots of dimes, and percentages that will always leave you wanting more.
Nemanja Bjelica
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 15 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6/7 | 2/2 | 1 |
Shades of Sacramento Bjelica. The scoring has never been a problem. He played twice the minutes that either Juan Toscano-Anderson or Otto Porter Jr. saw tonight. The rebounds and buckets will be steady as long as he’s seeing a full ration of minutes.
Anthony Davis
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 33 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 15/26 | 2/7 | 0 |
I have the feeling that everyone who was able to get AD at pick, like, 13 or whatever is going feel really good about themselves as the season goes on. The balance (except for weird free throw shooting tonight) and ceiling make Davis such an attractive play in category leagues.
LeBron James
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 34 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13/23 | 3/6 | 4 |
The longer off-season seems to have treated LeBron well. Could be a banner year for his three-point shooting, but the 67 that he and Davis contributed weren’t enough against Curry and the Dubs as the Lakers lost the home opener. Mostly because…
Russell Westbrook
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG | FT | TO |
| 8 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4/13 | 0/0 | 4 |
They got no help, particularly from their third star. AD and LeBron were the only two Lakers to crack double figures, as Westy’s homecoming definitely didn’t go the way he hoped for. It’s a long season, Laker fans. It won’t always look like this.
