The Warriors’ opener offered a rough night on the scoreboard, but rookie Yaxel Lendeborg still managed to provide one of the game’s clearest lessons for first-year players around the league.
Golden State was short-handed from the start and got blasted by the new-look Lakers, losing by 22 after falling behind by much more at the game’s peak. But the part that stood out most was the way Lendeborg handled himself. His body language, his reactions to calls and the way he carried the frustration all became part of the story.
That matters now for the Cavs, who are getting set to open against the Sixers and will be looking at rookie Meleek Thomas to steady himself in a fast, physical NBA environment. The league has long been a contact-heavy place, but the speed and physicality hit even harder once a player actually gets in the building. It is not just players flying up and down the floor; there is contact on every possession, and that demands a certain kind of readiness.
Lendeborg’s first game included a technical foul, and his night got even more pointed when he said after the game that he “lost all respect for Dončić" after “all the complaining” he was doing to the officials all game.
Yaxel Lendeborg on Luka Doncic:"I had a lot of respect for him ... but being in there first hand, watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect for him."(🎥 via @anthonyVslater) pic.twitter.com/RZaz0yvGRa
That kind of edge is nothing new in Golden State, where Draymond Green has built a reputation as one of the league’s most demonstrative players. He has never been shy, and his technical foul totals make that plain. For a rookie, though, especially in the first game of his career, the priority has to stay on the next possession, not on the noise around him.
That’s the takeaway for Thomas. He may not get a friendly whistle in his NBA debut, and he’ll be dealing with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Anfernee Simons.
Four veterans and a rising star. They have all been through this before.
Thomas, the Arkansas product, has not.
The point is simple: push through it and move on.
Lendeborg spent much of the night on the other end of the floor either laughing or complaining, but the bigger lesson for young players is what comes next. This league is a major jump from the NCAA, and while he should have a strong first season and can probably look back on it all later, early habits matter.
That’s why Thomas’ demeanor is such a big part of his debut. How he carries himself, how he responds, how his teammates read him - all of it will matter.
There is no need to make a scene. The job is to play.
Thomas did well in the preseason, but this will be a different pace entirely. And the situation around him is already heavy enough, with LeBron James’ Philly home debut and the new super lineup being introduced by the recently unretired Matt Cord.
It will be loud.
For the short-handed Cavs, Thomas is going to be a major key. He has to be ready for all of it.
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Nets Already Face A Tough Early Test They Can't Afford To Flunk
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For Brooklyn, the lesson is immediate. The Nets have already dropped their opener too, and now they draw a Cleveland team that can punish mistakes when Donovan Mitchell gets going, even as the Cavs sort through the adjustment of a new coach and a roster still settling into its roles. Clevelands defense remains the bigger marker, though, after Atkinson made clear his team did not handle Philadelphias ramped-up approach well. [Read more 🡒]
Mario Hezonja Is Already Testing How Clevelands Stars Will Respond
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The more interesting part is how Hezonja is already navigating the little flashpoints that come with joining a contender. A couple of on-court moments needed clarification, and he addressed them by explaining his mindset and intent. For Cleveland, the bigger question is not just whether Hezonja can blend in, but how smoothly the teams top players will adapt to a new voice and a new set of ideas around shared usage and spacing. [Read more 🡒]