Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Yesterday’s NBA opener had the usual opening-night chaos - new faces, fresh lineups, and a whole lot of squinting at jersey numbers - but it also gave us a pretty clear look at three teams with playoff ambitions. And in each game, one defining sequence or matchup told the story.
The afternoon game in Detroit made the case for the league’s new 3 p.m. ET tipoff right away.
It felt odd on the schedule when the NBA first announced it, but the format has a logic to it: it gives European fans a better window, gives the league a chance to showcase an East Coast crowd without fighting the 10 p.m. slot, and adds an extra layer to opening night without taking anything away from the defending champions getting the prime-time spotlight later on. Blake Silverman was in the arena for Celtics-Pistons and said the atmosphere was exactly what the league wanted.
It also worked like a boxing undercard, setting the stage for the night ahead.
On the court, the Sixers looked every bit like the team that could seize the East if you fast-forward straight to spring. Their starting group - LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe - has the kind of top-end talent that jumps off the page, and it showed in a comeback win over the Knicks that spoiled the defending champions’ celebration. Embiid helped keep Karl-Anthony Towns from getting much going offensively, LeBron kept the ball moving and was constantly directing traffic on defense, and Maxey led all scorers with 28 points.
The bigger question for Philadelphia is what happens after the starters sit. Nick Nurse didn’t go deep into the bench last night, and that’s where the concern starts to creep in.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope logged 26 minutes, Anfernee Simons played 25, but Adem Bona barely saw the floor and Jabari Walker played less than three minutes. That’s thin for a team leaning on a 41-year-old LeBron and an Embiid who has dealt with injuries.
Dean Wade’s return from an ankle injury should help, but the rotation is still something worth watching as the season unfolds.
Then there was the Thunder-Spurs game, where Chet Holmgren got his shot at turning the page on the last time these two stars shared a stage. The last memory of Holmgren against Victor Wembanyama came with Wemby getting the better of him in the Western Conference finals, but this time Holmgren set the tone in a 116-104 Oklahoma City win.
The box score shows 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks on 3-for-8 shooting. The real headline, though, was the way he made life miserable for Wembanyama.
Wembanyama finished 1-for-13 from the field, the worst shooting night of his career, and scored 12 points, with 10 of those coming at the free throw line. His first made field goal didn’t come until the buzzer ended the third quarter.
Holmgren was a major reason for that, hounding him possession after possession. Rookie Aday Mara also had a hand in the effort.
The 7'2" big man, selected 12th in this year’s draft, was brought in to do one job and did it well in 12 minutes off the bench, including a third-quarter possession where he turned away a Wemby lob at the rim.
That matchup figures to keep driving the conversation in the West, and opening night only sharpened the edge. San Antonio now has plenty to digest as it looks for answers against Oklahoma City’s plan to smother Wemby.
The day’s best plays came from the same games that provided the clearest themes. Back-to-back blocks by Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein cracked the top five, along with Javonte Green’s three-pointer that pushed Detroit’s run to 23 unanswered points, Tyrese Maxey’s block on Landry Shamet and Jaylen Brown’s leaning three at the third-quarter buzzer. The top spot belonged to Mara, who got the last word with that block on Wembanyama.
And there’s plenty more on deck tonight. The Valkyries visit the Dream at 8 p.m.
ET on USA Network, with the Dream coming off their first WNBA Finals win in franchise history and Angel Reese leading Atlanta to a Game 2 victory with 30 points and 16 rebounds. The Timberwolves travel to the Heat at 7:30 p.m.
ET on ESPN, where Giannis Antetokounmpo makes his Miami debut and Minnesota introduces its new backcourt of LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards. The Warriors and Lakers close things out at 10 p.m.
ET on ESPN, with Stephen Curry starting his 18th season and facing a remade Lakers group led by Luka Dončić. The Flyers and Sabres also meet at 7:30 p.m.
ET on TNT, with Philadelphia having won two straight after opening the season with nine losses, both of those wins coming against 2026 playoff teams.
In Other News...
76ers Already Have A Joel Embiid Problem They Couldnt Hide
The season opener offered a reminder that the 76ers biggest question may not be about their stars, but about what happens when Joel Embiid has to take a breather. Against the Knicks, Philadelphia looked exposed behind him as Adem Bona and Jabari Walker had a tough time dealing with Andre Drummond, a matchup that quickly turned into a problem the Sixers could not paper over for long. Injuries already have thinned the center group, and the team had to get creative just to survive stretches without its anchor in the paint.
Philadelphias depth chart at the position now feels like something worth watching closely, especially if the early-season rotation has to lean on stopgap answers more than expected. The Sixers can live with a lot when Embiid is on the floor, but the opener showed how quickly the matchup can tilt once he is not, and it left an obvious question hanging over the roster: whether this team will need to find more reliable help at center before those minutes decide a game again. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Nurse Still Has A Knicks Grudge The 76ers Havent Settled
The 76ers have already made their presence felt against New York once this season, walking out of Madison Square Garden with a 106-100 win that spoiled the Knicks ring and banner ceremony. For Philadelphia, it was more than just an early-season road victory. It was the kind of result that still carries some extra edge for a team that has spent time looking back at what happened against the Knicks in the playoffs.
Nick Nurse has not completely let go of that loss in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and the frustration around it still lingers as the two teams measure themselves again. Philadelphia has also reworked its roster with Jaylen Brown and LeBron James in the mix, giving the club more ways to navigate the season if Joel Embiid misses time. Even so, the Knicks remain a familiar source of unfinished business for a coach who clearly has not moved on from the last postseason meeting. [Read more 🡒]
Paul George Just Reopened An Uncomfortable 76ers Debate
Paul Georges first night in Boston looked a lot like the kind of performance the 76ers spent a season hoping to see more often. In the Celtics season opener, George poured in 38 points and added five rebounds, three assists and five steals, immediately looking like a player with more room to operate than he ever consistently found in Philadelphia. The fit was different from the start, with Boston putting him in a larger role and giving him the freedom to play like a primary option alongside Jayson Tatum.
For the 76ers, it reopened an uncomfortable question about what exactly went wrong during Georges time in Philadelphia. Injuries were part of the answer, but so were the team dynamics around him, which never seemed to let his game breathe in the way it did against his new backdrop. If this is the beginning of a resurgence, it only sharpens the sense that the Sixers may have watched a different version of George emerge just as he moved on. [Read more 🡒]