TEAM-SPECIFIC STORIES
BOS: Joe Mazzulla is already making his mark
Adam Taylor, Celtics Blog
BOS: Q & A: Derrick White
Chris Forsberg, NBC Sports
BOS: Inside Jayson Tatum’s summer workouts with Kevin Durant
Jared Weiss, The Athletic
CHI: Ask Sam Smith
bulls.com
CHI: DeMar DeRozan, Ayo Dosunmu give Bulls statement win in season opener
Darnell Mayberry, The Athletic
DAL: The Mavs’ opener showed why Christian Wood could be Luka best co-star yet
Tim Cato, The Athletic
DEN: Have The Nuggets Found the Right Balance to Make a Finals Run?
Seerat Sohi, The Ringer
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DET: Ivey, Duren and a Pistons draft for the ages
Keith Langlois, Pistons.com
DET: The first step for Jaden Ivey
Joe Truck
GSW: James Wiseman Is in a Golden State of Mind
Howard Beck, Sports Illustrated
GSW: Can The Warriors Keep Breaking The Rules Of NBA Title Contention?
Jared Dubin, FiveThirtyEight
GSW: It's Strength in Numbers (again)
Duby Dub Dubs, Dub Nation HQ
IND: Tyrese Haliburton’s first-world basketball problem
Mike Vorkunov, The Athletic
IND: Takeaways from game one of the 2022-23 season
Zach Pearson, Pacers Press
LAL: Juan Toscano-Anderson and the Lakers: A ‘full circle’ moment of ‘destiny’
Jovan Buha, The Athletic
LAL: The Lakers need ‘lasers’? Shooting woes play significant part in their 0-2 start
Jovan Buha, The Athletic
Ham has continued preaching his belief in his players’ shooting ability. He said that he’s learned through his 26 years in the NBA that players are more likely to maintain their confidence with encouragement and positive reinforcement. He doesn’t want the Lakers to start second-guessing and playing timidly.
“The worst thing you can do is be wide open and hesitate or not take the shot,” Ham said pregame. “It throws off the entire rhythm of what you’re trying to do offensively. And it seeps in a little bit of a disappointment going back toward the other end to get a stop. So I want our guys to be confident. I want them to know that I trust them to step up and shoot.”
MIL: Continuity could give Milwaukee an edge amid the N.B.A.’s roster upheavals
Scott Cacciola, NY Times
MIL: As Mike Budenholzer's coaching staff evolves, the culture remains the same
Jim Owczarski, Journal Sentinel
NYK: 11 big questions for the 2022-23 New York Knicks season
Geoff Rasmussen, The Strick.land
NYK: Takeaways from season opener
Zach Braziller, NY Post
ORL: Banchero blew the doors off expectations in his debut
Jackson Frank, SBNation
ORL: Banchero ‘left a lot of points on the board’ in historic NBA debut
Khobi Price, Orlando Sentinel
PHO: Booker’s Offense And Leadership Are Evolving
Shane Young, Forbes
SAC: De’Aaron Fox feels ‘stars are aligning’ in first year with Kings coach Mike Brown
Sam Amick, The Athletic
After all these years in which Fox has been primarily a pick-and-roll or isolation scorer, and considering Sabonis’ skills as a passing big man, he’s looking to play off the ball more than ever.
“One of the biggest things that Steph has taught me is that in order to be a small guy and win at a high level, you have to know how to play off the ball,” Brown said. “If your only skill set is to have the ball in your hands and go make a play for yourself, or for your teammates, as you go deeper in playoffs, you’re facing the best teams, and championship level teams are historically, on average, a top five or better defensive team. … They know how to scheme against a pick and roll, because you’re bringing more bodies to the ball. They can take out your best player, if your best player is a pick-and-roll dominant guy. So somehow, someway, you have to be able to play off the ball and still be effective right now if you expect it to work come playoff time. And that’s what I’m pushing not only De’Aaron, but I’m pushing (second-year guard) Davion (Mitchell) to understand that as well.”
As Fox sees it, the evolution of his off-ball action should make him more dangerous.
“It makes it a little bit easier for you to get whatever you want,” he said. “Now you’re not walking up and it’s a set defense. Now you don’t have 10 eyes on you all the time. I think it will just help us.”
SAC: Battler Dellavedova keeps NBA dream alive in fitting fashion
Kane Pitman, ESPN
TOR: Koloko: A Night to Remember
Vivek Jacob, Raptors.com
TOR: Koloko impresses in NBA debut
Michael Grange, Sportsnet
UTA: Tanking? Jazz players are out to prove they’re not in on it
Eric Walden, Salt Lake Tribune
LEAGUE-WIDE STORIES
Opening Night Notes
Adam Spinella, The Box And One
Performers of the night - Oct. 19
Tristan Tucker, All-Star Analytics
Lakers spacing, Cavs defense and more early NBA takeaways
Mat Issa, The Step Back
NBA rookies and returns: The 2022-23 debuts of Kawhi, Zion, Paolo , Jabari and more
ESPN
THE DRAFT
Observations From the Hustle and Heart Classic
Corey Tulaba, No Ceilings
2023 NBA Draft Guide
Sports Illustrated
YESTERDAY’S GAMES
LAC 103, LAL 97
5 TAKEAWAYS FROM CLIPPERS' SEASON-OPENING WIN VS. LAKERS
Mark Medina, NBA.com
Clippers, Lakers heading in different directions
Mirjam Swanson, OC Register
Lakers’ long-range shooting woes sink them against Clippers
Dan Woike, LA Times
Kawhi Leonard returns to the NBA to be a star in his role — on his time
Law Murray, The Athletic
Kawhi Leonard off bench in LA Clippers' win over Lakers
Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN
Why Kawhi came off bench in win over Lakers
Andrew Greif, LA Times
Wall’s basketball exile ends with a genuine second chance
Ben Golliver, Washington Post
MIL 90, PHI 88
5 TAKEAWAYS FROM BUCKS' DEFENSIVE VICTORY IN PHILADELPHIA
John Schuhmann, NBA.com
How Brook Lopez and Wesley Matthews helped the Bucks stop Joel Embiid and the Sixers
Eric Nehm, The Athletic
Joel Embiid scuffles, James Harden thrives
Rich Hofmann, The Athletic
James Harden looks great, Joel Embiid looks terrible
Derek Bodner, The Daily Six
James Harden is back, Joel Embiid’s in a funk and perimeter defense woes
Keith Pompey, The Inquirer
Key takeaways
Jim Owczarski, Journal Sentinel
NBA FANTASY
Five things to watch in the NBA over the weekend
Andre Snellings, ESPN
FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: from the BI archives
Today’s BI is dedicated to the memory of Tony Brown
Tim Reynolds, AP