Opening Night Recap

The 2010-11 NBA Season tipped off last night with a marquee match up in Boston. The debut of the mega 3 in Miami was as anticipated must see TV. The Heat struggled most of the night especially early on only posting 9 points on the board the entire first quarter. ESPN writer and NBA junkie Bill Simmons even tweeted from the game "@
Blazers 106 Suns 92
The Blazers defeated the Suns last night in Portland. Brandon Roy led the way with 24 points and Nicolas Batum thrived in a starting role scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. The Suns were playing their first game in the post Amare era. Nash looked like the same old Steve Nash scoring 26 points and handing out 6 assists and Jason Richardson poured in 22 points. The Suns were dominated on the glass by a margin of 18 and when you add that with the fact they only had three players reach double figures the end result is usually not favorable.
Lakers 112 Rockets 110
This game turned out to be the game of the night. A Lamar Odom block sealed the opening night win for the two time defending champions. Steve Blake drained a 3 pointer in the final seconds to give the Lakers the lead that Odom's swat would preserve. Pau Gasol led the champs with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Kobe Bryant’s all around game of 27 points 5 rebounds and 7 assists answered a couple of questions about the health of his knee. The Lakers got contributions from everyone Shannon Brown 16 points, Lamar Odom 14, and Steve Blake added 10 points. The Rockets were very impressive in this game giving the champs all they could handle in the Staples Center. Kevin Martin led the way with 26 points and Aaron Brooks added 24 points and 9 rebounds. Yao Ming looked solid in his first action in over a year with 9 points and 11 rebounds. The Rockets are limiting Yao to 24 minutes on back to back games in an effort to bring the Chinese Giant back slowly and preserve her career. Luis Scola had a monster double double with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Even in defeat the Rockets were impressive and could be a team to contend with in the West.
Fantasy report
*My fantasy report is based on my personal 14 team keeper league that is based on head to head total points. The scoring for this league is a little different than normal fantasy leagues. Teams get 1 point for points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, field goal made, free throw made, and three point made. Teams lose 1 point for turnovers and fg, ft, and 3pt missed. 5 points for a double double 10 points for a triple double and 20 points for a quadruple double.
The Fantasy Studs
Pau Gasol 50 points
Kobe Bryant 42 points
Paul Pierce, Aaron Brooks, Luis Scola 40 points
LeBron James, Jason Richardson, Brandon Roy 36 points
Kevin Martin 34 points
Nicolas Batum Steve Nash 32 points
Lamar Odom 30 points
The Fantasy Duds
Dwayne Wade 13 points
Channing Frye 10 points
Ron Artest 9 points
Hedo Turkoglu 8 points
Zydrunaus Illgauskas 6 points
Grant Hill 2 points
Nate Robinson -1 points
sportsguy33 Bill Simmons Great energy in the building and on the court. Psyched to be here. Also, Miami looks like they just met 45 minutes ago." It showed as Dwyane Wade struggled all night long shooting 4/16 and committing 6 turnovers. LeBron James brought the Heat back behind his 31 points but he was also sloppy in his play with 8 turnovers. The Celtics however used a the same balanced attack and sound defense to stake claim to a 88-80 win. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 20 points. Paul Pierce chipped in 19 points and 9 rebounds. Kevin Garnett had a double double with 10 points and 10 boards and Shaquille O'Neal had a solid debut with 9 points and 7 boards. Rajan Rondo paced the offense with his 17 assists. The Celtics proved that the myth that the Heat would just walk all over everyone out East isn't true. These two teams will likely be battling at the end of the season too.