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First Cup: Thursday

  • Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: Marc Gasol's offseason work, with Spain in the World Cup and in preseason, is impossible to miss — he's noticeably slimmer and quicker than the sometimes lumbering presence seen last season when a knee injury interrupted his season and force him to play with a brace. He played with an assertiveness on offense and defense suggesting he's comfortable taking on the role of this team's unquestioned MVP, finishing with 32 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. There were a number of standout moments from Gasol, including a hustle steal in the first half leading to him driving and dunking in traffic. Near the end of the third quarter, he took the Timberwolves' promising young big man Gorgui Deng inside and taught him a lesson in classic back-to-the-basket post offense, and then opened the fourth quarter with a different move from his repertoire on Deng.

  • David Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: On the quiet drive in, at the Biscayne Boulevard parking lot that charged $30 last year, the sign read $15 for the Heat's opening night. "The LeBron discount,'' said the attendant who took my money the previous decade. On the bayside concourse outside AmericanAirlines Arena, where there were portable bars and basketball hoops the last four years, Frank Trellas stood alone before the game. "So LeBron left? Why take the party, too?" Trellas said. What was this first night like? It was a night of basketball. Good basketball. Fun. Loud. Entertaining. Chris Bosh expanded his role on this first night. Dwyane Wade delivered timely points. Norris Cole had a career-high 23 points. The Heat beat Washington, 107-95. Opening-night fun. Basketball excitement. But it wasn't Broadway anymore. It wasn't Ringling. It wasn't sports as a social and global spectacle in the manner any night felt like the past four years with LeBron on the court. There will be a time to move on from these thoughts, and soon, but it hit you like a punch how different this first night felt. The party didn't just leave the concourse. It left town.

  • Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer: The largest comeback any Charlotte NBA team has ever made started with a storm of boos. There were 6 minutes, 43 seconds left in the third quarter. The Hornets had just gone down by 24 points in what was supposed to be a magical home season opener and the rebirth of the old teal and purple. But the players had not shown up for their own party. It would take them more than two hours to get there, although the entrance they ultimately made qualifies this as one of the most remarkable NBA games ever played in Charlotte. “I would have booed,” said point guard Kemba Walker, who eventually made the tying 3-pointer in regulation and the winning two-pointer in overtime in Charlotte’s spectacular 108-106 victory. ... I ran into Hornets owner Michael Jordan in the tunnel after the game. “Just the way you drew it up, right?” I asked. “No, no!” Jordan chortled, a big grin on his face. Fans left the arena shouting at each other in enthusiasm, ears ringing, just like it was 1989 all over again. Jefferson and Walker said the crowd was louder and better than the home ones for the playoff games against Miami last season. If only it could be like this every night, the Hornets to a man said afterward. It can’t be. But good gracious, what a start.

  • K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: The game marked the first of the Phil Jackson era for the Knicks, compete with the triangle offense and Derek Fisher as coach. Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic made their NBA debuts, contributing solid minutes and a combined 17 points and 12 rebounds. But as with most things Bulls, the Rose story overshadowed all. "I wouldn't say my rust is knocked off, but it's getting there," Rose said. "I can't be content with how I'm performing. I have to put it behind me whether it's good or bad and make sure I stay consistent with my workouts. Physically, I feel good. I can't get caught up in (proving doubters wrong). I let my game speak for itself. I don't like to say too much about my haters. But you should be able to tell by the way that I work that I've been in the gym every day really working hard on my craft."

  • Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca: On Wednesday night the Raptors embarked on one of the most highly anticipated beginnings in franchise history with a professional 109-102 thumping of the Atlanta Hawks, one of the long list of improved teams in the deeper-than-most-think Eastern Conference. There were 19,800 fans at Air Canada Centre convinced that only good things await – and not just for the 2014-15 season. The Raptors have been to the playoffs. They’ve had good years. But they’ve never had something that lasts. That builds. The chance is before them again. Not only are they a young, intact team with all their key pieces on under contract, they are coming along at a time when Canadian basketball is on the rise. Even as it appears that patriarch Steve Nash’s career is coming to an end, Andrew Wiggins’ is just beginning. There are 12 other Canadians on NBA rosters, more than any other country outside of the United States. The Raptors rise is both cause and effect. All that’s needed is for the franchise in the middle of the movement to, you know, win something. Anything. A playoff round for just the second time in their 20-year history would be a great start.

  • Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post: Danilo Gallinari missed everything about the game, from the jitters that accompanied ripping off his sweats before tipoff to the feel of basketball in his hands while elevating for a jump shot. He missed it all badly. But the Nuggets missed Gallo worse. It all went wrong for a Denver team on the rise when Gallinari went down in an ugly heap with a knee injury April 4, 2013. The Nuggets got upset by Golden State, which bounced them from the playoffs. Coach George Karl and franchise boss Josh Kroenke broke up in a contract dispute. Bad luck shadowed the franchise like a black cat. Nearly 19 months later, Gallinari finally made it back to the Pepsi Center court Wednesday night. The Nuggets beat Detroit 89-79 in their NBA season opener. Gallo, who scored seven points in 18 minutes against the Pistons, cannot fix everything that went wrong with the Nuggets. "Nobody in the league is thinking much about Denver. But it's always been that way about the Nuggets. We've always been the underdog. We've always been the team nobody talks about," Gallinari said.

  • Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star: It sure was. Just one game against an opponent that was more D-League than A-list. What does it mean? I asked Vogel. He knows more basketball than I do. Help me, Frank. What do I tell readers? What did this game mean? "I don't know that it means a lot," he said. "It's important for our guys to feel what it's like to win. It's going to be a work in progress but we've got to win games no matter who's on the court for us or who we're playing." The Pacers won this baby race. What to make of a win against the 76ers? No clue, but it beats the alternative. Because a loss to the 76ers, well, we'd know what to make of that.

  • Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: Phoenix is point-guard central, but the NBA seems to have a quality point guard at nearly every turn. That makes it all the better for the Suns to have a perimeter defender like Eric Bledsoe, who was a difference maker defensively last season but still has more potential on that side. Bledsoe's injury absence helped prove his defensive worth last season, when the Suns gave up 100.5 points per game and 44.4-percent shooting in games he played and 104.9 points and 46.9-percent shooting when he was out injured. "I think I did a great job defensively in the preseason, so I'm just looking forward to it carrying over to the regular season," Bledsoe said. When the Suns traded for Bledsoe, General Manager Ryan McDonough talked about how he thought Bledsoe could someday lead the NBA in steals. Bledsoe does not disagree.

  • Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle: The Warriors finished up most of their offseason decision-making Wednesday, deciding on the futures of three young players while leaving open the negotiations on a contract extension with Klay Thompson. The team is expected to pick up the fourth-year player options on forward Harrison Barnes and reserve center Festus Ezeli and to decline the third-year option on reserve guard Nemanja Nedovic, according to Warriors sources. They have until Friday to make their plans known to the public, but the decision has already been made to pay Barnes nearly $3.9 million and Ezeli just more than $2 million for the 2015-16 season. There was some internal debate about the Barnes option, but the team believes he’s a tradeable asset — even if he doesn’t rediscover the promise he showed during the 2013 playoffs.

  • Mike Richman of The Oregonian: Playing with just nine healthy players and missing reigning MVP Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder were supposed to struggle against the Portland Trail Blazers on opening night. Then Russell Westbrook happened and for three quarters Portland was in trouble. Unfortunately for Oklahoma City, Westbrook didn't have much help as Portland pulled away in the fourth quarter to seal a 106-89 win in front of a sold out crowd at the Moda Center. Westbrook finished with 38 points and six assists scoring at will against the Blazers defense. He took turns carving up Damian Lillard, Steve Blake, Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews for the first three quarters before the Thunder faded in the fourth.

  • Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: Rockets point guard Pat Beverley limped off the court with 5:10 remaining, with general manager Daryl Morey and vice president Gersson Rosas ominously following him to the locker room. Beverley was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game with a strained left hamstring, with several individuals briefed on the initial examination saying later the injury did not seem serious. As with all muscle injuries, the real test will be how Beverley feels in the days to come. After a long treatment session in the training room, Beverley refused to comment. "Don't come over here with questions," he said. "I'm not answering." Rockets coach Kevin McHale said he had no information about the severity of the injury.

  • Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe: The plan was for Rajon Rondo to go through one last full-contact practice, get looked at by team doctors, and then sleep on things to see if he felt good enough to step on the court for the Celtics’ season opener against the Nets Wednesday night. So he did. He made sure the nap was nice and long. “When I woke up, I was like, ‘OK, I’m playing.’ ” It wasn’t much more complicated than that. After breaking his left hand last month, the point guard returned to action a month ahead of schedule. Rondo started participating in full-contact practices last Thursday with the hope of returning for the opener. After watching in practice and getting updates from team doctors, coach Brad Stevens felt confident Rondo was healthy enough. “It’s healed quick, it’s healed well and we feel comfortable with him playing,” Stevens said. ... Rondo played 30 minutes, collecting 13 points, and a game-high 12 assists, and 7 rebounds in Boston’s 121-105 blasting of the Nets.

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