It was the best of games, it was the relation, perhaps a 1st cousin, of the worst of games. It was a game of wisdom, it was a game of foolishness. It was part of a season of light (this season?), it called back to a season of darkness (last season). It was the spring of hope, and it was a win that was harder than it needed to be and brought to mind memories of a certain despair, but memories they remained.

In short, it was a Rockets game. But not as we have known them! It was definitely not the sort they won often last season. I will take the win on a SEGBABA after a tough game in Austin (very much Spurs Country) where the team didn’t make their Atlanta hotel until about 5am. They didn’t really salt away both games of road back to back games much at all last season. In fact, they were bad in that department.

You might say, well, Steven Adams and Fred VanVleet are back, plus the Rockets have Ime’s Spirit Animal: Marcus Smart. Ah, my friend, they did not have those players. All were out. If you know much about Marcus Smart, you know that frequent and nagging injuries have been hallmark of his career. Expect more of the same. As for Fred, he might play in B2Bs later in the season, or he might not. Fred was cagey about it in a post game interview last night, and Fred Jr stayed schtum. Steven Adams simply won’t.

So that left the Rockets starting Reed “Tough 1970s Cop Who Lives By His Own Code of Rough Justice, But Who Is Definitely Not A PG” Sheppard. This may seem a risky move to some, given the team’s 18-4 record in Reed’s starts, but it was a risk the Rockets were forced to take. A risk taken on a loose cannon detective guard who plays by his own set of rules, but gets results, even if they aren’t “By the book.”.

It left Amen Thompson, who had a season highlight block last night in San Antonio. The Rockets had Alperen Sengun, who broke down the Spurs big men late, to win it, including Weepy. It left us with Kevin Durant who just seems to be able to play 36ish minutes whenever, wherever, and even if he’s been shitposting on his burner all night (Who’s to say? Not me.). Finally there was Jabari “I’m Playing Like NBA 1st Team All Defense” Smith.

Would it be enough to match Atlanta, off to an undefeated start, also on a B2B, but at home, and having just summarily dispatched nearby Charlotte?

Reader, it would.

I’m thrilled with the start the team has had to the season. They’ve built leads, held leads, beaten a key rival on the road, and won a tough B2B against what I think is a good to very good Hawks team. Atlanta has players like Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, and also CJ McCollum and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, that mirror the Rockets in certain ways, and pose problems. They shoot the three well (even if they didn’t tonight, despite a period of just not missing in the third quarter). The Hawks, like the Rockets, also have a good bench, and played the Rockets even in the rebounding battle. In short, not an easy opponent but the Rockets beat them, short handed, on the road in a B2B after a tough game in Austin.

I think we’re seeing the most talented Rockets team in nearly a decade. I’m happy for this win, but the specter of problems that plagued the team last season, if not loomed, definitely floated around the gym and moaned a bit in this game, especially late. Early days, but keep an eye on it.

The game started with both teams looking flat, and to an extent, uninterested. The Rockets went down 7-0 early, but after a time out took a lead they would not relinquish, despite some foolish, and all too familiar faffing around and losing much of their at one time 20pt lead late. It felt like Atlanta made a zillion threes, but that’s because they took 49 of them. Due to good defense from the Rockets (and possibly tired legs) they only made 13 threes to the Rockets 14, on 14 fewer attempts.

Atlanta rallied late, and made it tighter than it should have been. It was a familiar sinking sensation that diehards will remember, but the Rockets did not, in fact, sink into the loss column. That is something to celebrate.

Tonight saw some great play from the following Rockets: Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith, Kevin Durant and Reed Sheppard.

Amen and Reed and Alpie seemed to alternate in the primary initiator spot, and you could see growth on the part of each.

Amen Thompson finished with a stat line 17pts on 4-12 shooting, but 9-9 free throws, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 turnovers, and a steal. He played 39 minutes, and at times even the super human Amen seemed to struggle to find energy. One sign of this was missing close in shots he normally makes.

One thing I saw, as the Rockets have begun running recognizable offensive sets, is that Amen has an idea where to look for the pass, or the drive. If a player knows a play, he knows who will likely be open given what the action is meant to do, how the defense might react. This is how a structured offense with varied sets greatly benefits an inexperienced point guard. Fred VanVleet has played 17,000 minutes, almost all as a PG. Amen has played 6600, with probably 2400 as a PG. Fred doesn’t need the structure Amen does.

Alperen Sengun seems stronger, lighter and fitter this season. He threw down two monster dunks, and made several great moves down the lane, one that just rolled out, or it would have been a big time highlight. You could see that his legs were tired but he fought through, and dominated the Hawks inside. Alpie finished with 17pts on 6-12 shooting, 1-2 from 3pt range (hello 67% 3pt% in a teensy sample), had 10 rebounds, 7 assists to 3 turnovers, and a steal. It was a balanced effort, and his passing was generally solid.

Kevin Durant has been fairly deferential this season, but of course vital. Plugging in around 26 pointss every night is a great thing to have. That said, it could be even more helpful. The Rockets really could, and I think should, have some set actions for Kevin Durant late in games. Yes, he can get his own shot, but it’s often a very difficult one, and the fact that he often makes them still doesn’t make it an optimal approach. A few pet KD plays, that get the greatest all-around shooter who ever lived some easier looks, seems like a good plan. Durant went 22pts on 8-15FG, 3-7 3pt, 3-3FT, 4rbs, 2ast, 2to, 1blk in 37 minutes. Yes, KD played 37 minutes in a B2B, but who is going to tell him not to? You? Me? Ime? Maybe his mom.

Jabari Smith Jr continues to threaten a break out season in my view. The Rockets don’t really have anyone with high usage on offense, so it can be hard to see on offense, but on defense he’s simply been outstanding. He’s the player people imagined on defense when he was drafted. He can guard outside, and inside, he can stay with wings, and even some guards and centers. He’s become superb at difficult shot blocks. Not easy swats gained by targeting smaller guys, and striking. No, he’s been getting blocks close to the basket where it’s unclear how he did it at all. And he’s been doing it without much fouling.

Maybe his reputation will one day be such that refs won’t call anticipatory fouls on him, but actually look at the play more. Jabari had 14 points on 5-12 shooting, with tiredness showing in some of his shots, as well, particularly from 3pt range where he was 2-6. He added 4rbs, 2ast, 2to (late) and had one block. This doesn’t really do his game against big, mobile, Atlanta players justice though. He’s been quietly outstanding so far, in my view.

Reed Sheppard just wins when he starts. Tonight he had 19pts on 7-13FG, 5-113pt, 6rbs, 7ast, 3to, 1stl and was tied with Durant for team high +/- at 19. On a Rockets team where no one player dominates usage, what more do you want? I truly cannot comprehend anyone who can see this game and not think Reed is a point guard and capable of successful starters’ minutes. Some of his dimes were immaculate tonight, beyond what anyone but Alpie can do. He also caused havoc with his hands on defense. I’m honestly surprised he only had one official steal recorded.

The Rockets got into trouble late when Ime Udoka pulled Reed from the game late in favor of Bogdan Bogdanovich. I hope I’ll be believed when I say that the bad defender some of you think Reed Sheppard is, Bogdan actually is. This period provided much of Atlanta’s comeback impetus, and the absence of Sheppard was felt keenly. The Rockets still have problems with late game execution, team wide, and Reed was a part of that, but he was still much better than Bogdanovich despite being younger, and somewhat shorter.

Reed played 30 minutes, and Bogdanovich played 20. I think things would have looked far more solid late if Reed had played 36 minutes, and BogBog 14. Perhaps this was due to Sheppard having a bone bruise on his knee, but he did come back in to close the game.

Also, I’ll say again that I think Reed is miscast as a bench flamethrower. He’s not Jamal Crawford. I think the more he plays, the better he plays. His career stats bear this out (not including tonight). Usage is roughly the same, but percentages are all better. I’m not sure what is to be done about that right now, but I’m fairly sure it’s true.

Tari Eason was his usual Chaos Goblin self. He dropped in 19pts off the bench on 8-15 shooting, had some Dribblin’ Adventures, but also attacked the rim with force. On my favorite Tari play he finished with an NFL style drive through Lu “The Butcher” Dort, and knocked him down. Tari still makes baffling decisions, and sometimes gets tunnel vision with the ball, but this is mitigated by him actually making more close in shot. Sadly, he still hasn’t made at 3pt shot this season, as he seemed to make one, but then it was changed to 2pts.

Clint Capela had decent minutes off the bench, and probably could have played more in my estimation, except that Atlanta plays pretty small. He looks much quicker and more fluid this season, having clearly lost a considerable amount of weight. I hope we see more of him as the season progresses.

BogBog is a good catch and shoot guy, and not especially great at the rest of offense. He does surprise defenders that expect him to shoot immediately, enough to dribble past them. He was 4-8 overall and 3-5 from 3pt range. He’s still clearly getting used to playing with the team, and I think they’ll find him in better spots as the season rolls on. I would have thought he was no one’s idea of a crunch time defender, but I would have thought wrong.

This was a good win in what might have been a schedule loss. There are some things to keep an eye on, but there are also positive changes afoot, and it’s clear that the roster is deep and talented. Winning is fun! Not blowing leads is fun! This team, dare I say it, might be back to being…fun?

Devin Booker scored 43 points on 17-of-25 shooting, and the Suns took care of a short-handed Golden State team in the home opener, 131-122.

Was it pretty? No. Was it needed? Very much. You’ll take wins however you get them in the NBA, even if there is plenty to clean up.

Phoenix shot 58.1% from the field, assisted on 33 of its 50 made baskets and outscored the Warriors 27-7 in transition. Golden State, playing without Stephen Curry, Brandin Podzemski, Draymond Green, and others, hung around with 26 second-chance points and 17 threes.

Booker finished with 43 points on 17-of-25 shooting (2-of-7 from three, 7-of-8 at the line), 7 rebounds, 7 assists and a block in 36 minutes. Miles Bridges added 16 points on 6-of-11 and 7 rebounds. Dillon Brooks had 15 points and 5 assists. Collin Gillespie scored 11 with 9 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, and led the team at +16. Luke Kennard went 3-of-5 from deep for 11 points and a +15. Man Man posted 9 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.

De’Anthony Melton led Golden State with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 4-of-8 from three and 5-of-5 at the line, plus 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Yaxel Lendeborg had 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists and went 5-of-10 from deep. Brandon Williams scored 20, 8 of them at the line, and Graham Ike added 12 points and 9 rebounds, five on the offensive glass.

Game Flow

First Half

The Warriors opened up with an 11-4 lead behind a pair of triples from rookie Yaxel Lendeborg.

Devin Booker scored 6 of the first 8 points for Phoenix. Jordan Ott saw enough after a 13-8 Warriors lead and called the first timeout of the game at the 7:57 mark.

As soon as Jordan Goodwin checked in, good things happened. He stole the ball from De’Anthony Melton and dished it ahead to Devin Booker, leading to a wide-open bucket to make it 16-15, Phoenix. Timeout Warriors.

Golden State went on a 7-0 run immediately after that, with Phoenix’s second unit struggling to get an offensive flow.

The Suns shot 1-of-12 from three in the quarter. Luke Kennard hit the only one. Everyone else went 0-for-10 from deep, and Jalen Green opened 0-of-3 from the field.

The glass was the bigger problem. Golden State won the boards 19-12 and grabbed seven offensive rebounds. Phoenix had five defensive rebounds total. Santos, Ike, and Charles Bassey each pulled down two on the offensive end.

Devin Booker carried the offense with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, all from inside the arc. Golden State led after the first quarter, 25-22.

Miles Bridges started the second quarter as the five, with the Suns going to small-ball early.

While he (Bridges) did initially provide some solid minutes, the Suns continued to get killed on the glass and struggled from deep. Miles Bridges led the push with 8 points on 3-of-4 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three. Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green added 5 apiece, and Green got his first three of the night to drop after an 0-of-3 opening quarter.

Devin Booker added 9 more points on 3-of-5 shooting and got to the line for the first time, going 3-of-4. The bench delivered in short bursts. Ryan Dunn made his only shot, a three, and was a +6 in 5:45. Man Man was a +6 in under three minutes of second-quarter run.

Golden State hung around at the line and on the glass. The Warriors went 6-of-8 from the stripe in the quarter as the Suns were whistled for eight fouls.

Booker leads all scorers at the half with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Yaxel Lendeborg paces the Warriors with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 3-of-5 from deep.

Phoenix led at halftime, 57-54.

Second Half

The second half started with much more energy from Phoenix, opening on a 14-7 push. And just as they pushed it to a 10-point lead, Golden State came fighting right back to tie it up.

Collin Gillespie started to get it going, pouring in 9 points in 3 minutes. After a scoreless first half, he went 3-of-3 with two threes for 9 points in the quarter and was a +8 in his stint.

Phoenix couldn’t miss. The Suns shot 16-of-20 (80%) from the field in the third quarter and 6-of-8 from three. Golden State hung around with their three-point shooting.

Devin Booker played all 12 minutes and didn’t miss a shot: 6-of-6 from the field, 2-of-2 from deep and 3-of-3 at the line for 17 points. He had 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting and 7 assists through three quarters.

After three, Phoenix led 102-92.

Luke Kennard did his damage from the corner of the bench. He hit 2-of-3 from three in the fourth for 6 points and finished 4-of-6 from the field.

Golden State won the quarter 30-29 by going back to the glass. The Warriors grabbed five offensive rebounds in the fourth, three by Lendeborg, and finished with a 26-9 edge in second-chance points.

Phoenix looked a bit more comfortable, with the ball zipping around as it should.

Golden State wouldn’t go away, but the Suns held firm control throughout the final 20 minutes of the game. Booker dropped 43, setting a franchise record in a home opener, and the Suns secured their first win of the season. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.

Up Next

The Suns head to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder squad that swept them in the playoffs a season ago.

The Mavericks hosted the San Antonio Spurs for their home opener Saturday night, but couldn’t send the crowd home happy, on the heels of a 122-106 final score. Without the services of Cooper Flagg (shoulder) and Kyrie Irving (rest), the burden was on veterans Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington, along with newcomers like Zaccharie Risacher and Marcus Sasser, to show out against their intrastate rivals.

Let’s get to the grades!

Naji Marshall: B+

10 PTS / 4 REB / 5 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 21 MIN

Marshall was solid, especially stepping in as the starting point guard, but didn’t log a whole lot of minutes when all was said and done. He put in a well rounded game with 4-of-8 shooting, even hitting his only three-point attempt, making the most of his somewhat limited minutes.

Max Christie: C

5 PTS / 5 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 2 BLK – 26 MIN

Christie drove early in the game, giving what I’ve been calling for – more than just camping out at the three-point line. He missed, but at least showed the versatility. Then, he camped out at the three-point line the rest of the game. He finished 2-of-9 overall and only 1-of-5 from deep. With the play of Sasser and versatility of Risacher, Christie may be in danger of losing minutes if this keeps up.

Zaccharie Risacher: B+

11 PTS / 4 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 2 BLK – 32 MIN

Risacher is all energy all the time. His offensive game is streaky to say the least, but he is fast, interested in defending and seemingly gets taller every time he takes the court. Much of his value showed up outside the box score Saturday night, but he did bring defensive intensity that was needed in an otherwise high scoring game. A pull up three and fastbreak layup displayed what he can do offensively. If he can get a bit more consistent on that end of the floor, he’s going to bring a lot to the team this season. Saturday night ended on the better end of the spectrum, with 4-of-8 shooting and 1-of-3 from deep.

P.J. Washington: B

12 PTS / 4 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 36 MIN

Washington started well and had a good night overall, but it felt as though he disappeared a bit as the game went on. He still finished on a highly efficient 6-of-12 from the floor, but missed all three of his three-point attempts.

Daniel Gafford: B+

12 PTS / 9 REB / 2 AST / 3 STL / 2 BLK – 23 MIN

Gafford shook off whatever spell he was under in the first game of the season and looked more locked in. He still struggled on the boards and committed too many fouls early, but generally avoided bone-headed plays that plagued him a few nights ago. A steal at half court that he took about 50 feet for a thunderous dunk was a reminder of what he can bring at his best. He followed that up with an alley-oop slam and another dunk off an offensive rebound with Victor Wembanyama draped on his back.

Marcus Sasser: A-

12 PTS / 3 REB / 5 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 27 MIN

Sasser is proving to be every bit the shooter we thought he could be. He connected on 5-of-9 from the floor, including 2-of-5 from downtown. He was tied with Marshall and Walter Clayton, Jr. for the team lead in assists. Sasser is bringing exactly what the Mavs need from their bench unit, playing within himself and engaging on both ends of the floor.

Sergio De Larrea: A+

21 PTS / 5 REB / 4 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 32 MIN

De Larrea looked significantly more comfortable just three games into his NBA tenure. In the first half alone, he banked in two nearly identical floaters and finished a reverse layup under the rim off a nice pass. Those were just the first half highlights. He scored 13 points over the first 24 minutes, shooting 75% and hitting his only three-point attempt. The second half was no different. After a few awkward moments in the first two games of the season, De Larrea looked like an experienced NBA veteran. He finished 9-of-15 to lead the team in scoring. This was basically a flawless game for the young player and it affords Dallas the much-needed guard depth that they were unsure of coming into the season.

Final Thoughts

The Mavericks looked very well connected despite missing a floor general in Irving and their best player in Flagg. Rebounds continue to haunt Dallas. They gave up far too many offensive boards that resulted in additional second-chance points for the Spurs, but the game was much closer than the final score indicates, at least until the waning minutes of the night.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

Regular Season Bell Ringer Standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 1.5
Jaylen Brown – 0.5

The Sixers are 3-0 to start the season after taking down the Milwaukee Bucks 127-116 on Saturday night.

This was the first game of the first back-to-back of the season for Philadelphia. LeBron James was ruled out for this contest early on for sciatica management. This being the first back-to-back means that we’re still slowly figuring out exactly what the Sixers are planning in terms of resting the likes of LeBron and possibly Embiid, who played in Saturday’s contest. Perhaps they’ll always stagger them, or perhaps it will be a case-by-case basis depending on the opponents faced in each set of consecutive contests. With Embiid’s status for Sunday’s contest still up in the air, we just have to wait and see.

But, back to tonight. The Bucks, the consensus underdogs, were not taking this as a loss lying down. They put up a fight and took advantage of the opportunities the Sixers continued to give them at points throughout this one, even taking the lead for a lot of the second frame. It was, overall, a lot harder of a battle than maybe it appeared it would be on paper pregame, but that’s the nature of the NBA. The important thing is that players like Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe went to work to regain control of the game in the Sixers’ favor by time the fourth quarter rolled around. The Sixers wavered a bit, but held on to take down the Bucks.

Let’s get to the Bell Ringer.

Joel Embiid: 28 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal

It didn’t take long for Joel Embiid to warm up in this one. In fact, the big fella was involved in every facet, filling up the stat sheet, right off the tip. Through the first six minutes of the game, he had already amassed six points, three rebounds and two assists. Between hitting his jumpers and constantly drawing fouls, Embiid was pretty much able to do whatever he wanted on offense. Thank goodness too, because there were a few times no one else from Philadelphia could do much of anything.

But speaking of his teammates, Embiid was an absolute playmaker for the Sixers tonight — especially important on a night without LeBron James’ facilitation. You can see Embiid working patiently to pull in a help defender to allow him to kick out to an open teammate, he’s setting up huge screens to create space for guys like Maxey to pull up, and he’s just hitting some really great passes (sometimes with a flair for the dramatic, for style points).

Embiid finished with a floor-leading 28 points to go with 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the triple-double. He also had one steal.

Jaylen Brown: 27 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals

Something that is quickly becoming evident about Brown is he just seems to show up when his team needs him to the most. In the Cavs game, that came in the form of three huge buckets as the Sixers mounted their comeback. Tonight, it was with two big triples and eight points in the second to help the Sixers break out of an ice cold streak that allowed the Bucks to take the lead out from under them. After putting up 16 points in the first two quarters, Brown was a floor-leading +18… not bad considering the Sixers led by just four at the break.

It’s not just about Brown’s ability to create shots for himself in isolation. It’s that he also shoots incredibly well and is creating opportunities for his teammates at the same time. Add that to Brown’s well-known impact on the defensive end, and the former Celtic continues to show exactly why his addition to the squad was such a massive one for this franchise.

Brown finished Saturday with 27 points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Tyrese Maxey: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

It is truly incredible what Maxey is able to do on the offensive end of a basketball court. It’s even more incredible what he’s able to accomplish when he has just a bit of space to operate in.

Working especially with Embiid, Maxey was able to find a ton of pockets of space tonight within which to create good looks for himself. But let’s be real, they don’t even really need to be the easiest shot opportunities for Maxey to make something out of nothing. This was yet another night of Maxey finishing out the easy buckets, hitting his jumpers, and making a few fantastic finishes that make you wonder how in the world he does it. He shot well from long range (4-for-9) and was just consistently chipping in points for Philadelphia — which was incredibly important against a Bucks team that was not giving up and kept biting back with buckets of their own.

Maxey finished the night with 26 points, four rebounds and four assists.

VJ Edgecombe: 17 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block

Edgecombe has been open about still finding his spot on this new-look Sixers offense. Tonight was a great glimpse of what it can be. It doesn’t always have to be finishing through contact at the rim or his high flying, acrobatic dunks. It can, in fact, be waiting patiently for the right opportunities to pull up for the jumper. Tonight, he got a lot of those opportunities, and took full advantage, sinking 5-of-10 attempts from long range.

Frankly, even if he had a terrible game otherwise, sinking that many triples for a Sixers franchise that so often goes ice cold from long range would earn a nomination. But it wasn’t a terrible game otherwise. Edgecombe continues to be a monster on the boards, pulling in 13 for the double-double tonight. He is also putting a ton of effort into finding ways to be truly disruptive on the defensive end (which is probably a big part of why he got himself into a bit of foul trouble tonight, but I digress).

His best sequence, in fact, involved him scoring zero points, but making a hell of a lot happen for Philadelphia, including securing the victory for the home team.

His offensive game with this roster will take time to fall into place, but tonight was a great sign of things to come for Edgecombe. VJ finished the night with 17 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers nearly fumbled a 22-point fourth-quarter lead as they defeated the Brooklyn Nets 125-121 in their home opener.

Three stars of the game

First star: Michael Porter Jr.

28 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals

Being an off-ball scoring threat on an otherwise inept offense is difficult. Ideally, Porter would be creating looks through his movement and receiving passes from someone that actually requires defensive attention — say, Nikola Jokic. Instead, Porter has to work off Egor Demin and Julius Randle, which isn’t always the easiest task.

However, Porter made that look easy this game. He was disruptive off-ball, drawing the defense’s attention away from the play, and when he did get an opening, he made the most of it. This was on top of being an impactful defender.

Second star: Jarrett Allen

21 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal

Allen was limited to 27 minutes, presumably because of the knee injury he is playing through, but made the most of his time on the court. He was aggressive attacking in the pick-and-roll when the Nets blitzed the ball handler, and even threw in a three-point make from the top of the arc.

Aside from maybe the three-point attempt, this was exactly what you want to see from Allen. And the Cavs were once again better off because he was a meaningful part of the offensive attack.

Third star: Donovan Mitchell

22 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal

Mitchell’s scoring is in midseason form. There are things you could criticize him for in these first two games— particularly the turnovers — but scoring isn’t one of them.

The shotmaking has felt effortless at the start of the season. He’s doing a good job of creating space off the dribble, allowing him to score at all three levels. Interestingly enough, Mitchell isn’t hunting off-the-dribble threes as much as we’ve seen in the past. He’s only taken 10 triples through two games, with most of them being catch-and-shoot threes. The three-point volume is something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

Dud of the game

Day’Ron Sharpe

7 points, 1 assist, 8 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 6 fouls

This was a tough game for Sharpe. Defensively, he struggled to contain Allen and Evan Mobley — who had a good game in his own right — and fouled James Harden twice on three-point attempts. This all led to him fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

Offensively, he struggled to make much of an impact against Cleveland’s bigs. He went just 3-for-10 from the field while turning it over three times.

Cavalier who deserves a shoutout

Jaylon Tyson

15 points, 4 assists, 1 steal

Tyson provided a solid contribution off the bench. He played with energy, knocked down some threes, and did a good job finding open teammates as a connector. This was basically an ideal game for him.

Play of the game

Assists like this show why Harden is one of the best passers in NBA history. Few guards would’ve seen this angle, let alone been able to fit the ball into such a tight window.

This was a bright spot in what was an overall a poor showing from Harden.

Quote of the day

“This is a building block. It’s time spent. It’s adversity. I think Joe Mazzulla said something like everybody loves each other in training camp. But you understand, like hey, come December, come January, and we’re missing shots…who are we then? That all comes in the regular season.”

– Donovan Mitchell on the early season struggles

Stat of the game

The Cavs have been outscored 73-45 combined in the fourth quarter through two games.

Late game execution has left a lot to be desired.

This game will be remembered for the Cavaliers not learning their lesson from Thursday

The Cavs didn’t give up their 22-point fourth-quarter lead, but it didn’t stop them from trying. The Nets cut the deficit down to two by winning the fourth quarter in the closing minute before the Cavs iced the game at the free-throw line. Brooklyn won the final frame 41-29.

The Cavaliers spent the time since Thursday’s loss to the Sixers talking about how they need to do a better job of handling leads. They didn’t do that here. If they were playing a team that was slightly more competent than the Nets, they likely would’ve dropped this one as well.

The Cavs are clearly a work in progress. They’re incorporating new pieces into the rotation that will take some time. However, it’s impossible to feel great about what you’ve seen so far — particularly in their first two fourth quarters.