BASKETBALL

It was opening night in the NBA, and that meant that LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and the rest of the Miami Heat would get their Championship Rings.  Then, they got to take on their heated rival:  The Boston Celtics.  Except this time, the Heat had one of the Celtics former knights:  Ray Allen.  Before the game, Ray Allen patted Kevin Garnett on the back, but Garnett (seemingly a rival) pretended like he didn’t even know Allen.  Apparently, something must have gone down.  And from that point on, it was all Heat.  Dwayne Wade had 29 points, LeBron had 26, and the Heat seemed to win with ease.  This team is jelling well right from the get go, and they’re on a mission to get right back to the Finals.   Miami 120, Boston 107.
The other main game of the night was the Dallas Mavericks vs. the new-look Los Angeles Lakers.  Remember, the Lakers now boast 5 potential hall-of-famers in their starting line-up (Kobe, Metta World Peace, Paul Gasol, Dwight Howard, and Steve Nash).  With a line-up that good, you have to just assume they’re the favorite in the west, especially since the Thunder broke up their nucleus, sending James Harden to the Houston Rockets.  So how would the Lakers fare?  They would take on a Mavericks team that is currently without Dirk Nowitzki.  And even without Dirk, the Mavs held their own just fine.  Their new point guard Darren Collison had 17 points, and had the Mavs looking pretty solid.  The Lakers, on the other hand, looked a little discombobulated.  They definitely had some chemistry problems out there and will likely slowly improve as the season progresses.  They couldn’t hang with the Mavs, and need to work on being a team that is good beyond being just good on paper.  Dallas 99, LA Lakers 91.

And finally, there may be another emerging star on the horizon in Denver.  The Denver Nuggets have handed their speedy point guard Ty Lawson a huge $48 million contract.  Lawson was a huge surprise last year, eventually becoming the Nuggets starting point guard and making defenses dizzy with his lightning fast speed.  Now, with the addition of Andrew Iguodala from Philly, the Nuggets will be a good defensive team as well as a team that scores at will.  They will be able to outscore just about any other team in the league, and with Lawson playing with the confidence of a contract behind him, he’ll be in charge of what should be one of the most fun teams to watch in the league.  Congratulations to Lawson.