Player to watch
LaMarcus Alridge, Portland Trail Blazers
Fresh off signing a five-year, $65 million extension that harkened back to better economic times, Alridge scored the first seven points in the first two and a half minutes of Portland’s season-opener against Houston. Of course, he then spent most of the rest of the night as a cheerleader after getting into foul trouble, scoring only four points the rest of the way. Alridge, 24, earned his huge pay raise two seasons ago, when he nearly doubled his scoring average from 9.0 points per game to 17.8. Last season he leveled off a bit at 18.1, and it remains to be seen if he can keep that pace with the Blazers’ new additions.
He said what?!
“M.C. lied to us a million times. He sat me and A.I. down one time and was like, ‘I’m going to lean on both of you the whole year, just don’t go to the media. Say you’ll do whatever for the team and blah blah blah.’ This was a week before he brought me off the bench.”
– Richard Hamilton on former Detroit coach Michael Curry.
Story lines
1. What superstar will gel with his team first? » The NBA’s rich got richer in the offseason, with Shaquille O’Neal joining Cleveland, Rasheed Wallace heading to Boston, Ron Artest moving to the Lakers and Vince Carter moving south to Orlando. Not all of them will thrive. O’Neal made just one of five second-half shots in the Cavaliers’ season-opening home defeat to the Celtics, a game in which Wallace had 12 points — including three 3-pointers — off the bench. Artest is always a wild card, but Carter could be a difference maker. In his 11-year career, he’s never been on a team this talented.
2. The Wizards feeling like the Redskins — only the exact opposite » As terrible as the Washington football team was to open the year, it still took a while for the national media to realize how much of utter disarray there really was in Ashburn. The hesitancy is similar regarding the Wizards, given skepticism over Arenas and Washington’s relative mediocrity even when healthy earlier this decade. But NBA GMs are nearly unanimously predicting a massive turnaround, and when Gilbert Arenas and Flip Saunders head into Cleveland next week, the national NBA pundits will have no choice but to pay attention to something truly special.
3. Believe what you want to believe about Blake Griffin » He’s injury-prone. He’s the only bona fide candidate for rookie of the year. He can’t shoot. He’s one piece of a Los Angeles Clippers team that can finally exorcise their demons. The fact is Griffin will be out for more than a month after fracturing his kneecap on a dunk — a play that began with a block at the other end of the court. But, “The kid didn’t die. He’ll be back in six weeks. He’s in the locker room. We saw him,” said Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy. Either way, it’s nice to have a decent story at the Staples Center besides the Lakers.
Key game
Mavericks at Lakers, Friday, 10:30 p.m., ESPN
Getting thumped by Washington in Tuesday’s season-opener has already given rise to fears that the Mavericks will again start the year poorly, just as they did last year, losing seven of their first nine. The only guy who didn’t have a great opener for the Lakers was the one guy who didn’t get a ring, Ron Artest, who was 3-for-10 with four turnovers.
Examiner Power Rankings
| No. | Team |
Comment | Pvs. |
| 1 | Lakers | With Pau out, Bynum opens with an encouraging 26 and 13 | — |
| 2 | Celtics | Rasheed looks comfy and inspired, not good news for opponents | — |
| 3 | Spurs | Anxious to see DeJuan Blair after Wizards passed on drafting him | — |
| 4 | Magic | Rashard Lewis will watch the first 10 games from his couch | — |
| 5 | Cavaliers | A city already in panic after LeBron loses opener to Boston | — |
| 6 | Nuggets | Western Conference finalist get the benefit of the doubt, for now | — |
| 7 | Trail Blazers | Sloppy start (26 turnovers) still yields an opening-night win | — |
| 8 | Wizards | Didn’t trail at all vs. Mavs from early in the second half | — |
| 9 | Mavericks | Dirk’s big solo night could signal nerves about team’s potential | — |
| 10 | Jazz | Only two of first six are on the road, thank goodness | — |
| 11 | Hawks | New pieces around edges (Crawford, Smith) back up nice core | — |
| 12 | Suns | Jarron Collins signed to fill in for injured Robin Lopez | — |
| 13 | Bulls | Improvement on last year is expected. Will it be achieved? | — |
| 14 | Rockets | Trevor Ariza is -10 in opener. Ron Artest with Lakers? +14 | — |
| 15 | Hornets | Okafor has to be positively giddy about playing with Chris Paul | — |
| 16 | Raptors | Free-agency seeker Bosh should put up huge numbers early | — |
| 17 | Heat | They still have Dwyane Wade in body. How long in spirit? | — |
| 18 | 76ers | If it’s about the money, then Elton Brand has a lot to prove | — |
| 19 | Thunder | They’re here because we watched Kevin Durant this summer | — |
| 20 | Clippers | They’re here because Blake Griffin, even if injured, is on the roster | — |
| 21 | Pistons | Reality will come after they lose two of their first three | — |
| 22 | Bobcats | Flip Murray or Allen Iverson. Who would you have chosen? | — |
| 23 | Warriors | More Stephen Curry and Anthony Randolph. Less Stephen Jackson | — |
| 24 | Pacers | Indy may not drop far from here but might not rise either | — |
| 25 | Bucks | Euro experience will be measuring stick for Jennings | — |
| 26 | Grizzlies | Mike Conley is quality no matter how many gunners surround him | — |
| 27 | Nets | A Russian-backed arena grows in Brooklyn. We promise | — |
| 28 | Knicks | All eyes thankfully focused on the Bronx for at least another week | — |
| 29 | Timberwolves | Flynn, Ellington probably sick over Minnesota’s prospects | — |
| 30 | Kings | No chance Tyreke Evans can win ROY for these stinkers | — |
