NBA Cup — Day 1

 Hello, I’m Carlos Andres Segrera, and this is the NBA from the mind of a high schooler.

In writing my blogs so far, I’ve been all over the place, writing about whatever I wanted. But I’ve decided to start a series of sorts. Every Wednesday and Saturday—the day after the NBA Cup matchups—I will be doing a recap of the evening’s events.

Last night was the start of group play for the newly named “NBA Cup,” and there was no lack of drama on those boldly painted courts.

Many people, including Vegas, predicted the first game of the night to be heavily one-sided, but the Trae Young-less Hawks ended up squeaking out a win by one point against the defending champ Celtics, 117-116. This win wasn’t handed to the Hawks, though (unlike other games last night); they needed career nights from both Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson to get it done. Daniels had a career-high 28 points paired with 7 assists while putting on a defensive clinic with 6 steals. Johnson recorded his second career triple-double on very efficient shooting. After a putback layup from Onyeka Okongwu, a couple of costly turnovers from both teams, and a missed mid-range jump shot from a player who, alongside Derrick White, put up 30+, the Hawks came out victorious.

The matchup between the Hornets and the Magic started off with a red-hot first quarter for both LaMelo Ball and Jalen Suggs. Ball had 16 first-quarter points and Suggs 13, hitting his first 7 shots. LaMelo continued blazing, ending the night just three points short of the career high he set Sunday against Philadelphia, with 35 points. Suggs cooled off and ended the night with 17, but before he simmered out, he ignited the flame that is Franz Wagner, who finished the night with 32. The true story of the night was Orlando’s defense—they held the Hornets to 89 points and forced 18 turnovers in their 25-point victory.

A team effort by the Knicks, despite Jalen Brunson’s abysmal efficiency, carried them to a 111-99 victory over the 76ers. Embiid made his first appearance of the season, but we have still yet to see the Philadelphia big three in action, as Tyrese Maxey was out with a right hamstring strain. Embiid’s first game back was shaky, and you could see the discomfort on his face at times. He ended the game with 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists on 2-11 shooting. He seemed to be settling for threes, shooting 1-5, perhaps not wanting to get too physical. The big man only played 26 minutes in the loss. Paul George, the newcomer, tried putting the team on his back with his 29 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, turning into a sniper from range with 7-11 from deep, but PG’s efforts weren’t enough.

The Bucks found themselves victorious against the boys from the 6 behind a hyper-efficient 23 points from Giannis, with the help of five other players nearing double figures. The Bucks did this all without star guard Damian Lillard, who is out with a concussion. That’s why so many players hitting double figures was crucial for the Bucks. For the Raptors, it was all Gradey Dick, who is having an astounding start to his sophomore campaign and dropped 32 last night. When the buzzer sounded, the Bucks were on top 99-85; it was a low-scoring affair in deer country.

Devin Booker added his name to the list of 30-point games last night, dropping 31 in the Suns' 120-112 victory over the Jazz. John Collins, who is putting up his best numbers since 2020, continued that trend with his 29-point double-double on 12-19 shooting. Kyle Filipowski, who surprisingly dropped to the second round back in June, had 18 off the bench. The Suns took the game after a series of dominant runs and a 3-point shooting clinic put on by Booker, Beal, and Allen.

Captain Klay made his return to The Bay and was welcomed into the Chase Center surrounded by fans wearing captain’s hats, a heartfelt tribute video, and a hug from his Splash bro. Once the welcome-home ceremony for the 4-time Warrior champ wrapped up, Klay began his first career game against the Warriors. Derrick Lively and Luka Doncic were both questionable coming into tonight’s game but ended up suiting up for the Mavs. Luka had a smooth 31, and Kyrie added an efficient 21, but Klay Thompson was the man with everyone’s attention. Klay had 22 points, going 6-12 from range, but it was his counterpart for 13 years, Steph Curry, who led the Warriors to the 120-117 victory. Curry had 37, missing one more three than Klay, and scored the last 12 points for the Warriors, which put them over the top.

The Timberwolves lost their second game in a row, this time to the Trail Blazers. Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle remain ice-cold. Anthony Edwards tried to put the team on his back but just couldn’t get the job done, shooting 8-19 from the field. The Blazers truly secured this victory by committee, with seven players in double figures. The vet Jerami Grant led the team, breaking that 20-point threshold—a seasoned player surrounded by young talent leading the way and setting an example for the future of his team. Portland came out on top 122-108.

The game I’ve been dreading talking about—Heat vs. Pistons. It was an ineffective night for both teams, but the Pistons were up near the end of the fourth. Tyler Herro, the only thing keeping the Heat together this year, had 40 and made three threes in a row to take it to OT. Overtime was back and forth, and with seconds left, Jalen Duren caught a lob to tie things up. I began mentally preparing for double OT, and just as I was about to relax, Spo called a timeout we didn’t have. The Pistons knocked down the technical free throws, and we went home sad. The Heat lost 123-121. We handed them the game. One positive I can draw from this is that I can guarantee Eric Spoelstra won’t make another mistake like this. He’s an emotionally driven man and one of the greatest coaches in the history of the league; he’ll make up for it—I’m sure of it.