NBA IS BACK !!!

On Thursday the NBA returned with two amazing matchups that came down to the wire. The 4 teams that played were the New Orleans Pelicans vs the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers vs The Los Angeles Clippers. The New Orleans Pelicans were up 16 at halftime and unfortunately could not hold on and ended up losing in the final seconds 106 to 104. Zion Williamson of the Pelicans was very efficient he was 6 for 8 from the field scoring 13 points in just 15 minutes.  He played limited minutes and was not on the court during the last 3 minutes of the game. If he  was on the court I believe they would have won the game which would have helped them win and better their chances of making the playoffs. The Pelicans appear to be still abiding by  a minute restriction for the rookie  phenom. This to me is very troubling especially when you factor in the can battle for the 8th spot with the new rule added to create some sense of suspense for the final 8 games of the season. It has been a 5 month layoff and the Pelicans seem to be content on handling Williamson as though he is just coming back from an injury. If they hope to have a shot at making the playoffs they must let Williamson play more than 15 minutes a night. I understand he’s your future along with the rest of the young core but if your too cautious you can have  situation similar the Washington Nationals of the MLB and Stephen Strausburg. The Nationals were cautious with Strausburg in 2012 did not let him pitch in the playoffs. Even though they win the World Series last year that was just their 3rd postseason appearance since 2012. This shows nothing is guaranteed and the Pelicans should put all their chips on attempting to make the playoffs.

The second game was the Los Angeles Lakers vs the Los Angeles Clippers. Anthony Davis went off for 34 points and helped the carry the Lakers over the Clippers. Paul George of the Clippers has an very efficient 30 points n 64% shooting. This game was interesting because in the first half Lebron James had a pedestrian shooting night, but was able to keep his teammates involved with 5 assists in the first half. James made a crucial defensive stop during the final seconds of the game against Paul George on the final play of the game. This was an interesting game with the fact both Lou Williams and Montez Harrell did not play. So once both teams are healthy it will be interesting to see if the outcome changes. This was a great start to the NBA Season can’t wait to see how the sprint to the playoffs ends.