The 2022-23 season tipped off with a doubleheader. First up, the Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in an early clash of Eastern Conference contenders. The Celtics were led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who scored 35 points each in the win.
Out West, the defending champion Golden State Warriors received their rings after winning their fourth title in the past eight seasons. Looking to spoil the celebration will be the Los Angeles Lakers and Le Bron James who begins the season needing 1,326 points to pass Kareem as the NBA’s career scoring leader.
Lakers forward Matt Ryan almost drew a 3-point shooting foul on Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry with less than 5 minutes left in the third quarter, but the replay indicated he was out of bounds before the shot. Last season, there was a rule change and larger emphasis from the league on making it more difficult to draw a foul on a 3-pointer. Warriors coach Steve Kerr played 11 players in the first half, using all but two of the active players on his roster. Before the game, Kerr said a 10-man rotation was all but certain and an 11-man rotation was possible. All other players played in single digits but still found a way to contribute.
Depth is something Kerr and the Warriors boasted about heading into opening night.
However, Kerr knows he will eventually have to cut his rotation down. Pregame, Kerr said he has already had conversations with his bench players that some of them will see consistent playing time while others will be in and out of the lineup.
