NBA Open Thread: Jazz at Lakers headlines Friday night slate

By Kevin F. Love Oct 25, 2019, 6:30pm EDT

NBA: Preseason-Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors

It’s the first Friday of the NBA season and we’ve got a pretty busy slate tonight. Feel free to use this thread to discuss the games you’re watching or whatever else might pop into your head.

Games I’ll have my eye on

Toronto Raptors @ Boston Celtics, 7:00 pm ET

Two of the Sixers’ Atlantic division foes face off in this one, as the defending champion Toronto Raptors take on the Boston Celtics. The Raptors started the season off strong with a win on opening night against the New Orleans Pelicans. Pascal Siakam led the way for Toronto on his way to 34 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists. He fouled out late in the game but the Raptors were able to secure the win. In their season opener against our beloved Sixers, the Celtics struggled to generate offense against Philly’s jumbo-sized defense, with the Celtics hitting just 33 of their 90 attempts from the field.

The Raptors and the Celtics should both be in the Eastern Conference playoff mix and the Sixers could run into them at some point in May, making this game an interesting watch for Sixers fans.

Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 pm ET

The late night start here for east coasters is a killer, but if you can stay awake, this game is worth watching as it could be a preview of a Western Conference Semis or Finals match up.

The Jazz edged out the Thunder in their season opener, with Donovan Mitchell racking up 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists en route to the victory. The Jazz’s big offseason acquisition, Mike Conley, struggled to get into a groove, shooting a horrendous 1-16 from the field. He finished with just 5 points, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 5 personal fouls in 26 minutes.

The Lakers were not as fortunate in their opener, falling to their hometown rival Clippers 112-102. LeBron James had a productive outing falling just 2 assists shy of a triple-double (18 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists), although he did shoot the ball poorly (7-19 FG) and turned the ball over 5 times. In his Lakers debut, Anthony Davis also shot poorly from the field (8-21), but he was able to get to the line enough to make up for it (9-14 FT) and was overall very effective. Davis wasn’t the only player making his Lakers debut, as Danny Green went off for 28 points and sank 7 of his 9 attempts from behind the arc.