What we learned from the first day of the 2011-2012 NBA Season

Christmas Day, 2011.

The day when the NBA came back.

We saw some scintillating matchups, with a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals as Miami and Dallas faced off. We saw new faces in new places as the Knicks (with Tyson Chandler at the 5) faced the aging Celtics, and CP3 led the Clippers against Golden State. We saw old-MVP’s face new ones as Kobe’s Lakers hosted D-Rose’s Bulls, and we saw a star-studded matchup in OKC versus Orlando.

So without further ado, here are 5 things we learned from watching the 5 aforementioned matchups:

1) The Miami Heat should be the favorite to win the NBA Title

Let’s be honest…the final score was not indicative of how dominating Miami’s performance really was. Miami led by 20-something through most of the game, and at times pushed that lead to the 30′s as well. Miami’s two-headed monster of Lebron James and Dwyane Wade led the way, putting up great performances. James led the way with 37 points on 11-19 shooting, along with 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Meanwhile, Wade put up 26 with 8 boards and also 6 assists. Rookie Norris Cole impressed early on, showing his athleticism and anticipation as reasons why Miami drafted him. A healthy Udonis Haslem, who had 9 points and 14 rebounds (6 offensive) is a very valuable player.

Miami is dangerous, with more depth than last year and a whole lot of athleticism and young talent. They’re healthy and Wade and Lebron have seemed to not miss a beat from last season. One thing I will say though is that Chris Bosh MUST be more effective. Haslem was a more effective PF yesterday, but he can’t be that effective for the entire season.

2) Rajon Rondo has a shot at winning MVP

If Boston can be successful, old age and all, then Rondo is going to have to lead them. The C’s yesterday lost by 2 to a new-and-improved New York Knick squad. Boston didn’t have Paul Pierce (NYK didn’t have Baron Davis but Pierce’s absence was more significant), and still hung with a talented Knick team…but they didn’t do it without Rondo’s stellar 31 point/13 assist performance. The points will go down once Pierce comes back and can shoulder some of that load, but Rondo’s youth, smarts, and athleticism will prove to be the driving force behind Boston’s success. If he can continue this level of play, he’ll be included in the MVP conversation come April.

3) Dallas will struggle to get to the Finals

Maybe they were rusty, maybe it was a Championship hangover, but having lost so many big pieces (Butler, Chandler, Barea, etc.) and gaining Lamar Odom is not conducive to winning the NBA title. The Mavs got absolutely destroyed by Miami and do not look like they have the skill to compete with the top teams in the league. Dallas lost too much depth and talent, and they must play very well to stay on top.

4) The compressed schedule will play a huge factor in the season

We all knew 66 games in a compressed period of time would be tough for some teams, but these schedules will get ridiculous! Of the 10 teams that played yesterday, 5 of them play again tonight. The Lakers play 5 games in 8 days, starting the season off with 3 straight. One thing’s for sure…the younger teams will see more success (I’m looking at you OKC).

5) The NBA is as popular as ever

TV ratings for Opening Day games were very high, indicative of just how excited people are to have the NBA back. Averaging 6 million viewers per game last year, the NBA saw the number jump to an average of 6.2 million per game, with the Chicago-LAL game being highlighted as the 3rd most viewed game on ABC ever.

According to ESPN.com…

“Chris Paul’s Clippers debut in the nightcap against the Warriors earned a 2.2 rating, up 69 percent over last year’s Portland-Golden State telecast in the same slot.

The first night game on ESPN — Magic-Thunder — drew a 1.8, up 29 percent from last year’s Denver-Oklahoma City matchup. The afternoon’s finals rematch on ABC, the Heat’s rout of the Mavericks, earned a 4.9, up 7 percent from Boston-Orlando last year.”

Fantastic numbers for the NBA as expected. I, for one, am ecstatic (yes, even with the Pistons being the Pistons) that the NBA labor issues have been resolved, and that we have (albeit a very rushed) season.

- ASJ