The 2022 NBA season thread where you can discuss all things to do with the NBA.

 

 

 

 

Defending champions the Golden State Warriors take on the Los Angeles Lakers as the 77th NBA season starts on Tuesday.

 

The Warriors - led by Steph Curry - are favourites to retain the title but there are big questions about the cohesion of the team. Their head coach Steve Kerr described a recent clash between two players as the "biggest crisis" he's faced during almost a decade in charge.

 

LeBron James' Lakers are not expected to mount a title challenge - but the 37 year-old is on a course for a historic solo achievement as he vies to become the league's all-time points scorer.

 

Add to all that the possibility of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award going to the same player for a third consecutive year and the next six months promises to be another rollercoaster of thrills and spills for basketball fans.

The NBA has 30 teams which is split into two conferences and then into there divisions within each conference. I have put together a complete list of all the NBA Teams in alphabetical order below.

 

Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

Denver Nuggets

Detroit Pistons

Golden State Warriors

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

Milwaukee Bucks

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando Magic

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

Portland Trail Blazers

Sacramento Kings

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

Utah Jazz

Washington Wizards

Zion Williamson scored 25 points and made nine rebounds in his first match in 17 months as his New Orleans Pelicans side beat the Brooklyn Nets 130-108 in their season opener.

 

Williamson had not played since 4 May 2021 after sustaining a foot injury.

 

But he showed little sign of rustiness, making 11 of 22 shots in his 30 minutes on court, including five of six in a dominant third quarter.

 

Brandon Ingram top-scored for the visiting Pelicans with 28 points.

The Brooklyn Nets and Kyrie Irving have pledged to donate $1m (£880,000) to combat "hate and intolerance" after he was criticised for sharing a link about a film featuring anti-Semitic tropes.

 

In a joint statement, Irving, 30, said he "meant no harm" but stopped short of apologising for the social media post.

 

Some fans wore 'Fight Anti-Semitism' T-shirts courtside at the Nets' game against the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

 

Irving said not everything in the film reflected his "morals and principles".

The Brooklyn Nets have named Jacque Vaughn as their new permanent head coach.

 

The 47-year-old had been serving as interim coach after they parted ways with Steve Nash earlier this month.

 

The team have won two of their last four games with Vaughn at the helm.

 

Nets general manager Sean Marks said: "He has a proven ability to get the best out of our players, hold them accountable and play a cohesive, team-first style of basketball

Stephen Curry scored 24 points as the Golden State Warriors continued their fine form at home with a 111-101 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday.

 

Curry completed a double-double and a game-high 10 assists, while Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins scored 20.

 

Draymond Green also contributed 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

 

The Warriors have a 7-1 home record but are winless in eight on the road.

 

Elsewhere on Friday, the Boston Celtics extended their winning run to nine with a 117-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum both scoring double-doubles.

Luka Doncic delivered his fifth triple-double of the season to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 116-113 win over NBA champions the Golden State Warriors.

 

In a rematch of last season's Western Conference finals, he top-scored with 41 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.

 

It is the Slovenian's 51st career triple-double.

 

"It's getting boring," joked Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd. "I mean, let's see something different. Maybe do it with his left hand."

LeBron James passed Magic Johnson on the NBA's all-time assists list as the Los Angeles Lakers battled to a 133-129 win against the Milwaukee Bucks.

 

James took his assists tally to 10,144, with his 11 against the Bucks moving him past Johnson (10,141) into sixth.

 

Former Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton, who retired in 2003, tops the list with 15,806 assists in his career.

 

James scored 28 points as the Lakers - led by Anthony Davis with 44 points - held off a late Bucks surge.

LeBron James scored a season-high 48 points to help Los Angeles Lakers past Houston Rockets and further close in on the all-time NBA points record.

 

James has now passed 35 points in five of his past seven games, and was his team's top scorer in the 140-132 win.

 

He has 38,072 career points, 315 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time record.

 

Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum scored 51 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the final 64 seconds, as they won 130-118 at Charlotte Hornets.

LeBron James moved closer to breaking the NBA's all-time scoring record as he produced his first triple-double of the season in the Los Angeles Lakers' 129-123 win over the New York Knicks.

 

The 38-year-old is just 89 points shy of breaking the record of 38,387 points held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

 

James made 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the Lakers' overtime win.

 

He is now fourth on the NBA's assists list with 10,338, still way behind all-time leader John Stockton's 15,806.

 

Victory ended the Lakers' two-game losing streak, while the Knicks - led by Jalen Brunson on a game-high 37 points - have lost six of their last eight games.

The LA Lakers ended a run of three defeats with a narrow 109-103 win over the Golden State Warriors despite missing LeBron James.

 

James, the NBA's all-time leading points scorer, missed the match with an ankle problem.

 

Dennis Schroder top-scored for the Lakers with 26 points, while Jordan Poole netted 29 for the Warriors.

Kevin Durant scored 23 points as he made his debut for the Phoenix Suns in a 105-91 win at the Charlotte Hornets.

 

The former league MVP joined from the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster trade three weeks ago but has been recovering from a sprained knee ligament.

 

Durant played restricted minutes as he continues towards full fitness and new team-mate Devin Booker hit 37 points.

 

"I've played in almost a thousand basketball games, but today I was nervous," said Durant, 34.

Appologize for not here hyping the thread, especially during the All-Star Weekend.

 

2023 marked the rebirth of the Dunk Contest, thanks to Mac McClung. Reports said he was a beast in his high school, Gate City.

Austin Reaves scored a career high 35 points as the Los Angeles Lakers rekindled their play-off push with a 111-105 win over the Orlando Magic.

 

D'Angelo Russell scored 18 and Anthony Davis added 15 points to end the Lakers' two-game losing streak.

 

Reaves, 24, was met with chants for 'MVP' (most valuable player) from the crowd at the Crypto.com Arena.

 

"I play with a sense of urgency, leave it all out on the floor, that's how basketball should be played," he said.

 

Talking about the crowd chants, Reaves added: "For them to recognize what I do - obviously not an MVP-caliber player, those guys are really good - but for them to do that for me is special, it means a lot to me."

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said the fan reaction helped him "a lot" on his return from an eight-game ban.

 

Morant, 23, was suspended without pay by the NBA after a video showed him holding a gun in a Colorado nightclub.

 

He returned off the bench in a 130-125 win against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday as the Grizzlies secured the Southwest Division title.

 

"It felt good to be back, super excited. Glad we were able to get the win," said Morant.

The Denver Nuggets beat fellow NBA conference leaders the Milwaukee Bucks 129-106 in a statement victory before the play-offs.

 

Nikola Jokic, the two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, scored 31 points and had 11 assists for Western Conference leaders Denver.

 

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 2019 and 2020 MVP, also hit 31 points.

 

However, only seven of those came in the second half as the Nuggets came from behind to win.

 

The Nuggets are three and a half games clear of the Memphis Grizzlies in the west, with the Bucks two games up on the Boston Celtics in the east, making both favourites to secure top seed, with eight regular season games remaining.

The New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 118-109 to become the latest team to book their place in the NBA play-offs.

 

Quentin Grimes and Jalen Brunson each scored 27 points to give the Knicks a fourth consecutive victory.

 

The Atlanta Hawks' overtime win against the Dallas Mavericks then eliminated the Wizards from play-in contention.

 

The Toronto Raptors secured a play-in spot after the 2019 champions beat the Charlotte Hornets 128-108.

Devin Booker starred as the Phoenix Suns overcame an opening defeat to beat the LA Clippers 123-109 in the second home game of their play-off series.

 

Booker scored 38 points and nine assists as the Suns rallied from 13 points down in the second quarter to tie the best-of-seven series 1-1.

 

"It's the play-offs, it's win at all costs," said Booker, before Thursday's third match in the Western Conference encounter.

 

"We got one and now we are off to LA."

 

The Suns, who finished the regular season fourth, one place above the Clippers, opened with a disappointing 115-110 defeat in front of their home fans.

LeBron James starred with 22 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-111 on Monday.

 

James forced overtime with a layup before scoring late in the extra period as the Lakers extended their lead to 3-1 in the Western Conference play-offs.

 

He also claimed a career-high 20 rebounds, while Austin Reaves scored 23 points for the seventh-seeded Lakers.

 

The Lakers can seal victory and eliminate the Grizzlies in game five on Wednesday.

 

It is the first time a Lakers player has reached 20 or more points and rebounds in a single play-off game since Shaquille O'Neal in 2004.