And So It Begins...

With the NBA season just beginning, it’s time to take a look at the NBA Southeast

By Kyle Basedow

Tuesday night’s NBA season opener kicked off with two teams in the Southeast playing. In the season opener, the Washington Wizards visited the Cleveland Cavaliers. The second was a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, with the Boston Celtics paying a visit to the Miami Heat.

The remaining teams kickoff on Friday, all at home. The Atlanta Hawks host the Houston Rockets, the Charlotte Bobcats host the Indiana Pacers and the Orlando Magic host the Denver Nuggets.

Last night, the games went pretty much as expected. The Heat dominated the Celtics and the Wizards put on a sad performance against the Cavaliers. Here are a few things to take note of…

Miami Heat: 120, Boston Celtics: 107

AP Photo/ J Pat Carter

1. Super Mario 2K13: Mario Chalmers decided to show up and put on his big boy pants last night. He posted a team high of 11 assists and added three steals along with 8 points. If he continues to post these numbers (though 11 assists a night is highly unlikely), he could be worthy of an All-NBA Second Team mention.

2. The Big Four?: Ray Allen, a former member of the Boston Celtics’ Big Three,  played his first game for the Miami Heat last night and made quite the lasting impression on his former team. He logged a solid 31 minutes and had an impressive19 points with 2 rebounds and 2 assists. He could be of great help to the Heat this season, who are already the top team in the NBA.

3. Celtics versus Father Time: The Celtics have very few players that can log consistent minutes, proven by the fact that Rajon Rondo and Paul Piece both logged 40 plus minutes.  Kevin Garnett was the only other player to log more than 30 minutes, and he can’t be expected to do that every game. Doc Rivers needs to find a way to speed up the development of their younger players or they could be in big trouble in the Eastern Conference.

Washington Wizards: 84, Cleveland Cavaliers: 94

AP Photo/ Tony Dejak

1. NBA D-League: This matchup wasn’t highly anticipated; watching the game could most certainly have put a few people to sleep. With both John Wall and Nene missing in action for sometime, the Wizards could be in for a rough ride these first few weeks. The Cavs, on the other hand looked better than last year and could be progressing towards the mid tier of NBA teams.

2. Anderson VareWOW: Who would have thought that one game into the NBA season you could compare Anderson Varejao to Wilt Chamberlain? Varejao had 9 points, 9 assists, and 23 rebounds in an absolutely monster game. It seems that Varejao doesn’t intend to go quietly in the NBA center discussion.

3. A New King?: Kyrie Irving dropped 29 points in last night’s season opener, with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Irving’s 29 was 9 points less than the entire Wizards starting five. I know it’s too soon to crown him, but Kyrie Irving is certainly helping the Cleveland fans forget about LeBron James.

Overall, the performances yesterday were average, only because the Heat played so well and the Wizards played so badly. This Friday will be the true test to see how strong the NBA Southeast will be this year.

On another note, I bet the Magic are happy that they gave away Dwight Howard now, after that dismal performance yesterday. The owner and GM may have jumped for joy while they watched Howard shoot 3-14 from the free throw line.