This Was An Emotional Night In The NBA…

This was an emotional night in the NBA. Both Hallie and Dane came back after a grueling year and a half of rehab from the Achilles. Ant and LaMelo put on a show for the fans, while the Thunder are looking scarier than ever. So let's start with Halliburton purchasing every single ticket for the students of Iowa State who rocked the Cyclone Hallie t-shirts, creating a college type of environment. And he came out with his old number 22 during the introductions. Despite being 16 months away from basketball, Hallie was back like he never left. Tyrese drains his first shot of the night to get rid of the nerves, but the Wolves came out hungrier at the start, making it rain from downtown. And LaMelo and Jaden turned into long-range archers in this one, with each of them knocking down four threes apiece. Bang, bang. Ball finishes the first quarter with back-to-back triples to get the deficit down to five. But how did the Pacers get there? By playing their signature style of basketball. Indiana shared the ball extremely well, racking up 39 assists in this game, compared to Minnesota's 22. That's a lot. But if I tell you who is their assist leader, you won't believe it. Jerez Walker had 10 dimes and some of them were amazing. Are you kidding me? The chubby forward looked like Magic Johnson out there, displaying a different kind of court vision. Meanwhile, the Wolves kept shooting. When you make 12 threes on 63% efficiency in the first half, you're gonna be in front, of course. The trio of Ant, Melo and Jaden combined for 49 points on a sizzling 70% shooting from deep in just 20 minutes of action. Hallie, on the other hand, put up a modest 7 points and 6 assists in its return, but the Pacers still managed to get the win, thanks to their second-half comeback. In Portland, Dame Time was back in a Blazers uniform after three and a half years. Lillard didn't waste time at all filling up the bucket, hitting three of his first four shots from distance on his way to 15 points for the night. And Blazers fans have another guy to be hyped about as well. Look at Jha diving in front row to save the ball, which ends up with this beautiful finger roll by Dame. He had 8 points, 5 assists and 2 steals in his debut. And mind you, this was Danny Avdia's team last season, and he showed that he's ready to carry them again. Danny was at his usual self, racking up 23 points on 9 of 13 from the field. But the play of the game came by none other than Scoot Henderson. This monster chase down block by Scoot deserves a third replay. Blazers fans have a lot to cheer for in the upcoming season. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they have a top 5 deepest roster in their franchise history. And speaking of that, the Thunder are looking scarier than ever. After unveiling their 7 foot 3 giant against the Pelicans 2 days ago, the Thunder involved Adey Mara in every possible play against the Bucks as well. And he feasted inside the paint. 22 points and 6 rebounds on a perfect 10 for 10 from the field in 25 minutes of action. That's crazy. And he did all of that while facing Keller Ware and Miles Turner on the other end. I don't want to exaggerate too much, but I'm expecting a solid 15 to 20 minutes by Mara on a nightly basis. And seeing the shape of SGA right now, we're in for another MVP caliber season. Shea was perfect in his preseason debut as well, scoring 17 points on 5 of 5 shooting. And check out the huge block on Tyler Hero in the second quarter. He's not messing around. We can say the same thing about Dylan Brooks who came out scorching hot against the Bulls. Brooks was showing off his bag, knocking down 4 of his first 5 shots of the game on his way to 24 points on 78% efficiency. That's elite. On the other end, the Bulls hopes rely on their young wings, Caleb Wilson and Matas Bouzelis who didn't disappoint either. Wilson and Bouzelis scored 15 and 14 points respectively, but they'll need to work on their outside shot as both combined for 0 made 3s on 10 tries. I guess that's why they got Norman Powell from the Heat who debuted with 3 of 4 shooting. In Memphis, we had another guy coming back to the team that he had his first glory days with. Nikola Vucevic strings 3 bombs from deep in his first game back in Orlando, but the play of the game belonged to Cedric Cowart. And I gotta show you Alper and Shane Goon and Amand Thompson practicing Nikola Jokic's pass during their practice in China. You know you've made it in life when other NBA players practice your moves. And while we're in China, D'Angelo Russell is the newest member of the Shanghai Sharks and I've made a detailed breakdown of his sudden downfall right here in this video, so check it out and talk to you in the next one. Peace out!