The Clippers won in their first game of the season against the Lakers, and Kawhi Leonard was at the forefront of this victory. Even without the help of Paul George, he was still able to keep his team in the game and orchestrate their performance. He had 30 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds, while playing on 32 minutes. Another player who stood out on the Clippers was Lou Williams, who also had an impressive stat line. He had 21 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds, while playing the most minutes on the team (37). While the Lakers still had offensive production, they were unable to contain the Clippers. Anthony Davis and Danny Green combined for about 52% of the Lakers points. Davis had 25 points along with 10 rebounds, and Green had 28 points while shooting an unbelievable 77.8% from the 3 point arc. Lebron played somewhat well, but with the standards he’s commonly held to one might consider his performance mediocre. He had 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.

The Toronto Raptors defeated the New Orleans Pelicans by 8 points. Sadly, there was a last second injury causing Zion Williamson to sit out the first game of the season, disappointing a multitude of New Orleans fans hoping to see their #1 pick show off what he has to bring to the NBA.  Pascal Siakam, and Fred Vanvleet carried the offensive load for Toronto with each player ending the game with 34 points. The Raptors were on top most of the game, but the Pelicans had a few offensive spurs. On the Pelicans’ end, former Los Angeles Laker Brandon Ingram went off for 22 points. Another player who performed well was J.J Redick; who scored 16 points for the New Orleans team shooting 4-6 from the arc. There is sure to be a multitude of nail biters this year, and a few teams who need to prove themselves and their relevance during the playoffs.