5 Things to Look Out For

Tonight’s NBA slate features 10 exciting games and storylines to be followed. Brooklyn and Milwaukee will meet at 7:30 pm for a nationally televised game on ESPN.

Other intriguing matchup’s include the 2-1 Atlanta Hawks who will be in Detroit to take on the 1-3 Pistons. Also playing at 7:30 pm are the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks who both sit at 2-1.

The West Coast nationally televised game at 10:00pm EST is between the LA Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. LA is currently 0-3 and are looking to turn their season around fast.

Pick one of these NBA players to build your team around 🤔 pic.twitter.com/YDHbimIQtH

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 25, 2022

5 things to look out for in tonight’s games

Orlando Magic vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Orlando won the NBA lottery draft and took PF Paolo Banchero from Duke. He and the Magic have started out 0-4, but Banchero is still putting on a show. Through four games he’s averaging 22.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 blocks.

To understand Banchero’s greatness, you have to watch him play. He can shoot off the dribble and has the size to work you in the post. Banchero really is the defenition of the complete package and that’s why Orlando could not pass up on a player like him. He and the Magic will tip off at 7:00pm tonight vs Cleveland.

Paolo Banchero’s first 4 NBA games

27 PT, 9 REB, 5 AST, 2 BLK, 61% FG
20 PTS, 12 REB, 3 BLK
23 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 3PT
21 PTS, 4 REB, 2 STL

The last player to start their career with 4 straight 20+ was Grant Hill in 1994 pic.twitter.com/Z7QnEyUPxF

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 25, 2022

Atlanta Hawks vs Detroit Pistons

Both the Hawks and the Pistons feature a back-court duo who are key components in helping run the offense. For Atlanta they have all-star’s Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Detroit has Cade Cunningham and rookie SG, Jaden Ivey.

Watch out tonight for Young to be a distributer of the ball more than he has been in seasons past. He’s averaging double digit assists (11.7) for the first time in his career. Young has averaged nine or more assists in three of his four previous seasons.

Look for Pistons PG Cade Cunningham to take full advantage of his matchup vs Young. Cunningham is a bigger PG at 6’6 and can cause a lot of issues for defense’s that play smaller guards. He can easily put up 20/5/5 in a game whenever he likes.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Toronto Raptors

Philly has had a slow start to the season with a 1-3 record. One player who’s had an impressive starts to the season is the long time NBA veteran, James Harden. He’s averaging at least 26 points per game for the first time since 2019-20. We’ve seen Harden handle a lot of the scoring duties for the Sixers as other teams have been trying to take away Joel Embiid and making the offense run through different players.

For the Raptors, Pascal Siakam is quietly having his best NBA season yet. Siakam is averaging 26.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game. His previous season high for average was 22.9 points and 8.5 rebounds. Pascal has been the backbone for the Raptors this season and he’ll continue to carry his team for as long as he can.

Players with 100 PTS, 25 REB and 25 AST this season:

— James Harden
— Pascal Siakam

That’s it. pic.twitter.com/TJYuw0S7S2

— StatMuse (@statmuse) October 26, 2022

LA Lakers vs Denver Nuggets

The 0-3 Lakers will be on the road in Denver tonight to take on the Nuggets. Lebron is looking to turn his teams season around after the slow start. Sports media and NBA analysts have criticized the Lakers for the way the constructed their roster this season.

A player catching the most heat is former NBA MVP, Russell Westbrook who’s had an extremely slow start. He’s averaging just 10.3 points per game, which is by far the lowest of his career. Additionally, his rebounds (6.7) are the lowest they’ve been since the 2013-14 season (5.7).

Alex Caruso ($9M), KCP ($14M), and Kyle Kuzma ($13M) have a lower combined salary ($36M) than Russell Westbrook ($47M) this season pic.twitter.com/HOVFLIULC4

— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) October 25, 2022

Miami Heat vs Portland Trailblazers

Miami is surprisingly 1-4 to starts the season after being one of the two teams that battled in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. They’ve lost to the Bulls and Celtics and have split two games in a row vs the Raptors.

You’d expect Bam Adebayo to be the leading rebounder for the Heat, but it’s been Tyler Herro who’s averaging 8.8 rebounds and 21.0 points per game. Herro always plays with a chip on his shoulder.

The far and away best player for the Portland Trailblazers is NBA veteran, Damian Lillard, who’s averaging 33.3 points per game to start the season. CJ McCollum left the team in a trade to New Orleans last season, and that left Lillard to handle a large peice of the scoring duties for Portland. This is the second time in his career that he’s averaging 30 or more points per game.