NBA Overreaction: Victor Wembunyama locked up for Rookie of the Year; LeBron James’ playing time plan will hurt Lakers

The NBA is finally back, and viewers have been treated to some great action in the opening days. The Western Conference’s four best teams square off on Tuesday, and the 24-team season debuts on Wednesday.

The natural tendency in a long season is to overreact to the first salvo. Instead of resisting the urge, I leaned into it.

Here are the most noteworthy things we learned in the first two days of the season.

NBA Position Rankings: Point Guard | Singapore | SF | PF | C

Victor Wembanyama beats Chet Holmgren, Scoot Henderson to secure Rookie of the Year award

Wembanyama’s debut was an eventful one. He was plagued by foul trouble and was inefficient in the first three quarters, scoring only 6 points.

But he took over the game in the fourth quarter, scoring nine points on two dunks and two jumpers. He also showed off his defensive prowess, blocking Kyrie Irving’s jumper early in the game. He ended up with solid numbers of 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.

Despite a so-so start, Wembanyama’s case for Rookie of the Year became even stronger after the first night of action. Henderson struggled, scoring 11 points and committing four turnovers, and Holmgren was pushed around by Bulls centers in his debut.

Andre Drummond manages Chet Holmgren. Pushing him down every screen gave him back-to-back NBA moments. pic.twitter.com/0i2wzg8MK4

— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) October 26, 2023

Dereck Lively II went head-to-head with Wembanyama and had perhaps the best debut of any rookie with a spectacular pass from Luka Doncic Ball scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Mavericks need better big man play, and Lively might be able to provide that for them this season.

Lakers will struggle with LeBron James on minutes limit

Entering his 21st season, James remained easily the Lakers’ best player in Tuesday’s 119-107 loss to the Nuggets. But Davon Hamm said he only played 29 minutes and that this will be his new normal this year.

With James’ limited playing time, it will be difficult for the Lakers to win. They were outscored by 19 points in his time off the bench.

D’Angelo Russell is showing the same issues with shot selection he had in the playoffs. Anthony Davis disappeared in the second half and scored zero points. Hachimura looks more like his Wizards self than the guy who lit up the postseason.

The Lakers are still a top-heavy team, which will give them a tough time in the playoffs, but their role players gave them little help in the opener. If Ham relies heavily on them during the regular season, it will be difficult for the Lakers to become a home-court advantage team in the playoffs.

Devin Booker ready to be Suns point guard

There was some consternation over the Suns’ need for a more traditional point guard after trading Chris Paul to the Warriors. Booker has taken on some of the responsibility in the playoffs, and in the Suns’ 108-104 victory over the Warriors, he proved he can do the job in the regular season, too.

Booker performed well personally in that opening game, scoring a game-high 32 points and dishing out 8 assists. He dominated at critical moments, scoring or assisting the team’s final 15 points.

Booker doesn’t get the credit he deserves as a passer. He made all the right reads in the game, passing a cross-court pass to an open Josh Okogie in the corner, hitting Eric Gordon for a dagger three-pointer and passing A jump pass to a diving Jusuf Nurkic completed the score. Layup.

Booker’s control of the game is reminiscent of Paul’s performance in the 2021 NBA Finals with the Suns. The team wasn’t even at full strength without Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant’s shooting performance was uncharacteristically poor.

None of this matters. The Suns are going to be very good with Booker leading the way.

Chris Paul comes off the bench and will have big game for Warriors

Paul’s debut was better than his numbers suggested. He made just 4 of 15 field goals, including 0 of 6 three-pointers. But he did get to the free throw line seven times, finishing with 14 points and nine assists.

Paul does a good job getting the Warriors into the game, finding open teammates and putting pressure on the rim with more drives than we’ve seen from him before. He limited the team’s turnovers, which was a huge problem throughout the Steve Kerr era.

Despite these positives, the Warriors lost the game because they couldn’t rebound. They gave up 17 offensive rebounds and allowed the Suns to score 27 second-chance points.

Many of those rebounds were obtained by taller players simply jumping over Paul and Stephen Curry. These two are too small to play together, especially since the Warriors are undersized at every other position.

Paul will fit in well with the Warriors, but they need more depth in the lineup. Draymond Green might be the odd man out when he returns.

According to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, Paul’s most important job will be as the second-unit playmaker. This is a huge problem area for the team and he will excel in that role.