The NBA 2017-2018 season is officially underway as the first games of the season were played over the last two days.
The season started earlier than usual to avoid overexertion of players that have to play too many games back-to-back. In the past, teams have benched players to ensure they don’t hurt themselves. This presents a problem to fans who pay money to watch their favorite player. For instance, the Cavaliers opted to rest Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and LeBron James in a game against the Clippers last season. Fans chanted for their players to make an appearance to no avail and their unhappiness resonated to the league. Adam Silver thinks that extending the season by a week should help prevent injuries throughout the course of the season.
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However, some injuries cannot be prevented by rest. Gordon Hayward suffered a gruesome leg injury during the Celtics season opener against the Cavs. What was initially thought to be a leg break by the announcers has been diagnosed as a dislocated ankle and a fractured tibia. Hayward is expected to undergo surgery next week. Nikola Mirotic is also expected to be sidelined for the next 4 to 6 weeks after an altercation with his teammate, Bobby Portis, that sent him to the hospital. Mirotic has to go through the NBA concussion protocol before returning to the Bulls and subsequently, both Mirotic and Portis will be out for the Bulls’ first regular season game on Thursday.
There were several close games that came right down to the buzzer such as the Cavs that managed to pull out a 102-99 win at home. The same home-advantage didn’t work for Golden State as Kevin Durant’s buzzer beater got beat by the clock by milliseconds. The Rockets defeated the Warriors by one point, 122-121.
The media and broadcasting conglomerate, Time Warner, was by far the biggest winner last night. Ratings for the NBA season opener have been increasing over the past few years, and this opener proved no different. Last night’s ratings showed an increase of 46% from the 2016-2017 season opener.
All of this happened on or prior to day one of the NBA 2017-2018 season, and the season opener isn’t even finished yet. If day one is filled with this much action and excitement, one can only imagine what the remainder of the season will look like.
FanWide wants to make sure you don’t miss any of the excitement this season. Head to our website where you can find local watch parties and watch games with friends and fans alike!