HoopWatch

It’s NBA season once again, and the long wait is finally over!

The Miami Heat wanted to celebrate on opening night as they received their championship rings, but the Chicago Bulls had other plans. The Bulls trashed the defending NBA Champions, 108-66, at Miami’s home court, the American Airlines Arena. This is the worst loss in NBA history for defending champions on opening night.

Kirk Hinrich led the Bulls with 26 points, on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, including three from beyond the arc. Fellow guard Chris Duhon also had a big night, in lieu of Ben Gordon’s absence. He added 20 points. Ben Wallace capped his Chicago debut with 5 points and 11 rebounds.

Dwayne Wade led Miami with 25 points. Center Shaquille O’Neal had an anemic performance with just 7 points and 5 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns suffered their first defeat in the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. The Lakers overcame a 26-41 deficit at the end of the first quarter. Phoenix shot all of their first nine field goals of the game. The Suns even led 58-43 at halftime.

Behind the brilliance of All-Star forward Lamar Odom, and with the absence of Kobe Bryant due to knee surgery, the Lakers stormed back, using a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to three at the end of the third canto, 70-73. Los Angeles turned things around in the fourth, leading by as much as 15. The Lakers won 114-106.

Odom led all scorers with 34 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. Sophomore center Andrew Bynum added 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

Reserve guard Leandro Barbosa led the Suns with 30 points. Two-time MVP Steve Nash added 15 points and 13 assists. All-Star Shawn Marion scored 16 points as well.

In his debut, after missing the whole of last season (except for just three games), Amare Stoudemire scored 6 points and grabbed a single rebound in just 11 minutes.

It can best be noted that both Chicago and the L.A. Lakers bowed down to Miami and Phoenix in round one of last season’s playoffs. The Bulls bowed down in six games to the Heat, while the Lakers gave away a 3-1 advantage, loosing three straight games against the Suns.