Nobody Is Wearing the Right Jersey: NBA Preseason Check-In

My favorite thing about this NBA preseason is that half the stars in the league are wearing the wrong jersey.

The biggest shock is Giannis Antetokounmpo in a Miami Heat uniform. Thirteen seasons in Milwaukee, a title, two MVPs, and now he’s No. 7 in Miami next to Bam Adebayo, after the Heat sent Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., a rookie and a pile of picks to the Bucks on the eve of the draft. His debut lasted 14 minutes: 9 points on 3-of-3 shooting, 4 rebounds and 7 assists in a 129-105 win over Toronto in Québec City. (Yes, they won. I had to look it up. It doesn’t matter, and it’s still strange to see.)

LaMelo and Ant

Then there’s LaMelo Ball in Minnesota, and all my Minnesota people are hyping him up. The Wolves gave up Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, three pick swaps and three second-rounders to get him, so they’d better be hyped. His debut was fine: 11 points and 3 assists in 17 minutes of a win over the Bucks, plus a three-pointer that he and Anthony Edwards connected on.

Here’s what I’m interested in. Will Anthony Edwards let LaMelo be the primary ball handler, or will that not work out? The plan is to slide Edwards back to his natural shooting guard spot, Edwards says he’s thrilled, and the two of them were friends long before the trade. We’ll see if that holds up once the games count.

Philadelphia’s crowded backcourt (and frontcourt, and bench)

LeBron James is a 76er. He’s 41, he signed a two-year deal, and Philadelphia is his fourth NBA city. He sat out the preseason opener, and I figured we wouldn’t see him until opening night. Apparently not: he made his Sixers debut Thursday night in Brooklyn, and it was a quiet one. Ten points, five assists, one made field goal, 8-for-8 at the line, and he was done at halftime. The Nets won 114-108. Tyrese Maxey had 14, and Joel Embiid had six points and eight turnovers (preseason, remember).

The guy I’m more interested in is Jaylen Brown. I think he is one of the most underrated players in the NBA, and the Celtics got fleeced. Boston sent a Finals MVP who was the league’s fourth-leading scorer last season to Philadelphia for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-rounders. Brown’s Sixers debut: 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting in one half of a 120-97 win over the Knicks, with LeBron, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey all sitting.

Which brings up the obvious problem: there are a lot of people to share the ball with over there. LeBron, Brown, Embiid, Maxey, VJ Edgecombe. It’ll be interesting to see who gets off to a strong start.

The MVP race

This is the season to look for Victor Wembanyama to break out and be the MVP. It’s him against Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the league did us a favor: Shai’s Thunder visit Wemby’s Spurs on opening night, Oct. 20.

My dark horses are the two guys in new spots. Giannis has a real co-star in Bam Adebayo and a fresh start. Jaylen Brown finally gets to be the guy somewhere, although see the paragraph above about how many guys there are in Philadelphia.

What the preseason actually tells you

Honestly, it’s hard to see these games meaning anything of true value besides how the rookies and the second- and third-year players look. Once you get past that, you kind of know what you’ve got. The only other thing worth watching is whether the new groups gel, which is a big deal this year in Miami, Minnesota and Philadelphia.

Same goes for the shooting numbers. Nobody is up to game speed yet. Everybody’s tired, and tired legs mean bad shooting, so it’s hard to put any real stock in a preseason three-point percentage. It’s still worth keeping an eye on, though, because the teams that can shoot the three well are going to be dangerous.

Opening night is Oct. 20, 12 days from now. That’s when the new jerseys start to count.