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    "headline": "Wembanyama’s 1-for-13 and Giannis’s 35 in Miami: what the NBA’s opening nights do and do not",
    "description": "The Knicks lost on banner night, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 and Kessler went 12-for-12; the odds behind Wembanyama's cold start show why one game is 1.2% of a season.",
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    "keywords": "Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA, New York Knicks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama",
    "articleBody": "Victor Wembanyama, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, made one of his 13 shots on opening night. Jared McCain of Oklahoma City is leading the NBA in field-goal percentage at 77.8%. Paul George tops the scoring chart at 38 points per game. All of that is true, and almost none of it will survive November. The 2026-27 season tipped off on Tuesday, October 20, with a tripleheader for the first time, and by Wednesday night most of the 30 teams had played once. The results produced instant arguments about contenders, collapses and stars. Here is the case for reading them carefully. The performances that set the conversation Thunder 116, Spurs 104 (Tuesday, San Antonio). In a rematch of last spring’s Western Conference finals, which the Spurs won in seven games, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 on 13-of-27 shooting and McCain hit 6 of 8 threes off the bench for 20. Wembanyama still finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks, but went 1-for-13 from the field and 0-for-4 from deep. His only basket was a dunk at the third-quarter buzzer. “I might be overthinking it,” he said afterward. “I don’t need to do more. I need to think less, probably.” 76ers 106, Knicks 100 (Tuesday, New York). The champions raised their banner and then lost at Madison Square Garden. Tyrese Maxey scored 28 and Jaylen Brown added 19 in his first game since his trade from Boston, while LeBron James opened his record 24th season with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Finals MVP Jalen Brunson scored 21 but needed 19 shots to do it. James’s move to Philadelphia has already produced off-court storylines, including his helicopter commute from New York. Timberwolves 131, Heat 106 (Wednesday, Miami). Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 35 on 13-of-19 shooting in his Heat debut before fouling out, and still lost by 25. Anthony Edwards made nine threes on his way to 45 points, and Minnesota won the three-point battle 63-24. Lakers 127, Warriors 105 (Wednesday, Los Angeles). Walker Kessler shot 12-for-12 in his first Lakers game, alongside 28 from Luka Dončić in three quarters. Why one game is a tiny sample Each team plays 82 regular-season games, so one night is about 1.2% of the schedule. Shooting numbers swing hardest because each game gives a player only 10 to 25 attempts. Wembanyama is the clearest example. Over 181 regular-season games he has made 48.4% of his shots. At that rate, 13 attempts should produce about six makes. Treating each shot as a separate 48.4% chance, the probability of going 1-for-13 or worse is roughly 0.24%, or about one game in 410. Across a long career, a night like that is rare but not shocking, and it says more about variance than about a decline from a player who reached the NBA Finals last season. The same arithmetic cuts the other way. McCain’s 77.8% and George’s 38 points are season-leading figures only because the season is one game old. Expect the leaderboards to look very different within two weeks. What the first week can tell us Some signals arrive early because they are about roles, not luck: Who gets the ball. Brown handing out six assists in his Philadelphia debut, Kessler catching lobs from Dončić, and Antetokounmpo taking 19 shots in Miami all show how coaches plan to use new pieces. Those patterns tend to hold even when the percentages wobble. Who is available. Golden State opened without Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porziņģis, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski. Absences shape the first month far more than one hot or cold shooting night. The contender debate. Supporters of the 76ers point to an opening win on the champions’ floor with three new rotation players contributing. Knicks backers can answer that their team shot 37% from the field and 33.3% from three and still lost by only six. Neither side has much evidence yet. The load-management argument returns Rest days for stars have become a regular-season flashpoint. Since 2023-24, players have needed at least 65 games, with 20 or more minutes credited in each, to be eligible for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA honors. The league has also fined teams for sitting healthy starters, including $500,000 for Utah and $100,000 for Indiana. Supporters of resting players say fresher bodies hold up better by April. Others warn it can leave players rusty, and the league itself worries about fans tuning out when stars sit. The debate has never been settled, and most teams still have 81 games in which to test it. The first real checkpoint is close. The NBA Cup group stage begins on October 30, and those games count toward the standings. Further reading Wikipedia: 2026-27 NBA season Wikipedia: Resting the starters Image: Pierre.berendes, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial Desk. How we work.",
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