The NBA experimented with a new scheduling format, and the NBA’s season opener was an all-day affair that started at 3 p.m. ET. The Celtics at Pistons, Sixers at Knicks, and Thunder at Spurs were all entertaining affairs that began to shed some light on some of the biggest questions of the year.

How would the Celtics fare after the loss of Jaylen Brown? Were people failing to give the Pistons enough credit after recording the best record in the East last year? How would LeBron James and Jaylen Brown fit on the Sixers? Who is the best team in the West? We don’t know the answers yet, but we have a better idea after Tuesday’s games.

MORE: SN experts predictions | Power Rankings

NBA opening day winners and losers

Winner: Paul George

The Celtics had a disastrous opener, blowing a 22-point lead in the third quarter and fumbling away the game in a 121-113 loss. George was the biggest bright spot though. He looked amazing in helping to build that lead up.

Boston was the perfect fit for George on paper, and he proved it in practice. Midway through the third quarter, he had already broken the franchise record for points in a debut with 31. He finished with a game-high 38, drilling 3’s, getting to the line, and finishing at the rim. 

George was excellent defensively as well, recording four steals in the first half and five for the game. Even if he plays half as well as he did in his debut, the Jaylen Brown trade will end up as a win for Boston. 

Loser: Jayson Tatum

Tatum, on the other hand, was mostly awful. The expectation was that he could fill into Brown’s role from last year. He did playmake for others, recording 11 assists on the day. His shot selection was mostly terrible though, and he was an ugly 6-of-23 from the field. 

Tatum missed all seven of his 3-pointers. More concerning was how ineffective he was at the rim. That marks a continuation from last season, where his rim attempts and percentages were down from his career marks.

It’s obviously only one game, but Tatum’s effectiveness at the rim post-Achilles surgery and Boston’s ability in general to generate paint touches are both worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses. 

Loser: Pistons offense in the first half

The Pistons looked rough in scoring only 45 points in the first half. Their poor spacing from last year looked unresolved. The Celtics were essentially ignoring Ausar Thompson any time he was on the perimeter. 

Detroit badly needed some shooting to emerge. That happened after halftime, where they completely flipped what was looking like a blowout loss into a gritty win. 

Winner: Pistons offense in the second half

Back when Javonte Green played for the Bulls, the great late announcer Stacey King would proudly proclaim that there were five Javontes on the floor. 

Green brought that same Chicago energy in his 18 minutes. And more importantly, he hit 5-of-8 from deep, swinging the game. The Pistons outscored the Celtics by an astounding 21 points while he was on the floor. Duncan Robinson got in on the fun later, chipping in five threes as well. 

That shooting flurry helped the Pistons go on a ridiculous 23-0 run in the second half, sealing an embarrassing loss for the Celtics and showing what they thought of prognosticators like myself putting them outside the top four of the East.

MORE: Win projections for every team in the Eastern Conference

Winner: LeBron James and Jaylen Brown

The Sixers need LeBron to fill a new role, where he will primarily be a facilitator. He had a well-balanced 14 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in his 34 minutes of play, leading the Sixers to a 106-100 win over the defending champion Knicks.

King James did exactly what was asked of him, throwing darts to teammates, getting out in transition for some easy baskets, and finishing on his downhill drives. He looked more comfortable in the second half as he found a rhythm. 

Brown had a good all-around game as well, scoring 19 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists. He had some good chemistry with LeBron, getting his first basket off a LeBron assist and setting LeBron up for a fun alley-oop. 

MORE: What we learned about LeBron James, new-look 76ers in win over Knicks

Loser: Sixers’ center rotation

Embiid shot just 4-of-15 for the night, settling mostly for jumpers that lacked touch. The rough shooting night was counteracted by relatively good defense.

That was spurred by a change at halftime where he asked to switch off Karl-Anthony Towns in favor of an easier assignment in Josh Hart.

There were certainly some moments where Embiid looked slow. There were others  though, such as his two blocks on Andre Drummond in the second half, where he was moving better than he had in years. 

Embiid’s backups were not as effective. Adem Bona logged 10 minutes, and Jabari Walker lasted for less than three before Nick Nurse pulled the plug. Both looked like liabilities, particularly against the size of Drummond. 

We all suspected the Sixers’ big man depth was going to be an issue, and that looks very true after the opener. They were able to overcome it on Tuesday, but that problem isn’t going away until some sort of roster change happens. 

Karl-Anthony Towns

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Loser: Karl-Anthony Towns

Towns came alive late, scoring 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. But his penchant for committing silly fouls came back, and he was limited to only 23 minutes in a game where Jalen Brunson’s shot wasn’t falling. 

Winner: Andre Drummond

There was some deep worry about how Drummond would fare as the primary backup behind Towns given how much Drummond fell off the last two seasons with the Sixers. 

Instead of being a weak point, Drummond looked like the best player on the floor during the first half. He was everywhere, leading the team in minutes and securing a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double by halftime. 

Drummond slowed down considerably in the second half, going just 1-of-5 and missing wildly on some easy bunnies. That’s been the Drummond experience, but the Knicks will happily take this overall performance every night. 

Winner: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Most media members have Victor Wembanyama as the favorite for MVP over the reigning two-time winner in SGA. That might be a bit premature. 

Gilgeous-Alexander showed why he was the best player in the world in the Thunder’s dominant 116-104 win over the Spurs. He was draining tough shot after tough shot, getting to the midrange at will and finding pockets where he could avoid Wemby’s long arms. 

The defense was there too. SGA had a Wemby-esque three steals and three impressive blocks for the game, and the Thunder’s defense was suffocating as a whole. 

Winner: Thunder depth, Aday Mara

There was some concern Oklahoma City would take a step back after losing Lu Dort, replacing him in the starting lineup with Cason Wallace, and also trading away Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins off the bench. 

Instead of having depth concerns, the Thunder looked like they had too many guys to play. Mark Daigneault went 11 players deep before garbage time hit. Wallace understood the assignment, introducing himself in the starting lineup as coming from “Clamps University” and playing solid defense on the night. Jared McCain hit seemingly every shot he took, scoring 20 off the bench. 

Aday Mara’s play deserved special attention. The Thunder drafted him in part to play the role of Wemby stopper, and the 7-foot-2 Spaniard played well in his 12 minutes. He had a monster rejection on Wemby that was one of the highlights of opening day. 

Loser: Victor Wembanyama

It wasn’t just Mara that was stopping Wemby. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein also did great work in holding him to his worst shooting night ever. Wemby shot a miserable 1-of-13 for the game, missing his first 12 shots. He did get to the line 12 times though, making 10. Worse than missing those shots, he looked hesitant when he had the ball, failing to make quick decisions. 

Wemby did contribute his usual good defense, recording a ridiculous six blocks including two against old nemesis Chet Holmgren. 

This game got away from the Spurs, thanks in part to red-hot shooting from deep for the Thunder. Wemby will play better, and this still looks like the matchup that will determine the West. 

NBA’S TOP 100 DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: 1-10 | 11-100

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