NBA winners and losers: Giannis gets nothing from new Heat teammates; Anthony Edwards-LaMelo Ball duo thrives

If an opening night blowout loss to Minnesota was any indication, Giannis’ first season in Miami could be a bumpy one

If an opening night blowout loss to Minnesota was any indication, Giannis The responsible way to approach opening night is to remember that it's just one game out of 82. The lowly Bulls beat the 60-win Pistons last year, and the Jazz, who tanked so shamelessly later on that they were eventually fined for it, blew the doors off the Clippers. Weird things are going to happen. Destinies are determined in the spring, not in October. But we're human, and we come into opening night knowing we're seeing something new. It's one of 82, but it's the first of 82, and therefore perhaps the single most informative game out of those 82 about how we should expect the other 81 to go.

Wednesday's 11-game slate featured debuts for 22 of the 30 NBA teams, and inevitably, there have been standouts thus far. Here are the biggest winners and losers from NBA opening night. Minnesota's last two postseasons ended in distressingly similar ways: Anthony Edwards, with no suitable sidekick, trying and failing to will his way through doubles to lift an otherwise hapless half-court offense. Tim Connelly traded the team's jumbo identity for a new, more finesse-oriented theory of a team. The Timberwolves won't overwhelm opponents with size and defense anymore. The name of the game now is speed and shooting.