Golden State Warriors have opened the 2022/23 NBA pre-season with a very close 96 – 87 win against Washington Wizards at the Saitama Super Arena.
While Wizards opened up the score board with a 2-point lead in their first quarter, the rest of the game turned into a literal game of cat and mouse as Wizards chased Warriors up the scoreboard.
Warriors had to be on their toes because Wizards were not far behind them. One big slip and they could’ve easily lost this one.
Wiseman
He was Warriors Most Valuable Player in today’s game. He managed to score 20 points, with 8 Field Goals, 9 Rebounds and an assist. It’s a welcome return for the player as he missed the 2021/22 season because of a torn Meniscus.
Hachimura
Japanese player Hachimura, received a cheer from the local fans as he helped the Wizards carve out 13 points during his 25 minutes on the court.
NBA Pre-Season
So Warriors vs Wizards marks the start of the NBA Pre-Season this weekend.
Seeing as we’ve just had this exciting game, we thought why not give you a run down on everything you need to know about the Pre-Season, what to expect and whether it is makes a difference.
What is the Pre-Season?
Imagine it this way. We have the Regular Basketball season starting on October 19th and what better way for players to stretch those legs, play for a spot in the team and for new players to showcase their skills to coaches.
It also gives coaches a chance to show off new strategies and shake up their line ups.
How many games are there?
So each NBA team will play between 4 and 6 games during the Pre-Season but the number of games they play is all dependent on the schedule and their finishing position in the last season.
Depending on how far the team got in the NBA finals, will determine how many games they’ll play in the Pre-Season.
For the 2022/23 Pre-Season, there will be around 60 games played.
Are Stats important?
While important for reference and interesting for gauging performance, the stats built up by a player in the Pre-Season don’t really carry much weight into the Regular.
They don’t necessarily mean that a player or team is better going into the Regular Season however if a player is going to be awarded for their performance in the Regular seasons, judges can take into account how well they performed in Pre-Season.
Any different rules?
There are a couple of different rules in Pre-Season compared to Regular.
While in Regular season there’s a shot clock to avoid a team dragging out play, in Pre-Season, a team can take it’s time on offense.
Fouls and substitutions are also slightly different. It’s 1 foul and you’re out in Regular season, but in Pre-Season, you can get away with another before you’re booted off the court.
Also, we should expect referees to be more lenient about fouls. That means that players can get used to a whole bunch of new rules being tested in the Pre-Season, for the Regular.
Likewise, a coach can sub on more than one player per quarter of the match. Handy that!
Who’s for starters?
This is something that really depends on the coach and the nature of the game. Some coaches will generally want their players to get some playing time in before the regular season. That can be a few minutes or a quarter or two, again it depends on the coach.
Why risk an injury in the Pre-Season that could have consequences for the Regular eh?
