Below are my five takeaways from Tuesday's NBA season openers, including what's in store for Anthony Davis, the San Antonio Spurs, Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets.
1. Anthony Davis is going to have a big season.
We heard about it during the summer with how well he played during the FIBA World Cup. Judging from Tuesday's 101-84 win against Orlando, it's going to happen. He finished the game with 26 points, 17 rebounds - including 9 offensive boards - and nine blocked shots. The addition of Omer Asik is going to free Davis up to do his thing at both ends of the court. Sure, it was the Magic, but Davis is going to have a monster season.
2. San Antonio is still the team because Duncan, Parker and Ginobili don't age.
San Antonio opened their title defense with a narrow 101-100 win against a good Dallas Mavericks team. It was a slim victory, but the Spurs were also playing without finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. My takeaway: the Spurs haven't regressed at all, thanks to their Big Three seemingly being immune to Father Time. Duncan turned in a double-double, Parker led with 23 points - including a clutch shot down the stretch - and Ginobili scored 20 points off the bench. San Antonio is still the team to beat this year, not Cleveland.
3. Kobe Bryant is back.
All things considered, Bryant looked good. There's going to be some hiccups as he readjusts to game speed, but he still finished with a team-high 19 points in their 108-90 blowout loss to Houston. Bryant has a chip on his shoulder to prove all his doubters wrong, and being the only scoring option for Los Angeles, he's going to have a Kobe-like season with at least 25 points per game.
4. It's going to be a long season for the Lakers.
Bryant will be the only bright spot for the Lakers. Losing Julius Randle to a broken leg doesn't help things, and both Carlos Boozer and Nick Young -when he returns - are unreliable. Bryant is literally the only scoring option for Los Angeles, and their defense looked shaky. Bryant will have a great season, but the Lakers are headed to the lottery for a second straight year.
5. Houston is in trouble.
Yes, they blew out the Lakers. But that doesn't mean much. This Houston team has serious questions. For one, who's going to score besides James Harden? Dwight Howard isn't a scorer, and Trevor Ariza can shoot the 3 but his production will be down this season without a talented ball distributor. You can say Terrence Jones, but I don't see him putting up the numbers he put up against Los Angeles every night. Another question: Can you count on Houston's bench come playoffs?
