NEW YORK — The NBA preseason has officially reached its second day, giving basketball fans the required sample size to determine which players are washed, which rookies are future superstars and which franchises should immediately begin rebuilding.
Two games are scheduled tonight, with Golden State facing the Clippers in Hawaii and Utah meeting Denver.
That should be plenty.
“Two quarters is usually enough,” one fictional league analyst said. “Three if you’re trying to be responsible.”
Fans spent the opening night carefully evaluating new rotations, offseason additions and players who had participated in approximately four real practices before reaching permanent conclusions about their careers.
A missed jumper is now concerning.
Three missed jumpers is a trend.
Five missed jumpers means somebody’s contract needs to be investigated.
The process will accelerate Monday when the Knicks face the 76ers, Minnesota plays Milwaukee and the Lakers meet Sacramento, providing three additional opportunities to decide that a new lineup either cannot possibly work or has already reinvented basketball.
Coaches have repeatedly reminded everyone that preseason games are primarily for conditioning, experimentation and evaluating roster combinations.
Fans have rejected this information.
By Tuesday morning, several bench players will have been declared future All-Stars, at least one veteran will be finished forever and somebody averaging 11 points in 17 minutes will enter the MVP conversation.
The regular season remains weeks away.
Fortunately, everyone already knows exactly what’s going to happen.
