The NBA preseason is in full flow and with some teams spending time in China and the United Arab Emirates, we’ve had games in North America on morning, afternoon and night.
You’re a real sicko if you’re doing standings watch in the preseason. This is the time to see if anyone’s added new wrinkles to their game, looks poised for a breakout or teams with new additions are jelling early.
Rookie Ace Bailey poured in 25 points during his season debut and Cade Cunningham looks like he might make yet another leap. Jaylen Brown looks ready to assume the mantle at least for a season while Kawhi Leonard looks relieved to focus on basketball.
So much has happened the first week of preseason with plenty of takes to go around. Here’s the best of what we’ve seen to lead us off:
Heat Starting Nikola Jovic But Kel’el Ware Is Thriving As A Reserve
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is always going to make decisions that warrant some magnifying. This season, it looks to be benching Kel’el Ware in favor of Nikola Jovic.
Both are very talented, no doubt, but Ware looked to have established good chemistry alongside Bam Adebayo in the front-court last season. Spoelstra has spoken on the importance of being “impactful” in the minutes his players are on the court, so perhaps he prefers Jovic right now for that reason.
Through three preseason outings, Jovic is averaging 7.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 19 minutes per game. Ware, on the other hand, has piled up 19.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and a steal in 22 minutes per game. Among Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins and Adebayo, Spoesltra is probably more concerned about maintaining offensive balance by prioritizing their touches.
This may also be a case of Spoelstra wanting some extra ball-handling in the starting lineup with Tyler Herro injured. Jovic is growing in stature as a point forward and offers more dynamism for the first unit with his ball-handling alongside guards Davion Mitchell and Powell to open the season.
Kel’el Ware today:
29 Points
12 Rebounds
2 Stocks
63 FG%Potential is through the roof pic.twitter.com/Ot4wkeSI9a
— Heat Clips 🎬 (@MiamiClip) October 9, 2025
Mitchell Robinson Is The Knicks’ Fifth Starter Until Further Notice
We’ve all known Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns will occupy four of the five starting spots when the New York Knicks open their 2025-26 season.
What has been up in the air is who new head coach Mike Brown would turn toward for the fifth spot. Josh Hart was the incumbent but Mitchell Robinson was also injured for the majority of last season.
Now healthy, it appears Robinson has taken control of the final starting role. Robinson was extremely impactful late last postseason against the Indiana Pacers, with the main drawback being his abysmal free-throw shooting.
His defensive impact has always been a huge plus for the Knicks and helps Towns in a big way, too.
Hart is currently nursing back spasms and recovering from illness. Looking at his role off the bench, his hustle and playmaking may be better suited as a reserve with a scorer like Jordan Clarkson now in the mix.
Bucks’ AJ Green Set For Breakout Campaign?
AJ Green has one of the more remarkable shot diets in the entire league. For his career, 637 of his 745 field goal attempts have been threes. If you’re breaking down the math, that’s just over 85 percent of his shot attempts coming beyond the arc.
There’s no escaping Green is a specialist. Through two preseason games, he leads Milwaukee in scoring, averaging 15.5 points and shooting 8-for-13 from three. That he’s doing this without Giannis Antetokounmpo on the floor also indicates some important growth.
Kevin Porter Jr. and Cole Anthony are currently the Bucks’ main playmakers, so expect Green’s looks to only get better once the two-time MVP returns.
To boot, Green is flashing just a bit more of his game as well. Teams clearly respect his 42.1 percent career clip from deep, so he’s learning to create opportunities for his teammates when defenses overcommit.
It certainly seems as though he’s supplanted Kyle Kuzma in the starting lineup. Soon, we’ll get to see what more comes with it.
AJ Green 10/9/25 pic.twitter.com/L3li49AARe
— @simplyballup (@SimplyAllSports) October 10, 2025
Playoff Jamal Murray Ready To Show Up In Regular Season?
We are still awaiting the day when Jamal Murray’s regular-season performances meet his playoff peak. It’s a peak few can showcase under the brightest lights and leaves us all wanting more. That Murray has never been an All-Star sums up the vast gap between the two versions.
Through two preseason games, Murray has looked bouncy and fresh, pouring in 29 points in 36 minutes. There is a fierceness to his drives, a zest to his pull-ups and an overall sharpness indicating he is ready to hit the ground running.
The Denver Nuggets are extremely motivated coming off a second-round, Game 7 loss to the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder. They’ve shored up the bench rotation with Bruce Brown Jr., Jonas Valanciunas and Tim Hardaway Jr. They also have a likely more reliable starter with Cameron Johnson in place of Michael Porter Jr.
Nikola Jokic will figure into the MVP conversation once again. If Murray can enter the All-Star chat for the first time, it could mean the Nuggets are one step closer getting back to the mountaintop.
Is Victor Oladipo Worth A Flier?
Don’t be too hard on yourself if you didn’t know Victor Oladipo is now playing for the Guangzhou Long-Lions.
The Long-Lions are currently playing host in China and played two games against the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers.
Oladipo piled up 20 points, five rebounds, three assists, five steals and a block against the Spurs and followed that up with 24 points, five assists, two steals and a block against the Clippers. If you’re looking for a showcase of some of that vintage athleticism, this alley-oop wasn’t too shabby:
OH MY VICTOR OLADIPO 😱 pic.twitter.com/8EyljhBKTY
— NBA (@NBA) October 10, 2025
It’s a real pity injuries took a toll on Oladipo’s career. The flashes he showed in these preseason games might be a sign he could handle some NBA minutes. Now, I’m not saying he’s ready to help a contender but there might be a team like his former Indiana Pacers — with all their current guard injury woes — that would do well to consider him.
At the very least, it’s a reminder of how good the NBA is that he currently doesn’t have a place in it and can still look this tantalizing.
All stats accurate prior to games played on Oct. 10.
