10 takeaways from NBA's first full night of games: Clear winner in battle of No. 1 picks

4. Wheels are coming off Atlanta Hawks bandwagon

With new additions Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker on board, the Hawks were a popular preseason sleeper pick in the Eastern Conference. They seemed sleepy in their 138-118 loss to the Toronto Raptors, where they let the Raptors put up 45 points in the third quarter. Despite the Raptors' 19 turnovers and only six three-pointers, they blew out the Hawks in Atlanta.

5. VJ Edgecombe had the most impressive rookie debut

The No. 1 and No. 2 picks faced off in Dallas, but No. 3 pick VJ Edgecombe was the rookie who lit it up Wednesday. Edgecombe scored 34 points, sank five three-pointers and committed only two turnovers as his Philadelphia 76ers downed the Boston Celtics, 117-116. No rookie has scored 30-plus points in their debut in the 21st century.

Tyrese Maxey scored 40, and the Sixers' young players are surging even if their veterans are still injured — Joel Embiid had four points on 1-for-9 shooting.

6. Detroit Pistons are missing their shooters

The Pistons lost 115-111 to the Chicago Bulls almost solely because they shot 7-of-24 from deep and missed four threes in the finals 39 seconds. Without Tim Hardaway Jr. (Denver Nuggets) and Malik Beasley (still a free agent after dealing with gambling allegations), the Pistons simply couldn't make outside shots — and replacements Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert went 1-of-8.

7. Magic's trade for Desmond Bane paying off early

Desmond Bane (23 points) shot 3-of-7 from deep for the three-point-challenged Orlando Magic. He also blocked two shots and moonlighted briefly as a point guard with three assists, including a transition dime to Paolo Banchero.

8. Double-big lineups are popular

After the Houston Rockets paired Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams in their opener, the Knicks started Karl-Anthony Towns alongside Ariel Hukporti, Anthony Davis started with Dereck Lively and the Spurs leaned on their "French Vanilla" lineup with Wembanyama playing with Luke Kornet. Small ball is out, big ball is in.

9. Kawhi Leonard still isn't showing up for work

After a summer of controversy over his lucrative, no-show endorsement deal with a Los Angeles Clippers sponsor, Kawhi Leonard was a game-low -25 in the Clippers' 129-108 loss to the Utah Jazz. The Jazz opened the game with a 43-point first quarter where they dunked six times. Eight of Leonard's points came in the second half, after the Clippers already trailed by 29.

10. "Greek Freak" started strong

This may be Giannis Antetokounmpo's last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, but he started with one of his best opening games in a 133-120 win over the Washington Wizards. Antetokounmpo (37 points, 14 rebounds) shot 16-of-26 in just 27 minutes, and when the Wizards got close in the fourth, he went on a personal 7-0 run to ice it.