Recap:

Ok folks; let’s get this thing off and running. Here are a few first impressions:

- Amir Johnson doesn’t look like he’s bulked up visually, but physically speaking he seems to be a bit stronger than last year.

- Samb makes Amir Johnson look like Ben Wallace. He also sat near the coaching staff on the bench and was pretty quiet, but didn’t really look like he didn’t fit with the rest of the guys.

- Mateen appears to have kept himself in awesome shape

- Maxiell doesn’t really seem to be any more defined than last year. I wonder if he’s been hitting the weights.

- The PA announcer is struggling…hard.

- The timekeeper needs to form a working relationship with the shot clock.

- Upon approaching Mike Abdenour, I got the “Oh wait, I don’t know you…ok, what do you want?” look. Fun. (See previous commentary about guys making you feel like a tool.)

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For all of us who couldn’t make it to Vegas, there’s good news: the online game recaps appear to be much better this year. Here are a few quick hits on the four games during Day 1:

Sacramento 90, Minnesota 83
A good debut for Randy Foye, with 23 points in a losing effort. Kevin Martin led the victors with 20, and Louis Amundsen chipped in 16. Ron Artest was a no-show, but the Kings expect to see him in Las Vegas for future games.

Houston 88, Portland 82
John Lucas tallied 22 and Houston got 20 each from Pat Carroll and Marquette sharpshooter Steve Novak (6-8 from 3 point land). Martell Webster was high man in defeat with 29 points. Brandon Roy had 12 points and 8 assists.

Denver 113, Dallas 85
The Mavs came up snake eyes in this one, trailing by as much as 30. MSU product Maurice Ager scored 17 in defeat, while Casey Jacobsen led the Nugz with 20.

Toronto 93, Washington 85
Number-one pick Andrea Bargnani looked good for the Raps, scoring 20 including 16 in the first half.

Other action
Former Piston Mike James was busy in the stands according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, “conducting face-to-face negotiations with the three teams chasing him: Houston, Dallas and Minnesota. After a meeting with Rockets officials, James could be seen in a far corner of the gym, engaged in an animated discussion with Mavericks owner (and fellow Pittsburgh native) Mark Cuban.”

If only Mike wasn’t so shy, eh? We’ll be back soon with more coverage of a distinctly Pistons flavor.