This new feature will be your home for the week that was in the NBA every Sunday evening/Monday morning. We’ll cover the previous Sunday – Saturday. This first edition covers Tuesday – Saturday, as we had a short week to open the season. 

Team of the Week: Houston Rockets

The Rockets opened the year with a win at the defending champion Warriors. They then won on the road at Sacramento, before heading home to beat the Mavericks for a perfect 3-0 week. The last two games were won without Chris Paul, as he aggravated a sore knee against Golden State. James Harden carried the Rockets, as per usual, but Eric Gordon and Clint Capela had big weeks as well. Gordon averaged 22.3 PPG, while Capela went for a double-double of 15.7 PPG and 10.3 RPG.

Others receiving consideration: >Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic

The Grizzlies went 2-0 and the offense looked better than expected while complementing the always solid defense.

The Magic beat Miami on opening night and then won in Cleveland for the first time since 2012 and for the first time in 17 tries. The Magic also became only the second team to lead the Cavs in Cleveland by 37 or more points, joining the Golden State Warriors. Even the loss to the Nets sandwiched in can’t keep this from being a great week for Orlando.

Player of the Week: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Antetokounmpo averaged 38.3 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 5.0 APG and 2.7 SPG as the Milwaukee Bucks opened the year 2-1. He was particularly special down the stretch in a home victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, as he scored 44 points on 17-of-23 shooting from the field. For those of us who thought it might be a year early for The Greek Freak to be an MVP candidate, we were wrong.

Others receiving consideration: Anthony Davis/DeMarcus Cousins, Blake Griffin

The Pelicans big man tandem scored 65.5 PPG, grabbed 29.5 RPG and tallied 4.5 BPG. Now, about that wing group that “helped” the Pels to a 0-2 week…

Griffin averaged 29.0 PPG on 52.8 percent shooting, 10.0 RPG and 3.5 APG is a terrific start for Griffin, as the Clippers kicked off the post-CP3 era with a 2-0 start. 

Line of the Week: Nikola Vucevic at Brooklyn

The Magic may have lost at the Nets, but Vucevic kept them in the game. He scored 41 points on 17-of-22 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds, but his best stat was hitting 6-of-8 from behind the arc.

Others receiving consideration: 

Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. Portland Trail Blazers: 44 points on 17-of-23 from the field and eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Russell Westbrook vs. New York Knicks: Picked right up where he left off from last season, with his first triple-double of the year of 21/10/16.

Win of the Week: Orlando win at Cleveland

The Magic inexplicably rolled in Cleveland. As covered above, it broke a couple of long streaks against the Cavaliers. Orlando never trailed and led by as many as 37 points. Making it even more impressive was that it was the second night of a back-to-back with travel.

Others receiving consideration:

Houston Rockets win at Golden State Warriors: The Rockets crashed the Warriors ring party with a road victory.

Utah Jazz win vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Despite being without Rodney Hood, the Jazz used suffocating defense to shut down “OK3” and pick up a division win.

News of the Week: Injuries are doing their best to ruin the NBA season. In no particular order, the following players are already down with injuries, ranging from days to season ending:

Gordon Hayward, Marcus Smart, Jeremy Lin, Frank Ntilikina, half of the Bulls' roster, Derrick Rose, Cody Zeller, Hassan Whiteside, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton, Seth Curry, Dennis Smith Jr., Chris Paul, JaMychal Green, Kawhi Leonard, Rodney Hood.

You could probably cobble together a championship level roster from that group.