The first full slate of games for the 2022-23 NBA season featured a couple of shocking results. Two of the league's top championship contenders suffered blowout losses, raising early questions about their preseason expectations.

The Brooklyn Nets were blown out in their home opener, losing 130-108 against the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday night. The Utah Jazz defeated the Denver Nuggets 123-102 in their season debut.

Brooklyn has championship expectations now that all three of its stars are finally healthy and eligible to play together. Wednesday's loss, however, might be a sign that the team will need time to gel.

In his first game in two seasons, Ben Simmons was held to four points, five rebounds and five assists. Kyrie Irving missed 13 of his 19 field-goal attempts for a 15-point night. Kevin Durant put up his usual impressive numbers, scoring 32 points on 21 shots.

It wasn't just the offensive struggles of Irving and Simmons that derailed the Nets. Brooklyn's defense, which was the team's biggest weakness last season, performed poorly. Zion Williamson was dominant with 25 points, almost all of which came in the paint. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting.

The Nets began the season as one of the few teams with better than 10/1 odds to win the championship.

The Pelicans are expected to be a playoff contender after pushing the Phoenix Suns to six games in the first round of the 2022 postseason. The Jazz are projected to be one of the league's worst teams, making their 21-point win over the Nuggets arguably the most confusing result of the night.

Back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 27 points and six assists. The returning Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. didn't provide Jokic with the help needed to pull out a victory.

Denver's second and third-best players combined for 27 points and just two assists. Murray hasn't played since April of 2021. Back problems kept Porter off the court for all but nine games a season ago.

The Nuggets' lackluster defensive effort might've been the most concerning part of the contest. Collin Sexton scored 20 points on just 12 field-goal attempts for the Jazz. Utah's roster is largely depleted, compared to last season. It's no secret that the team is tanking and hoping to get the No. 1 pick in next year's draft.

Denver entered the season opener with the fourth-best championship odds in the Western Conference.

Ben Simmons
Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons holds the ball during a pre-game shootaround.