Around the NBA
Now that we're about 20 games into the season (give or take), it's time to take another look around the NBA.
Atlantic Division
I think the big surprise here is Philly, who is 11-11 so far. Iverson has been an incredible scorer this season, and Chris Webber is re-emerging as a premier player. We'll see if his knee can hold out all season.
New Jersey, with it's big trio of Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, and Richard Jefferson, are only 9-11, which is kind of disappointing given how good they should be.
New York, with the highest payroll in the league, is a miserable 6-14. Ouch. Quentin Richardson is having a horrible year to boot.
And poor Toronto is 4-17, despite having a team that's really not as bad as their record implies. Chris Bosh is emerging as a superstar. Despite the horrible record, they're only 6.5 games out of first place because the Atlantic division sucks balls.
Central Division
Detroit is 15-3, which probably isn't a surprise to anybody. They're good, and they're probably going to end up playing against the Spurs in the finals this year. They've picked up their offense a bit this year. The Kings play them tonight.
Milwaukee is 12-7, which is better than I think most people anticipated.
Cleveland, after getting off to a hot start is now 11-9, having lost 3 in a row. LeBron is playing like a madman, but his teammates aren't gelling well. Larry Hughes is somewhat of a disappointment this year.
Chicago, the worst team in this division, is 10-10, the same win percentage as the BEST team in the Atlantic division. Have I mentioned that the Atlantic division sucks balls?
Southeast Divison
On top, of course, is Miami, with a 12-10 record. Not as good as it could be, but Shaq has also missed most of those game. And he just came back. Look for Miami to improve. The big question here is how are they going to fit all of those big egos together on one team? The great thing is that Pat Riley is taking over as head coach, and they will play the Lakers on Christmas.
Charlotte has lost their last 8 games in a row. Ouch. Of course, Gerald Wallace hasn't been able to stay healthy, so that's not much of a surprise.
At the bottom of the division, Atlanta is 4-16. But they've won their last two in a row. Against San Antonio and Cleveland, no less. Just goes to show you that anybody can win on any given night in the NBA.
Northwest
Minnesota is off to a 12-8 start, which is better than I'd predicted they'd do. A lot of that has to do with Wally Sczerbiak (sp?) (who also gets the award for hardest to spell last name, narrowly beating out Joel Przybilla and Peja Stojakovic) who has been scoring a lot. Garnet looks like his knee might be bothering him, so we'll see if he can maintain.
The Nuggets, the darlings of the media coming into the season, who everybody predicted would be awesome this year, are 12-10. Camby is an absolute MONSTER most nights. But Kenyon Martin has been having serious knee trouble, and has been inconsistant at best. Carmelo has really started to shine in the last couple of games, and if he continues to do that, they'll be okay. Otherwise, who knows? Rumor has it they might trade Earl Boykins. Denver is the 8 seed in the playoffs right now.
Seattle is 9-11. Seattle is a great team with Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen are shooting well. And they stuck when they aren't.
Utah is 9-12, which is really surprising considering how many injuries they've had. Kirilenko was out for a bunch of games, Boozer has been out all season, Harpring is out again with a knee injury, etc... I'd expect them to be more like 5-16 with the roster they've had.
Portland is 6-14, which is better than they deserve. Especially now that Darius Miles is out. This team is my new pick for worst team in the Western division.
Southwest Division
San Antonio is 17-4. No surprise. Everybody know they're good.
Dallas is 15-6. This is a surprise. But Dallas is a deep, deep team with lots of scoring options and a superstar (Dirk Nowitski) to boot. I think they'll continue to do well.
Memphis is 13-7, also a surprise. Nobody thought they'd be this good.
New Orleans is 9-12, which is good for this team considering they have shitty players. They're playing with a lot of heart this year, and heart wins games.
Houston is 7-12, having won 3 in a row. Short answer: With McGrady they win, without him they lose.
Pacific Division
The biggest surprise has been the emergence of the Clippers at 14-7. With Elton Brand, Corey Magette, Cuttino Mobley, Chris Kaman, and Sam Cassell, nobody doubted they had the talent to do well. But this team has REALLY gelled this year and they're playing superbly. The clippers are the 2 seed in the playoffs right now. Lakers who?
Phoenix is 13-7, which is better than most people expected due to the injury to Amare Stoudamire. Of prime interest has been the emergence of Boris Diaw, who is a great player, and the well rounded contributions from all of their players. And let's not forget Nash.
Golden State is 13-8, which is slightly better than what I'd expected of them this year. Baron Davis has been healthy, and the team is deep. As I said before the year started, GS is going to the playoffs this year.
The Lakers are 11-10, better than they deserve. They've done this entirely on the strength of Kobe and Lamar Odom. And sometimes Smush Parker. I'm glad my mama didn't name me Smush. In any case, the Lakers are my pick as the team most expected to make the playoffs that won't. Lakers who?
After hitting .500 and then enduring a 5 game losing streak, Sacramento is 10-12. Boy have the Kings been up and down. They have arguably the most talented front court in the NBA, and inarguably the least talented bench in the NBA. When the starters score well, the Kings win. When they don't, they lose. That said, they've won 3 in a row, including 2 road games. Unfortunately, their next two games are against Detroit and San Antonio on the road, so the win streak is more than likely going to end soon. They also play Dallas and the Clippers within the next 7 games, so it's going to be tough for them to gain in the standings for a while -- as a result, I won't be panicing if things continue to look mediocre for a while. January is when their schedule gets easier (teamwise), although they do have a 6 game road trip against a lot of those teams. Even as the worst team in the Pacific Division, they're only 4.5 games out of first place. The Pacific is the tightest division in the NBA right now.
Atlantic Division
I think the big surprise here is Philly, who is 11-11 so far. Iverson has been an incredible scorer this season, and Chris Webber is re-emerging as a premier player. We'll see if his knee can hold out all season.
New Jersey, with it's big trio of Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, and Richard Jefferson, are only 9-11, which is kind of disappointing given how good they should be.
New York, with the highest payroll in the league, is a miserable 6-14. Ouch. Quentin Richardson is having a horrible year to boot.
And poor Toronto is 4-17, despite having a team that's really not as bad as their record implies. Chris Bosh is emerging as a superstar. Despite the horrible record, they're only 6.5 games out of first place because the Atlantic division sucks balls.
Central Division
Detroit is 15-3, which probably isn't a surprise to anybody. They're good, and they're probably going to end up playing against the Spurs in the finals this year. They've picked up their offense a bit this year. The Kings play them tonight.
Milwaukee is 12-7, which is better than I think most people anticipated.
Cleveland, after getting off to a hot start is now 11-9, having lost 3 in a row. LeBron is playing like a madman, but his teammates aren't gelling well. Larry Hughes is somewhat of a disappointment this year.
Chicago, the worst team in this division, is 10-10, the same win percentage as the BEST team in the Atlantic division. Have I mentioned that the Atlantic division sucks balls?
Southeast Divison
On top, of course, is Miami, with a 12-10 record. Not as good as it could be, but Shaq has also missed most of those game. And he just came back. Look for Miami to improve. The big question here is how are they going to fit all of those big egos together on one team? The great thing is that Pat Riley is taking over as head coach, and they will play the Lakers on Christmas.
Charlotte has lost their last 8 games in a row. Ouch. Of course, Gerald Wallace hasn't been able to stay healthy, so that's not much of a surprise.
At the bottom of the division, Atlanta is 4-16. But they've won their last two in a row. Against San Antonio and Cleveland, no less. Just goes to show you that anybody can win on any given night in the NBA.
Northwest
Minnesota is off to a 12-8 start, which is better than I'd predicted they'd do. A lot of that has to do with Wally Sczerbiak (sp?) (who also gets the award for hardest to spell last name, narrowly beating out Joel Przybilla and Peja Stojakovic) who has been scoring a lot. Garnet looks like his knee might be bothering him, so we'll see if he can maintain.
The Nuggets, the darlings of the media coming into the season, who everybody predicted would be awesome this year, are 12-10. Camby is an absolute MONSTER most nights. But Kenyon Martin has been having serious knee trouble, and has been inconsistant at best. Carmelo has really started to shine in the last couple of games, and if he continues to do that, they'll be okay. Otherwise, who knows? Rumor has it they might trade Earl Boykins. Denver is the 8 seed in the playoffs right now.
Seattle is 9-11. Seattle is a great team with Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen are shooting well. And they stuck when they aren't.
Utah is 9-12, which is really surprising considering how many injuries they've had. Kirilenko was out for a bunch of games, Boozer has been out all season, Harpring is out again with a knee injury, etc... I'd expect them to be more like 5-16 with the roster they've had.
Portland is 6-14, which is better than they deserve. Especially now that Darius Miles is out. This team is my new pick for worst team in the Western division.
Southwest Division
San Antonio is 17-4. No surprise. Everybody know they're good.
Dallas is 15-6. This is a surprise. But Dallas is a deep, deep team with lots of scoring options and a superstar (Dirk Nowitski) to boot. I think they'll continue to do well.
Memphis is 13-7, also a surprise. Nobody thought they'd be this good.
New Orleans is 9-12, which is good for this team considering they have shitty players. They're playing with a lot of heart this year, and heart wins games.
Houston is 7-12, having won 3 in a row. Short answer: With McGrady they win, without him they lose.
Pacific Division
The biggest surprise has been the emergence of the Clippers at 14-7. With Elton Brand, Corey Magette, Cuttino Mobley, Chris Kaman, and Sam Cassell, nobody doubted they had the talent to do well. But this team has REALLY gelled this year and they're playing superbly. The clippers are the 2 seed in the playoffs right now. Lakers who?
Phoenix is 13-7, which is better than most people expected due to the injury to Amare Stoudamire. Of prime interest has been the emergence of Boris Diaw, who is a great player, and the well rounded contributions from all of their players. And let's not forget Nash.
Golden State is 13-8, which is slightly better than what I'd expected of them this year. Baron Davis has been healthy, and the team is deep. As I said before the year started, GS is going to the playoffs this year.
The Lakers are 11-10, better than they deserve. They've done this entirely on the strength of Kobe and Lamar Odom. And sometimes Smush Parker. I'm glad my mama didn't name me Smush. In any case, the Lakers are my pick as the team most expected to make the playoffs that won't. Lakers who?
After hitting .500 and then enduring a 5 game losing streak, Sacramento is 10-12. Boy have the Kings been up and down. They have arguably the most talented front court in the NBA, and inarguably the least talented bench in the NBA. When the starters score well, the Kings win. When they don't, they lose. That said, they've won 3 in a row, including 2 road games. Unfortunately, their next two games are against Detroit and San Antonio on the road, so the win streak is more than likely going to end soon. They also play Dallas and the Clippers within the next 7 games, so it's going to be tough for them to gain in the standings for a while -- as a result, I won't be panicing if things continue to look mediocre for a while. January is when their schedule gets easier (teamwise), although they do have a 6 game road trip against a lot of those teams. Even as the worst team in the Pacific Division, they're only 4.5 games out of first place. The Pacific is the tightest division in the NBA right now.
posted by Tarindel @ 9:41 AM
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