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With the NBA season already about 20% in the books, there are a few things that jump off the canvas about some teams.
First and foremost, those Texans from Big D are for real. Good teams, the elite, win on the road and Dallas started 7 and zero away from friendly confines.
Everybody knew they could score. They are averaging a league leading 104 points a game. With Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash they have 3 players of superstar quality.
The team’s glaring weakness last year in the playoffs was the defense and from Day One that was the issue that was addressed.
It’s paying off so far. Mavericks are giving up about 89 a contest. That is a far cry from what happened when they were eliminated by the Kings in May of last year. They gave up 564 points in 5 games.
Coach Nelson has the team believing in the zone. Shawn Bradley is clogging the middle and it helps to have a whirling dervish in Nash to pester everybody on the perimeter.
Dallas was 29 and 14 against the number on the road last year.
The surprise team early has to be the Detroit Pistons. Most expected the former Bad Boys to be in a rebuilding mode after trading their best player when Jerry Stackhouse was shipped to D.C. as Michael Jordan’s caddie.
The wise guys were wrong. Richard Hamilton has filled in very nicely thank you. He is leading the team in points at just over 20 a game, is shooting over 46% from the field and is just about automatic from the line.
The book on Hamilton was that he was weak but he is wiry strong and even when he does get knocked off kilter going to the hole, he still manages to get a decent look.
The sign of a promising team is one that wins despite not playing its best. Detroit did just that early in the season, then in a statement game to the hot Pacers, they responded by blowing them out in Indiana.
Ben Wallace is the closest thing to a human eraser since Marvin Webster. Cliff Robinson is the consummate pro and Jon Barry gives them a shooter and great energy off the pine.
Watch Mehmet Okur mature as the season goes on. He was the MVP of the Turkish team, the same one that Kings star Hedo Turkoglu was playing on. At 6-11, he bounds and can flat out shoot.
The soap opera known as the Portland Trail Blazers continues to sizzle. After a gritty win against the solid Sonics, it seems Damon Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace were still smokin’. On their way back to Portland, the pair got pulled over and were busted for pot. Stoudamire has been on the end of the bench for a week or so and he has to be trade bait.
The bad news for a suitor is that he is such a liability on the defensive end. Wallace is the best player on the team but he seems content to launch threes instead of taking the 230-pound frame down low and bang.
One thing you can’t say about Portland is they have no fight. Just ask Ruben Patterson. At the beginning of Thanksgiving week he was talking turkey to his wife. Unfortunately a felony domestic assault charge was the result. He was bailed out for a grand by his teammate Derek Anderson. Patterson’s wife, Shannon, denied the charges saying she was not assaulted.
Last year Patterson entered a modified guilty plea in Washington to attempted rape.
Patterson is a good player, could probably start on a half dozen teams in the league as a slasher and solid defender.
Don’t be shocked if all the turmoil galvanizes the Blazers. They are a deep talented team and they thrive on the ‘us against them’ mentality.
Last season, after a bad start, Portland went on a tear winning 12 of 15. They lost 3 of 4, then won a dozen straight.
On the first good run they covered 11 times. In the win streak, they covered 10 of 12.
PRE-CHRISTMAS WRAPPINGS
Games to watch in early December include the Yao Ming invasion of Sacramento. The Chinese giant has mad skills but he catches a tricky Vlade Divac and a versatile Chris Webber. Last year, the Kings were 30-18 against the number at home.
The Bucks have to travel to D.C. for an early Christmas look at Mr. Jordan. Bucks looked anemic in recent loss to the Suns with Ray Allen out because of an sprained ankle. They struggled to score. Coach Karl has been on the hot seat and has issues on and off the court and he spoke of rebuilding like he was already packing in the season. Leave it to Anthony Mason to stir things up. After a recent loss to Miami, he told ESPN: “We didn’t build on what we did against Boston. And we let a team come in and best us up. They’re going to hit. We seemed shocked that we got hit. It’s something you should know about any Riley team.”
Don’t be shocked if the Heat go cold against the Clippers in early December. They will be playing a fourth game on the road in last 5 appearances and they still have to go to the Northwest for a pair. Heat faced an in experienced Suns team 48 hours earlier but catch a Clippers squad that is more talented but inconsistent. Clips will try to run them out of Staples.
First and foremost, those Texans from Big D are for real. Good teams, the elite, win on the road and Dallas started 7 and zero away from friendly confines.
Everybody knew they could score. They are averaging a league leading 104 points a game. With Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash they have 3 players of superstar quality.
The team’s glaring weakness last year in the playoffs was the defense and from Day One that was the issue that was addressed.
It’s paying off so far. Mavericks are giving up about 89 a contest. That is a far cry from what happened when they were eliminated by the Kings in May of last year. They gave up 564 points in 5 games.
Coach Nelson has the team believing in the zone. Shawn Bradley is clogging the middle and it helps to have a whirling dervish in Nash to pester everybody on the perimeter.
Dallas was 29 and 14 against the number on the road last year.
The surprise team early has to be the Detroit Pistons. Most expected the former Bad Boys to be in a rebuilding mode after trading their best player when Jerry Stackhouse was shipped to D.C. as Michael Jordan’s caddie.
The wise guys were wrong. Richard Hamilton has filled in very nicely thank you. He is leading the team in points at just over 20 a game, is shooting over 46% from the field and is just about automatic from the line.
The book on Hamilton was that he was weak but he is wiry strong and even when he does get knocked off kilter going to the hole, he still manages to get a decent look.
The sign of a promising team is one that wins despite not playing its best. Detroit did just that early in the season, then in a statement game to the hot Pacers, they responded by blowing them out in Indiana.
Ben Wallace is the closest thing to a human eraser since Marvin Webster. Cliff Robinson is the consummate pro and Jon Barry gives them a shooter and great energy off the pine.
Watch Mehmet Okur mature as the season goes on. He was the MVP of the Turkish team, the same one that Kings star Hedo Turkoglu was playing on. At 6-11, he bounds and can flat out shoot.
The soap opera known as the Portland Trail Blazers continues to sizzle. After a gritty win against the solid Sonics, it seems Damon Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace were still smokin’. On their way back to Portland, the pair got pulled over and were busted for pot. Stoudamire has been on the end of the bench for a week or so and he has to be trade bait.
The bad news for a suitor is that he is such a liability on the defensive end. Wallace is the best player on the team but he seems content to launch threes instead of taking the 230-pound frame down low and bang.
One thing you can’t say about Portland is they have no fight. Just ask Ruben Patterson. At the beginning of Thanksgiving week he was talking turkey to his wife. Unfortunately a felony domestic assault charge was the result. He was bailed out for a grand by his teammate Derek Anderson. Patterson’s wife, Shannon, denied the charges saying she was not assaulted.
Last year Patterson entered a modified guilty plea in Washington to attempted rape.
Patterson is a good player, could probably start on a half dozen teams in the league as a slasher and solid defender.
Don’t be shocked if all the turmoil galvanizes the Blazers. They are a deep talented team and they thrive on the ‘us against them’ mentality.
Last season, after a bad start, Portland went on a tear winning 12 of 15. They lost 3 of 4, then won a dozen straight.
On the first good run they covered 11 times. In the win streak, they covered 10 of 12.
PRE-CHRISTMAS WRAPPINGS
Games to watch in early December include the Yao Ming invasion of Sacramento. The Chinese giant has mad skills but he catches a tricky Vlade Divac and a versatile Chris Webber. Last year, the Kings were 30-18 against the number at home.
The Bucks have to travel to D.C. for an early Christmas look at Mr. Jordan. Bucks looked anemic in recent loss to the Suns with Ray Allen out because of an sprained ankle. They struggled to score. Coach Karl has been on the hot seat and has issues on and off the court and he spoke of rebuilding like he was already packing in the season. Leave it to Anthony Mason to stir things up. After a recent loss to Miami, he told ESPN: “We didn’t build on what we did against Boston. And we let a team come in and best us up. They’re going to hit. We seemed shocked that we got hit. It’s something you should know about any Riley team.”
Don’t be shocked if the Heat go cold against the Clippers in early December. They will be playing a fourth game on the road in last 5 appearances and they still have to go to the Northwest for a pair. Heat faced an in experienced Suns team 48 hours earlier but catch a Clippers squad that is more talented but inconsistent. Clips will try to run them out of Staples.