Here we go with a look at what's happened thus far in the Association. Early days yet, but Usher calls it as he sees it.
Dallas Mavs
Impressive so far, seems to suit the up-tempo offense they've implemented. They look a lot deeper than last season.
Positives - Marion looks like he might get back to his Phoenix Suns form
Negatives - Lack of size. They can't win if Nowitzki is playing a lot of time at centre.
Houston Rockets Basically what was expected from them. There defence means there won't be many blow outs, but scoring will be major issue for them Positives - Trevor Ariza looking like a bargain, and Brooks is beginning to look like a top class point guard. Negatives - Not a lot so far. Their lack of size in the paint hasn't been exposed yet, but it will against teams like LA and Boston.
Memphis Grizzlies Zach Randolph hasn't killed anyone yet, so far so good. But where is Iverson's 15 shots going to come from when he returns?? Positives - Randolph's still scoring, The other Gasol is doing his thing, Gay's talking extension... Negatives - Hasheem Thabeet...
NO Hornets Haven't been convincing at all. Got thrashed by the Spurs, and struggled to beat the Kings. Could be a long season. Positives - After 2 games, Okafor has almost already eclipsed the total minutes Tyson Chandler played last season... Negatives - They have NO scoring threats in the back court other then CP3. Seriously, absolutely nothing.
SA Spurs Typical Spurs so far, nothing flash, but getting it done. Jefferson is getting A LOT of open shots feeding of Manu, Parker and Duncan, as he showed today Positives - Batman Ginobli is back and their second unit looks impressive so far. Negatives - Struggling in their first back to back game is not a good start.
Denver Nuggets Safe to say Carmelo has been the most impressive player during the first week. Can he sustain it for 82 games? Ty Lawson looks like he'll slowly reduce Anthony Carters minutes. Negatives - Struggling on the boards, in particular their offensive rebounding. Positives - They've been scoring with ease, and JR's still got to return. And Melo got hops...
Minnesota Timberwolves Poor start to the season so far, seem to be relying on Flynn too much too early. If Jefferson goes down again, this team could really suck. Positives - Damien Wilkins game winner got them on Sportscentre for what may end up being their only appearance for the season. Negatives - They needed a Damien Wilkins buzzer beater in order to beat the Nets...
Portland Trailblazers Very disappointing start. They lost their starting SF before the season began, their star recruit Dre seems lost, Greg Oden can't shoot free-throws... and Nate McMillan seems hell-bent on ruining Bayless. Positives - Webster and Oden looks healthy, with Oden quickly becoming a force on defence. Negatives - The point guard position is resembling musical chairs at the moment.
Oklahoma Thunder Undefeated, wow. Let's see how they go against a half-decent team though... Positives - Their ‘big three' Durant, Westbrook and Green are looking hot. Negatives - Krstics doing a admirable job so far, but they NEED a quality big man if they are going to challenge for playoffs.
Utah Jazz Hard to judge them so far. Deron's looking scary good, and Boozer is playing like the $13 million man he is. If AK47 gets healthy and finds some form, they could be hard to beat. Positives - Brewers giving them another scoring option, and Millsap and Boozer seem to co-exist alright... for now. Negatives - No depth at guard. Once Deron's off the court, they struggle big time.
GS Warriors So much individual talent on this team, yet they still stink. Curry/Ellis doesn't look like it's going to work, but "no way" on any of the other 12 shooting guards. If Ronny Turiaf is your main big man off the bench, then you got problems! Positives - Monta Ellis and Anthony Randolph. Negatives - Don Nelson.
LA Lakers Surprising loss at home to Dallas, but nothing to really worry about. If he doesn't get injured, Bynum actually looks like he might live up to the hype. And Odom is too good to come off the bench. Play him at point guard if necessary, but he should start! Negatives - Injury to Gasol could hamper him later in the season. And Artest hasn't gelled yet. Positives - This!!:
LA Clippers Why are they still so crap?? On paper, they have a very good side, but can't seem to translate it to the floor. Having Dunleavy doesn't help - why weren't B-Diddy and Camby playing down the stretch against Dallas? Positives - Not much. Camby and Kaman still standing and playing 30min+ a game is a good sign I guess. Negatives - Griffin's injury, B-Diddy is still fat, Thorntons struggling... and Mike Dunleavy is still coach.
Phoenix Suns Great start so far, just what they needed. Nash is back to his 20-dime days, Stoudemire hasn't even warmed up yet, Hill's still fighting the signs of aging, Fryes looking like a MIP candidate. Positives - Frye is their leading 3-point shooter so far...who'd have thought it! Negatives - Not a lot so far. Leaking points in the paint looks like it may be an issue again.
Sacramento Kings Tyreke Evans has started well, he and K-Mart could be a decent back court. And Thompson and Hawes have shown enough to suggest they can control the paint. So why are they so awful? I cannot see where their first win is going to come from. Positives - Evans, Thompson, Hawes... won't help them much this year, but a good core for the future. Negatives - Parker gave Evans a lesson today. He'll be good, but he's got a long way to go.
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Comments (1)
In response... written by with-malice,
November 02, 2009
- I agree on McMillan. Why the hell can't Bayless get court time? Sheesh... - As a Laker fan, I'm not particularly concerned... Gasol's a pretty big piece to be missing at this point. LA'll be fine. - Why are the Clip so pathetic? Dunleavy. He not only doesn't lift the players, he drags them down. - Everyone's high on the Spurs. And I get that if they finish top 4 and fit and healthy, then they're a real chance. Unfortunately (or... 'fortunately' given I'm a Lakers fan!) I think that given that roster, top 4 and fit/healthy are going to prove to be mutually exclusive. - The Warriors are screwed. A patient front office is necessary, and Nellie wields FAR too much power in that organisation. Small-ball's well and good, but it should be an option - not a necessity. - I think that Denver are just shy of becoming 'elite'. They're willing to spend, just not on anything (read "like Portland"). I actually like them better than San Antonio.
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The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
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- As a Laker fan, I'm not particularly concerned... Gasol's a pretty big piece to be missing at this point. LA'll be fine.
- Why are the Clip so pathetic? Dunleavy. He not only doesn't lift the players, he drags them down.
- Everyone's high on the Spurs. And I get that if they finish top 4 and fit and healthy, then they're a real chance. Unfortunately (or... 'fortunately' given I'm a Lakers fan!) I think that given that roster, top 4 and fit/healthy are going to prove to be mutually exclusive.
- The Warriors are screwed. A patient front office is necessary, and Nellie wields FAR too much power in that organisation. Small-ball's well and good, but it should be an option - not a necessity.
- I think that Denver are just shy of becoming 'elite'. They're willing to spend, just not on anything (read "like Portland"). I actually like them better than San Antonio.