Some Suprises

It’s early in the season but so far there have been a few suprises.  A few of the teams picked to be contenders look pitiful and some perinially bad teams have suprised some people.  Eastern Conference favorites Miami, Detroit, and Chicago are a combined 9-13 with each team having only three wins. Miami has been playing without Shaq and have looked lost at times. Detroit looks like they are really going to miss Ben Wallace in the middle, and the new crack down on complaining to officials have hurt them more than any other team.  The Chicago Bulls, who made the most noise this offseason by signing Ben Wallace and drafting Tyrus Thomas, have clearly regressed.  The team lacks unity right now and will hae to learn to play together if they plan on winning a championship. In the Western Conference, 3 of last years playoff teams are in last in their divisions, the biggest suprise being the Pheonix Suns.  Sitting at 2-5 the Suns continue to play their fast pace style and lead the league in scoring but they have yet to play defense, they are giving up a league worst 108 points a game.  The Denver Nuggets have started 3-4 but the suprising thing is they have yet to win a game at home. Memphis has been playing without their superstar Pau Gasol because of an injury sustained at the World Championships and are a league worst 1-6. The Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, and New Orleans Hornets All sit near or at the top of their divisions and all have winning records.

Early Observations

After only a few games these are my observations:

Andrew Bynum of the Los Angelas Lakers may be poised to have a breakout year and could be the best young big man in the league.  Bynum had a good summer and preseason, but questioned still remained about what he would be able to do against real NBA talent. He seemed to answer those questions Tuesday night helping the Lakers in a come back win against the Phoenix Suns.  With Kwame Brown out for the first few weeks Bynum should see a lot of playing time and if the first game was any indication of what to expect, Brown will have to battle to gett his starting spot back.  Remember Bynum is only 19 years old so he will have his ups and downs this season but he looks as if he has a very bright future in the NBA.

The Knick released Jalen Rose earlier this week, and this is where I think the NBA needs to read “Money Ball” and take some notes.  NBA contracts are guarenteed, that means the Knicks are on the hook for over $17 million for his salary this year.  The Knicks roster is loaded with these kind of contracts and if they want to become a competitive team in the future they have to stop making these deals.

Its the first week of the season and already the Sonics have begun to threaten to move if the city of Seattle can not come to an agreement on a new arena.  The Sonics faithful have started their own website to keep their team in town

www.saveoursonics.org