Weekly Power Rankings: As of 11/5/2012

Pick and Pop Diaries Weekly Power Rankings(As of 11/5/2012)

(Team, Record, Last Week's Rank)

1.       Miami Heat 2-1 (1)

-While the Heat looked more than normal in their loss against the Knicks, the definitive wins

oover the Celtics and Ray Allen's game winner prove this team should be top dog for a while.

2.       San Antonio Spurs 3-0 (5)

-The Spurs might have looked the most complete within the NBA this season. An opening

night win over the Thunder proved that this team is going to be here for a while.

 (Kawhi Leonard is for real.)

3.       Oklahoma City Thunder 1-2 (3)

-The Thunder stay in the 3 spot, but they look vulnerable. Maybe Westbrook was the trade instead of Harden?

4.       Los Angeles Clippers 2-1 (6)

-The Clippers got the first punch in the Staples center rivalry. The question remains however, where do the minutes go when everyone is healthy?

5.       Boston Celtics 1-2 (4) 

-The Celtics are human. Especially their second unit. We will give them a pass this week on that their defense needs to gel with new guys, but your three bloggers are not patient with their hometown team.

6.       Los Angeles Lakers 1-2 (2)

-The Lakers lost two games, and lost Nash for around two weeks. While the win against Detroit was impressive, it doesn't solve any long term problems for this defense which needs to get better, and fast.

7.       Indiana Pacers 2-1 (8)

-The Pacers look good, but not great. They are being pushed by subpar teams, and need to take the next step or their destiny as the new Atlanta Hawks will become more and more real.

8.       Philadelphia 76ers 1-1 (10)

-The 76ers looked great against the Nuggets, and then not so great against the Knicks. This team though looks as though it's missing one piece to become a contender. Good thing that one piece could be Andrew Bynum.

9.       Memphis Grizzlies 1-1 (12)

-The Grizzlies are very happy to have their two big men healthy. Now it is just getting them to compliment one another, while also complimenting Rudy Gay.

10.   New York Knicks 2-0 (13)

-If the Spurs didn't go 3-0, the Knicks might have been the team over the weekend. Two wins to start the year for the first time in '99 make you forget about that "Lin" guy real quick.

(Jeremy who?)

11.   Brooklyn Nets 1-0 (9)

-The Nets honored Brooklyn in a great way with the pregame, but they need to be able to beat teams like the Raptors soundly to put themselves in the East’s elites minds.

12.   Denver Nuggets 0-3 (7)

-There is no hiding it: The Nuggets looked awful in their first week. While the schedule wasn’t necessarily easy, they don’t have games to give if they are going to keep up in the West.

13.   Houston Rockets 2-1 (27)

-Welcome home James Harden. Him and Lin made it seem as though they have been playing together for years, and the future in Houston doesn’t look so dim after all.

14.   Utah Jazz 1-2 (15)

-The Jazz may have started 1-2, but this team has a lot of promise. All of the big guys look good, and they could be even better if Gordon Hayward finds his stroke.

15.   Chicago Bulls 2-1 (11)

-The Bulls no longer have an identity on defense, and are lacking the leadership of Rose. While they came out 2-1, they haven’t shown any signs they can be successful against the top squads.

16.   Milwaukee Bucks 2-0 (19)

-The Bucks jump up after a convincing win over the Celtics, followed by Jennings’ game winner against Cleveland. Anytime you beat the favorite for the East’s 2 seed, and then your point guard outshines Kyrie Irving, it’s a good week.

 (Don't look now, but Brandon Jennings is shooting his way to a new contract.)

17.   Minnesota Timberwolves 1-1 (17)

-The T-Wolves don’t look awful. They are quick and can score in bunches. But everyone is just waiting to see who they are once Love and Rubio get back.

18.   Dallas Mavericks 2-1 (14)

-The Mavericks were high on your editors list, but not on Evan’s and Andrew’s. Why? They don’t think this group of veterans is going to last in the West. Until Dirk is back, the question of who scores the big shot does remain.

19.   Atlanta Hawks 1-1 (16)

-How about them Hawks? A big win over the Thunder shows that while they may not be strong defensively, boy can this team score.

20.   Portland Trailblazers 2-1 (20)

-The Trailblazers should be higher, but it’s tough when so many other teams overachieving as well. Lillard has proven to be the preseason hype thus far.

21.   Golden State Warriors 2-1 (19)

-The Warriors lost a big piece when Brandon Rush comes down. The question for where the bench scoring comes from becomes an even bigger question now.

22.   New Orleans Hornets 2-1 (21)

-Anthony Davis is all that was advertised, but this concussion takes away yet another scorer. Unfortunately, that was overshadowed by the he said-he said situation concerning Eric Gordon’s now famous knee.

23.   Cleveland Cavaliers 1-2 (28)

-Kyrie Irving is an amazing basketball player. That’s pretty much all we have to say here. Watch the Cavs for him.

24.   Toronto Raptors 1-2 (24)

-Kyle Lowry has brought a veteran/leadership presence to this team. The weekend was overshadowed though by money bags Derozan getting overpaid.

("I can't believe they are paying me this much to take these bad shots!")

25.   Detroit Pistons 0-3 (25)

-The Pistons need a scorer. Actually, they need a few scorers. Unfortunately, they have a bunch of guys who think they can score and don’t want to play defense. It’s not looking good in Detroit.

26.   Phoenix Suns 1-2 (22)

-The Suns simply have no identity. While they will win games this year, they may be the most boring and unimportant team in basketball.

27.   Sacramento Kings 0-3 (30)

-The Kings do have an identity. Unfortunately, it’s a bad one. They just can’t seem to get out of each other’s way on offense. DeMarcus Cousins is at least proving why he will get paid somewhere in the offseason.

28.   Orlando Magic 2-0 (26)

-While the Magic went 2-0, no one here is buying the hype. This team will finish lower than low when all is said and done.

29.   Washington Wizards 0-2 (23)

-Veteran presence? No more knuckleheads? It’s still all the same in Washington. Without a real point guard(A.J. Price doesn’t count), the Wiz are going to struggle.

30.   Charlotte Bobcats 1-1 (29)

-The Bobcats followed up their first win in 23 games with a 27 point loss. Seems to be par for the course in Charlotte.

See you tomorrow, but until next time....Your amazing NBA YouTube Clip

-Bford

Some Quick Thoughts on This Weekend's Games

 Here is a quick look after a great slate of games this weekend....


-The Celtics got their first win, but it wasn't pretty. The offense seemed very choppy after the original 15-2 run to start the game. What is definitely of notice, however, is that Paul Pierce may be as healthy and in as good of shape as he was in the Celt's 2008 title run.

-Indiana has now been pushed by Toronto, Charlotte, and Sacramento, arguably 3  out of the worst 10 teams in the league. If Indiana is to make the jump to an elite Eastern Conference team, they need to beat these teams soundly. Improving on their league worst 20.7 TO/game will help this.

-The Nets got their first win in the new Barclay's Center, which is nice pick me up for the city of New York right now. If they Nets can get 27 from Brook Lopez and 15 off the bench from C.J. Watson every game, look out.(Obviously this won't happen, but it has to make the Johnson/Williams combo feel good to know they won't have to put up a combined 60 every night.)

(The Nets got real classy real quick by paying homage to the Dodgers. Imagine trying to hit a curve off of Brook Lopez?)

- While Chris Bosh's 40 and Ray-Ray's 23 off the bench including the game winner are definitely notable, the bigger story might be the Nuggets 0-3 start. A favorite pick as the dark horse in the West, are the Nuggets simply going through a tough schedule or are there too many pieces?

-If the Bulls defense can't stop the Anthony Davis-less Hornets, they could be in trouble defensively. Robin Lopez and Jason Smith dominated them inside (combined 32PTS, 10-12 from the stripe), and the Hornet's guards had their way as well. This team is going to have trouble shutting down premier offenses without Rose.

-Unfortunately, it looks as though James Harden isn't going to average 40 a game. He still scored 24 however, and is proving every night this year thus far he is a top 15 scorer in the league. Meanwhile, Damian Lillard had another great game, and the rookie is quickly showing leadership ability within the Portland organization.

-Kyrie Irving(27PTS/7ASTS) and Anderson Varajeo(20PTS/17RBS) put in another great performance, but they ran into the Milwaukee Bucks buzzsaw named Mike Dunleavy. Yes, you read that correctly, Mike Dunleavy. When the Bucks are getting 29 from him off the bench to go along with 23 from Ellis, they should have no problem outscoring teams like the Cavaliers.

(These two are good, but they need help. Alot of help.)

-Dallas is going to be alot better than most people(including myself) originally thought. Matt Moore from CBS wrote a great piece about how good of a coach Rick Carlisle is after their win over the Laker's, and it is a thought most overlooked. Most of their roster are on one year contracts, and have something to play for. If Dirk comes back healthy, the Mavs are a team that a higher seed would not want t match up with in the playoffs.

-The Spurs look scary good at the moment. They are dishing out 26 assists per game, while only turning the ball over 15 times.(They are also forcing 16 TO's a game as well). Danny Green and Kwahi Leonard are once again proving they are unselfish players who are fitting perfectly into the Spurs system. What else is new, Spurs role players are buying into their system and they will most likely run off 55-60 wins once again.

-The 76ers showed their other side this weekend. While the Richardson injury didn't help(that now puts them without both of their "marquee" signings this summer), they showed how wildly inconsistent they can be. Your started small forward should never lead you in rebounds(Evan Turner, with 11). Spencer Hawes came back to earth as well, grabbing just 5 rebounds.

-The Magic are shooting the lights out. I don't think anyone predicted them to be playing this well early, even if their opponents haven't been playoff teams. Shooting 53% from three and 49% from the field overall most likely won't keep up, but they are at least proving that you cannot give Magic shooters open jumpers.

More to come today, including your weekly power rankings. Until then, however, your amazing NBA YouTube Clip.

-BFord

Awards Races- Week 1

As part of Friday's lineup, we are going to do a weekly ranking of the award races in the NBA.With the year just starting and only three games to look at, here is what I scribbled down Tuesday night before the games started. These will update week to week depending on how players are doing, and whether we think anyone should jump into the rankings.


Most Valuable Player
1. Lebron James, Miami Heat
2. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
4. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
5. Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves

-For the first time in many years, I don't see a reason to rank Kobe Bryant. Lebron James is the obvious choice here for number one. He is the best player in the world right now, and the Heat are completely built around him. Kevin Durant has a chance to prove how valuable he is now that Harden is gone. Another scoring title at least warrants a discussion. Paul and Rondo are the generals of their team, and the assist title will come down to them and Steve Nash. Their individual team's success and who wins that title could decide who finishes above one another. I originally had Kevin Love on this list, but his injury knocks him down. Still, if the Timberwolves make a playoff appearance, it will be because of Love.

Rookie of the Year
1. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets
2. Damian Lillard, Portland Trailblazers
3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats
4. Dion Waiters, Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons

-Davis looked nothing like a Rookie in his first start, and his time with the Olympic team obviously helped. He has to be the obvious number one choice. Lillard has had all the preseason hype however, and looked great in the preseason. I see him and MKD as the only challengers. Kidd-Gilchrist is an athletic freak, and shows all the makings of being a premier two way player in this league. The Bobcats soon will be counting on him to put up 20 a game and shut down the others team's scorer. Waiters and Drummond are a long way away in 4th or 5th, but both have alot of upside on bad teams.

Defensive Player Of the Year
1. Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers
2. Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies
3. Lebron James, Miami Heat
4. Andre Iguodala, Denver Nuggets
5. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets

-As long as Howard stays healthy, this is his award to lose. He will be the anchor of that Lakers defense, which well, hasn't been that great so far. Tony Allen never gets the respect he deserves, so we are going to give it to him here. He is arguably the best on-ball defender in the game. Lebron should always be in the category for his sheer athleticism, and the same goes for Iguodala. Simply put, when offenses plan around you, you are a good defender. I put Davis in the 5th spot because he is going to change the defensive culture of the Hornets. While stats are by no means indicative of who should when DPOY, he is going to put up big defensive numbers and should be in the conversation. 

Most Improved Player
1. Paul George, Indiana Pacers
2. Kwahi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
3. Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriots
4. Omar Asik, Houston Rockets
5. Eric Bledsoe, Los Angeles Clippers

-George and Leonard are at the top of their list because of the jump in minutes they are going to get this year. I don't think George is as good as everyone thinks he is going to be, but he is going to be much better than last year. Klay Thompson is also going to get starter minutes, and if Curry's ankles give out once again, well, someones going to have to score for Golden State. Asik is going to flourish in the Rocket's system. It is built around Harden and Lin, but he is going to be the third scorer. All of those points are going to come off put backs and second chance points. Bledsoe should get more minutes, and has shown to provide a great change of pace for the Clippers.

COY
1. Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls
2. Frank Vogel, Indiana Pacers
3. Avery Johnson, Brooklyn Nets
4. George Karl, Denver Nuggets
5. Monty Williams, New Orleans Hornets

If the Bulls make the playoffs and go anywhere with Rose for half the year(or more), Thibs deserves this award with the roster he'll be working with. The same could be said for Vogel, with Granger hurt as well. While Granger is not Rose, if the Pacers can get past the Heat or Celtics in the playoffs without him he should deserve some recognition. Johnson will get alot of press with the opening of Brooklyn, which could lead to some votes if he gets success. If Karl can get the Nuggets to the finals, he deserves this award. They have never been there. Monty Williams could have the biggest turnaround for a team, in which he deserves some recognition.

6th-
1. Ray Allen, Miami Heat
2. Louis Williams, Atlanta Hawks
3. Jason Terry, Boston Celtics
4. Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers
5. MarShawn Brooks, Brooklyn Nets

-If Ray Allen stays healthy, he deserves this award. He is going to score 15 plus in a Miami system. Pride of Atlanta Lou Williams has said before how excited he is to play for his hometown team. I think Lou more than lives up to his contract on a Hawks team that is going to surprise some people. Terry has to be on this list just because he has made a living come off the bench, and the same goes for Crawford. MarShawn Brooks could be the X-factor on this Nets team. He has the talent to be a starter on alot of teams, and should climb up these rankings.

We hope you had as much fun as we did with the first week of Pick and Pop. We will have some more great stuff for you tomorrow, and a live blog on one of Sunday's games! Until next time, here is your amazing NBA YouTube Clip!

-Bford

30 Thirsty Thursday Thoughts

Who is Thirsty? 

(DUNCAN IS THIRSTY!)

 As part of the Thursday rotation, we give you 30 quick points from the past week. With only two days to pull from, some of these are more on the "hypothetical" level.


1. The Celtics' defense needs to gel, specifically the 2nd unit. Because of all the new faces, don't expect to see the Celts in full mode until Christmas time.

2. The Nuggets are on the same page as the Celtics. For all the pregame hype that everyone(including myself) gave them, they have alot of gelling left to do. One thing was evident however, they are just as athletic as advertised. 

3. The Phoenix Suns' training is known around the NBA as one of the greatest in the league. I only say this because Steve Nash just suffered his first injury, albeit it a small one. It will be interesting to see how the health nut recovers with the Lakeshow staff.

4. Spencer Hawes is the new mayor of Philadelphia. Last night, I tweeted that someone needed to tell Spencer Hawes and his hair that they aren't all-stars. I was wrong about one thing, his hair is on an all-star level. While I don't think Hawes will be putting up 16/12/5 like numbers every night, if they get 65-75% of that from him coming off the bench when Bynum comes back, they can be scary good in a tough Atlantic Division.

5. The Clippers/Grizzlies rivalry is a real thing, however the Clippers have the upper hand thus far. Jamal Crawford had 29 off the bench last night, and Eric Bledsoe brings an unreal change of pace when he takes over for Chris Paul. The Randolph/Gasol combo may not be as effective as you think. They had a combined -25 in (+/-). 

6.  On the other side of the (+/-) scale, Jeremy Lin and James Harden combined for a +41. Not a bad start for the Western Conferences' newest backcourt.

(Just a couple of new best bros sharing a laugh. And a great first win.)

7. Anthony Davis is good. Like, real good. While he will have better stat lines than 21/9 by the time this year ends, Davis went 9-9 from the stripe and showed a real knowledge of switching on defense and closing open space. Between him and the leagues newest irrational confidence guy, Al-Farouq Aminu, the Hornets are fun to watch again.

8. The Bulls are going to be super boring until Derrick Rose gets back. Their win over the Kings was extremely underwhelming and sloppy. You are not going to beat many teams in the NBA going 2-9 from beyond the arc. Luckily for the Bulls, the Kings' 29 fouls turned into 33 free throws. ZzZzZzZ.

9. Taj Gibson was smart to resign with the Bulls. While they are not the team they were last year(see one above), they are his best chance to be on a playoff team. I don't see another contender offering him the money that the Bulls did(4 years, $38 mil.)

10. Jimmer Fredette is the next Adam Morrison, yet its less emotional. He'll be out of the league in three years. A pretty much DNP last night, where he didn't attempt a shot, I think is the beginning of the end for yet another good college/bad pro player. 

11. The Lakers should begin to panic. They have more team turnovers(39) than bench points(32) through 2 games. While it is an extremely small sample size, and unhappy Kobe is never a good thing.

12. Brandon Rush should start over Harrison Barnes right now in Golden State. Barnes looked a little overwhelmed by the moment, and Rush is an NBA player who closed fast last year. Golden State needs to get off to a fast start, and having Rush play starter minutes(14PTS in 24MINS) is the better option right now.

13. Phoenix is in big trouble. Having trouble scoring against a defense like Golden State doesn't speak well for you early. Shooting 4-21 and having your top scorer only score 17 doesn't help either.

14. The Raptors are finding new ways to ruin Canada's night. While Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valancuinas showed some great promise for the future, money bags DeMar Derozan and his new buddy Landry Fields were a combined 5-20 from the field.(Fields was 0-6, YUCK.) Also, their last second shot was putrid. How is a Bargnani fall away on the baseline your go to play coming out of preseason? Isn't this something you practice during the preseason? "What should we do if we need a bucket late?" "Ehh, well figure it out when it comes."

15. The Pacers are going to be fine without Danny Granger. If anything, this is a tryout for the Pacers to see if Paul George is the replacement everyone thinks he is. The shooting will come(7-15 for 14PTS), but you're not getting the 15REBS from Granger that you got from George last night.

16. Jae Crowder could be the still of the 2nd round. While the numbers aren't overwhelming(16PTS, 6REBS over two games), he has shown flashes of what Kenneth Faried does for the Nuggets. He's not going to be winning any awards, but Crowder is going to be fun to watch in Dirk's absence.

17. Everyone who was available to play in the Mavs/Jazz game got into the game. I don't have anything else here, it just doesn't happen alot in the NBA.

18. Damian Lillard is already my favorite player on my fantasy teams. Watching him play last night was flat out fun. He is also the only player to go for 20PTS /10ASTS(he actually got 23 and 11) in their first game besides Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas. Yup, pretty good company.

19. I haven't heard the word "flop" since the season started Tuesday night. Yes, it's a small sample size, but maybe the new rules are actually doing some good. Then again, Manu Ginobili was out with an injury last night.(HEYY-OO!)

20. More people need to go to NBA games in Halloween costumes. These guys made my night last night. I haven't laughed so hard at an NBA game since Dwight Howard went 3-14 from the FT line.(I've been doing alot of laughing lately.)

(These guys made me giggle last night.)

21. It was great to watch Tim Duncan have a nice flashback performance last night. 24PTS and 11REBS would be nice to get from every night, but it just doesn't seem like those games are going to be around as much. 

22. The Spurs should trade DeJuan Blair. There are many teams looking for a solid backup PF/C, and they could get either another piece or a solid draft pick from a suitor. He is too good to be sitting on a bench in this league where big men are at a shortage.

23. Who is Greg Smith? No seriously, who is he? I know he's the Rockets backup forward, but seriously, who is he?

24. Troy Murphy signed a one year deal with the Mavericks today. I remember two years ago he was the Celtics "big mid-season pickup". Yeah, that was a pretty depressing day.

25. If the Grizzlies are going to get anywhere, Michael Conley needs to be better. 7PTS, 5ASTS, and 6TO's in 34 minutes is not good for a starting PG on a playoff team. It's only one game, but he needs quite the rebound game.

26. Kenyon Martin hasn't been signed by a team yet, and is still available. He is not going to do much on the offensive side on the ball, but there are many more guys on NBA benches right now that are a worst five fouls. Maybe the Knicks go calling, is they have enough social security left.(KILLING TONIGHT!)

27. LeBron James is an unstoppable force. To have any chance at him, you need to hit him right at half, and then hit him again on the drive. Honestly, I would just foul him every time he drives and hope he hits just one free throw instead of both. I only put this at 27 because it's just so obvious. If he wanted too, he could easily average a triple double.

28. Adidas needs to calm down with the Derrick Rose commercials. We get it, he's injured. He's a great guy. He's a hard worker. But it's making me start to resent Derrick Rose. And I like Derrick Rose, but there are many other guys who came back from injury. Including Chris Paul. And 10,000 other athletes.

29. Doug Carlisle made a great coaching decision in his first two games. He started Brendan Wright over Eddy Curry. While this may seem small, Wright has proven to be solid while Curry is solid for a whole different reason.

30. Actually, Doug Collins has already made the best coaching decision of the year. He didn't play Kwame Brown.

Until next time, here is your awesome NBA YouTube Clip! 

-BFord 

Favorite NBA Blogs

If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants- Isaac Newton.

 Since we are new to the blogosphere, I figured it would be a good idea to give a shout out to our forefathers. With the success of the writers below it is apparent that there is a market for a blog such as ours. Without them; we would not be writing this. To this end, here is a list of some of my favorite NBA related sites. If you like what we do here make sure to check out all these sites.

NBA:
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/
http://hoopspeak.com/
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/
http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com/ (shout out to Matt Moore who was nice enough to follow us on Twitter)
http://www.sbnation.com/nba (Paul Flannery just started writing for this site, do yourself a favor and read anything he writes)
http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/celtics/
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/basketball/index.html (specifically read anything Howard Beck writes)
http://sheridanhoops.com
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/41577/sticking-point-why-ty-lawson-and-stephen-currys-new-deals-matter (anything that Zach Lowe writes for grantland will be gold)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/
http://blogs.thescore.com/tbj/
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nba/ (read anything Sam Amick writes)
http://www.basketballprospectus.com/
http://www.basketball-reference.com/ (not a blog but the best place to get NBA statistics on the web)

NBA Draft
http://www.draftexpress.com/
http://nbadraft.net/

Celtics (I'm from Boston so I had to give my team their own section)
http://www.celticsblog.com/
http://celticshub.com/
http://redsarmy.com/
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/
http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/celtics/

For those that are new to basketball and would like to know what a pick and pop is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pick_and_roll
http://www.ihoops.com/practice-time/shooting/Video--How-to-Pick-and-Pop.htm

Unlce Drew 2.0...Kyrie's still got the skills

Kyrie Irving Reprises his role as old-timer Uncle Drew in chapter 2 with appearences by Kevin Love and Bill Russell.  See link below:

And if you haven't seen it, chapter 1:

5 Things We Learned From Last Nights games

1. James Harden is a max player, deserving not only the 5 year, $80 million dollar contract he received earlier in the day, but also the opportunity to lead his own team as the number one option.  Last night he dismantled the Pistons with a Lebron-like line of 37 points, 12 Assists, 6 Rebounds, and 4 steals.  He accomplished this by being highly efficient from the floor, 14-25, and displaying his unselfish nature by sharing the rock.  While the Rockets aren't ready for the jump to title contender this year, I for one, cannot wait to see what James Harden and his beard accomplish this year.

2. Dwight Howard's back is fine.  While People may overreact to the Lakers 0-2 start, don't be fooled, this team will be in the mix at the end of the year.  a 33 point, 14 rebound performance by Howard will ease a lot of the concerns Laker fans had about his back.  Now let's see if it holds up for another 80 regular season games and the playoffs.

3.  Damian Lillard is scary good.  While his stat line may not jump out at you (23 points on 7-17 from the field to go along with 11 assists) it was clear to anyone watching that his speed and offensive prowess will be NBA weapons.  He has a ways to go defensively, but i think he has as good a shot as anyone at the Rookie of the Year award.  If you have a chance to watch him play, don't pass it up.  He was dominant on the collegiate level, and I believe he will have a strong rookie season and beyond. 

4. San Antonio is still the same team they've been for the past 3 seasons.  A slow methodical breakdown of their opponents with a highly efficient offensive output looks familiar.  While i don't believe they have the depth to truly compete this year, I wouldn't want to be a team to have to face them in crunch time.  Pop is the best coach in the game right now, his players play hard for him every night. 

5. Utah is a really fun team to watch.  While they might not stifle many opponents on defense, this team can score with anyone.  With scorers at every position, and especially scorers at the big man spots, this team can put up points in a hurry.  Watch out for Mo Williams and Paul Millsap this year, they are going to put up some great numbers.

Andy Lipson