Post by ianboyd on Jul 9, 2010 23:56:10 GMT -5
With the season officially kicking off, lets take a closer look at how some of our teams performed (or didn't perform).
Eastern Conference
Top Teams:
*Washington Bullets 6 3
*Cleveland Calavliers 4 3
*Miami Heat 5 3
*Boston Celtics 5 3
*New Jersey Nets 4 2
*New York Knicks 4 3
*Atlanta Hawks 2 2
*Detroit Pistons 4 4
Bottom Teams:
Indiana Pacers 3 3
Orlando Magic 3 4
Philadelphia 76ers 3 4
Toronto Raptors 4 5
Charlotte Eastern Conference Powerhouse Hornets 2 4
Chicago Bulls 2 5
Milwaukee Bucks 0 7
The Good
As of right now, the team to beat in the East appears to be the Nets. Not only are they a scoring threat behind the play of Iverson (31.5 ppg), they are a fantastic defensive team (5.8 blocks, 8.0 blocks per game) despite rarely trapping and pressing. As the season progresses, look for the Nets to continue being a threat.
The Bad
Clearly the biggest surprise is the performance of the Raptors, whom many pegged as the favorites for the title is off the a terrible start for the depth of their team.
However, this can be most likely attributed to a lack of coaching, as the coach up until this point has been merely allowing the players dictate the game, without having a real plan of attack or establish a defensive game plan.
Once the raptors adjust their coaching situation and determine some basic game strategies such as scoring options and a defensive game plan, they sound be fine.
The Ugly
The Milwaukee Bucks, where do we begin? How about their offense (or lack of), shooting an abysmal 35.6% and scoring only 77.0 points per game despite their coaching approach of playing at a fast pace, their leading scorer, Glenn Robinson shooting only a measly 38.8% despite the fact that most of his offense comes close to the rim. We thought they would be bad, but not this bad...
However, the glimmer of hope for the Bucks fans is that in spite of starting off the season with a 0 in the win column, their defense has been somewhat decent. Even though the coaching policy dictates almost no trapping, small forward Omar Cook manages to average 2.0 steals per game. With a coaching adjustment to include more trapping and pressing, their defense could (eventually) win them several games.
The West
Top Teams:
*Los Angeles Lakers 4 1
*Minnesota Fighting Kahns 6 4
*Utah Jazz 4 2
*Golden State Warriors 4 2
*Sacramento Kings 4 2
*Memphis Grizzlies 5 4
*Seattle Supersonics 3 2
*Phoenix Suns 4 3
Bottom Teams:
Los Angeles Clippers 2 2
Denver Nuggets 2 4
Dallas Mavericks 3 5
Houston Rockets 4 6
San Antonio Spurs 2 4
Portland Trailblazers 2 4
The Good
The absolute shocker of the start of this season has to be the Los Angeles Lakers, boasting a league best 4-1 record, led by the stellar play of their All Star PG Jason Kidd who averages 25.2 ppg (despite being the 2nd scoring option on his team), 12.6 apg (2nd in the league only to Damon Stoudamire's 12.8) and 7.4 rpg, a fantastic achievement taking into consideration his position and 6'4'' frame.
Behind the leadership of their MVP candidate Kidd, the Lakers have yet to lose a road game and outscore their opponents by an average of 9 points per game, they are the cream of the crop when talking about the elite teams of the league.
The Bad
The Dallas Mavericks are off to a bad start, considering how loaded the team was perceived to be during the preseason behind their vaunted "Big three" of Duncan, Allen and Jefferson. While Duncan and Allen have certainly performed up to their standards, young Richard Jefferson needs to step up his game and fast, no matter how young and inexperienced he might be, 6.3 points a game while being a top 2 round draft isn't going to cut it, especially if you are a starter and a top 3 scoring option.
The Ugly
Offensive possessions against the Minnesota Fighting Kahns. Risking everything and taking a gamble of building his team with a defensive mentality, GM David Kahn can rest easy, at least for now, knowing that his gamble of forfeiting offensively talented superstars have paid off.
Led by the perimeter defense by the league's steals leader Bruce Bowen (2.7) and one of the budding young defensive centers Brendan Haywood (2.3 bpg), the TWolves boasts the league's best defense, holding opponents to just 76.3 points per game. Despite the fact that there isn't a single player on the entire roster to average even more than 16 points per game, the Fighting Kahns debut the season at #2 in the Western Conference standings. Although deeper into the season this team will lose multiple games due to their lack of firepower, teams that has to play the Wolves are certainly aware that they will be in for a scrappy battle.
Eastern Conference
Top Teams:
*Washington Bullets 6 3
*Cleveland Calavliers 4 3
*Miami Heat 5 3
*Boston Celtics 5 3
*New Jersey Nets 4 2
*New York Knicks 4 3
*Atlanta Hawks 2 2
*Detroit Pistons 4 4
Bottom Teams:
Indiana Pacers 3 3
Orlando Magic 3 4
Philadelphia 76ers 3 4
Toronto Raptors 4 5
Charlotte Eastern Conference Powerhouse Hornets 2 4
Chicago Bulls 2 5
Milwaukee Bucks 0 7
The Good
As of right now, the team to beat in the East appears to be the Nets. Not only are they a scoring threat behind the play of Iverson (31.5 ppg), they are a fantastic defensive team (5.8 blocks, 8.0 blocks per game) despite rarely trapping and pressing. As the season progresses, look for the Nets to continue being a threat.
The Bad
Clearly the biggest surprise is the performance of the Raptors, whom many pegged as the favorites for the title is off the a terrible start for the depth of their team.
However, this can be most likely attributed to a lack of coaching, as the coach up until this point has been merely allowing the players dictate the game, without having a real plan of attack or establish a defensive game plan.
Once the raptors adjust their coaching situation and determine some basic game strategies such as scoring options and a defensive game plan, they sound be fine.
The Ugly
The Milwaukee Bucks, where do we begin? How about their offense (or lack of), shooting an abysmal 35.6% and scoring only 77.0 points per game despite their coaching approach of playing at a fast pace, their leading scorer, Glenn Robinson shooting only a measly 38.8% despite the fact that most of his offense comes close to the rim. We thought they would be bad, but not this bad...
However, the glimmer of hope for the Bucks fans is that in spite of starting off the season with a 0 in the win column, their defense has been somewhat decent. Even though the coaching policy dictates almost no trapping, small forward Omar Cook manages to average 2.0 steals per game. With a coaching adjustment to include more trapping and pressing, their defense could (eventually) win them several games.
The West
Top Teams:
*Los Angeles Lakers 4 1
*Minnesota Fighting Kahns 6 4
*Utah Jazz 4 2
*Golden State Warriors 4 2
*Sacramento Kings 4 2
*Memphis Grizzlies 5 4
*Seattle Supersonics 3 2
*Phoenix Suns 4 3
Bottom Teams:
Los Angeles Clippers 2 2
Denver Nuggets 2 4
Dallas Mavericks 3 5
Houston Rockets 4 6
San Antonio Spurs 2 4
Portland Trailblazers 2 4
The Good
The absolute shocker of the start of this season has to be the Los Angeles Lakers, boasting a league best 4-1 record, led by the stellar play of their All Star PG Jason Kidd who averages 25.2 ppg (despite being the 2nd scoring option on his team), 12.6 apg (2nd in the league only to Damon Stoudamire's 12.8) and 7.4 rpg, a fantastic achievement taking into consideration his position and 6'4'' frame.
Behind the leadership of their MVP candidate Kidd, the Lakers have yet to lose a road game and outscore their opponents by an average of 9 points per game, they are the cream of the crop when talking about the elite teams of the league.
The Bad
The Dallas Mavericks are off to a bad start, considering how loaded the team was perceived to be during the preseason behind their vaunted "Big three" of Duncan, Allen and Jefferson. While Duncan and Allen have certainly performed up to their standards, young Richard Jefferson needs to step up his game and fast, no matter how young and inexperienced he might be, 6.3 points a game while being a top 2 round draft isn't going to cut it, especially if you are a starter and a top 3 scoring option.
The Ugly
Offensive possessions against the Minnesota Fighting Kahns. Risking everything and taking a gamble of building his team with a defensive mentality, GM David Kahn can rest easy, at least for now, knowing that his gamble of forfeiting offensively talented superstars have paid off.
Led by the perimeter defense by the league's steals leader Bruce Bowen (2.7) and one of the budding young defensive centers Brendan Haywood (2.3 bpg), the TWolves boasts the league's best defense, holding opponents to just 76.3 points per game. Despite the fact that there isn't a single player on the entire roster to average even more than 16 points per game, the Fighting Kahns debut the season at #2 in the Western Conference standings. Although deeper into the season this team will lose multiple games due to their lack of firepower, teams that has to play the Wolves are certainly aware that they will be in for a scrappy battle.
