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Miami Heat – When the Defense Does all the Work
This is how the Miami Heat want to be known as. A team that wins through defense first. Obviously, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen are going to get most of the praise for their stat sheets and the points they score, but the work they do on defense is usually the foundation for the team’s success.
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Los Angeles Lakers Not Figuring it Out
Another game, another loss. The Los Angeles Lakers version 2012-2013, one of the more megalomaniac projects in recent years the NBA has seen, are simply not taking off the ground. They’re now 1-4, with Kobe Bryant growing frustrated, Dwight Howard not adding the kind of defense he was expected to and Mike Brown taking most of the heat.
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Indiana Pacers – Paul George Isn’t Danny Granger Just Yet
I remember reading a few posts last season around the web about how the Indiana Pacers will benefit from trading Danny Granger, already on the decline according to them, and letting Paul George take over his roles, being the bigger potential and the future of the team. Now Danny Granger is out for three months, and it’s really up to George to try and make up for all the lost points and more.
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Denver Nuggets – Andre Iguodala Finally Winning
It’s hard to put a finger on who really made the difference for the Denver Nuggets as they won their first game of the season. Maybe it was the fact that they finally got to play in front of their home crowd, in their new Canaries-yellow jerseys. Maybe it was just Andre Iguodala finally doing what he was brought over for – Defense, an unknown word and discipline recently for the Nuggets.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook Get Help
The real help for Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will be when Scott Brooks and his coaching staff starts drawing up plays that don’t involve isolation and simple screens that are easy for a defense to attack, but actually make the Oklahoma City Thunder look like a thinking team, instead of one that relies only on pure individual talent.
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Chicago Bulls – The Luol Deng They Need This Season
If there’s a season in which Luol Deng needs to play like an All-Star and produce the numbers you expect from one, it’s this one. Without Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls need more than just effort, hustle and defense to win and compete for the East. They need their talent players to be at their best, and Deng is the first name on that list.
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Miami Heat – LeBron James Taking it Easy Early On
Four games, three wins, the Miami Heat Should be pleased with some of what they’re seeing. Two new major players on the bench and the rest is pretty much the same, except for the defense which has been giving up 109 points per game. LeBron James, a bit wiser about what it takes to win an NBA title, isn’t working up much of a sweat.
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New York Knicks – Right now do not Have a Weakness
A small sampling pool of only three games doesn’t mean much, but the New York Knicks are impressive. They’ve scored at least 100 points in all three wins. They’ve won by at least 16 points three times, and they haven’t let anyone score more than 88 points on them. Not just Carmelo Anthony deserves praises. Everyone deserves it.
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Los Angeles Lakers – Kobe Bryant Not Close to Retirement
Remember this? The talk of Kobe Bryant waiting till his contract runs out in 2014 and then paving the way for LeBron James to sing for the Los Angeles Lakers? Maybe he just likes messing with everyone, but the Black Mamba is now saying that his plan is to go on till the age of 40.
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Russell Westbrook Needs Someone To Take the Ball Away From Him
One loss, two losses, home loss, it doesn’t matter. So early in the season, things are rarely what they turn out to be six months from now, in May. But Russell Westbrook is struggling once again, and maybe it has to do with the fact that the Oklahoma City Thunder don’t have James Harden anymore, or anyone who can be the main ball handler besides him.