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Los Angeles Lakers – Easy Win Doesn’t Mean Much
When it’s too easy, you can’t take too much out of it. The Los Angeles Lakers won their first game of the season, taking off tons of pressure from everyone’s shoulders; from Mike Brown to Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. The weak, surprisingly soft Detroit Pistons were exactly what the doctor ordered.
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Atlanta Hawks – Al Horford Too Much for Thunder
Even without Josh Smith, fourth quarter comebacks for a looked down upon version of the Atlanta Hawks are possible against one of the best teams in the NBA. Al Horford was the rock to rely on, Louis Williams was the surprising guy that got hot at exactly the right moment.
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San Antonio Spurs – Tony Parker & Tim Duncan Off to a Special Start
Is anyone surprised that Tony Parker is doing this good (20.3 points, 9 assists) early in the season? Probably not. He’s been the best player for the San Antonio Spurs for a few years now. But Tim Duncan? At 36, you’d expect the greatest power forward of all time to take it easier in the regular season, but he’s off to a great start as well, averaging 21 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks per game.
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Miami Heat – Chris Bosh Can Carry the Load Sometimes
Never forget the guy who got you there. Ray Allen hit his first game winner for the Miami Heat with a corner three and six seconds left on the clock, but it was Chris Bosh scoring 40 points on one of the biggest nights of his career that took care of business in the 119-116 win over the Denver Nuggets.
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Los Angeles Lakers – Kobe Bryant Can’t Change
It’s too strong. The will to win takes over any rational thought of trying to work through the process of making the new Princeton offense work, even at the cost of an 0-3 start. Kobe Bryant had one of his “F^%& everyone, I’m doing this on my own” moments, leading to another Los Angeles Lakers loss and more calls to push the imaginary panic button.
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Los Angeles Clippers – Chris Paul Has His Own Kind of Offense
There’s been so much talk about the offensive and defensive problems of the usual golden boys of the city, but at the current moment, the Los Angeles Clippers are the best team in the city, keeping their climb in ability and success from last season, led by the best point guard in the NBA, Chris Paul.
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Miami Heat – Small Ball Doesn’t Always Work
All summer it’s been talked about how the Miami Heat are going to fully make the transition to small ball, leaving true center off the court and using Chris Bosh as their center and LeBron James as their power-point-forward. It worked great against the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs, so why shouldn’t it keep on clicking?
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New York Knicks – Carmelo Anthony and the Hot Shooters
It simply had to be this way for the New York Knicks, playing in the Madison Square Garden against the NBA champions, with the numbers of victims from Hurricane Sandy’s wrath keep accumulating Carmelo Anthony spoke before the game about coming together, and backed up every single word with a great game, full of leadership some suggest Anthony lacked in the past.
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Los Angeles Lakers – Kobe Bryant Can’t Be Surprised With Criticism
The Los Angeles Lakers keep talking about patience, keep asking for it. But when a team signs the best Center in the NBA (Dwight Howard), a two time MVP (Steve Nash) and adding them to one of the greatest players of all time (Kobe Bryant) and still one of the best big men in the league (Pau Gasol), they can’t be surprised with some overreaction from the media after their 0-2 start.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Russell Westbrook Ruining it for Kevin Durant
Somewhat of a celebration for Kevin Durant, reaching the 10,000 career point mark at a younger age than anyone else but LeBron james, wasn’t going to happen. The Oklahoma City Thunder blew a win against the San Antonio Spurs, losing to a buzzer beater by Tony Parker who should have been guarded by Russell Westbrook, who was nowhere to be found.