Posted by HoopsAvenue on November 9, 2008 under Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, General NBA, San Antonio Spurs | 
We haven’t even gotten through the first two weeks yet and some things have happened that have taken even the most attentive NBA fans by surprise. Of course not everything has been a surprise. The Celtics and Lakers are in first place as expected, Dwight Howard and Lebron James continue to dominate, and Inside the NBA is as entertaining as ever, but this list takes a look at 5 things we didn’t see coming.
4. The Spurs are 1-4.
The Spurs are known for their slow starts, but this is ridiculous. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are both putting up good numbers, but the Spurs can’t seem to guard anybody. They’ve only held 2 of their opponents under 100, at 98 and 99 points. That’s not the defense this team is known for. Now with Parker joining Ginobili on the injured list, things are not looking good in the city of the Alamo.
3. Tony Parker dropped 55 on the Timberwolves.
The T-Wolves aren’t exactly the best competition in the world, but since when did Tony Parker become MJ dropping the double nickel? For the last 3 years this guy has averaged just under 19 points per game, like clockwork. 18.9, 18.6, 18.8. He even opened the season with 32 and his season low was 22 in his first four games. Unfortunately, Parker is out the next 4 weeks with an ankle sprain. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of pace he can keep up when he returns.
2. The Atlanta Hawks are undefeated.
Don’t look now, but the Hawks are undefeated at 5-0. It was only last year this team finally moved past joke status to become and up-and-coming team, and now they are tops in the East?!? Ok, so it is only 5 games and they aren’t going to be the #1 seed in all likelihood, but they are among select company with the Lakers being the only other undefeated team (as of tipoff Sunday night). The Hawks have won at New Orleans and Orlando, too, so it’s not like they are beating up on chumps. Don’t be surprised if this team is hosting an opening round playoff series.
1. Allen Iverson traded to Detroit for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheick Samb.
Ok, if you predicted this, you must be Nostradamus because there’s no way I could imagine Chauncey Billups not wearing a Pistons jersey in early November. Iverson being traded? Eh, stranger things have happened, but if you told me he was traded I would assume he had a hissy fit first and refused to play. That was not the case. This was simply a straight-up blockbuster trade the Pistons and Nuggets both felt would improve their team in one way or another, on the court and/or in the balance sheet. It doesn’t surprise me the Pistons made a move as they needed to do try something new if they want to dethrone the Celts, but trading Billups was shocking. He’s a clutch performer and has even earned the nickname “Big Shot”. You usually don’t want to give up your team leader and go-to guy, but sometimes you have to to get a guy like Iverson. Kudos to the Pistons and Nuggets for shocking us with a big deal that makes sense on both sides early in the season rather than making us wait until the trade deadline like most teams do.
Posted by HoopsAvenue on September 25, 2008 under General NBA, Houston Rockets, LA Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, San Antonio Spurs |
You may have seen the poll that we’ve been running lately asking who will win the Western Conference. Well, the results are in and they are a bit surprising. The Lakers managed to take home 44% of the vote, followed by the Rockets at 18%, Other at 15%, the Hornets and Spurs at 11%. I presume Other refers to teams like the Jazz, Mavs, Suns, and, of course, homers. Now, it’s not surprising that the Lakers win this poll given they are the defending Western Conference champions, but it is surprising by how much they won. They got more than twice as many votes as the 2nd-place Rockets. So, are they that good with Bynum or are the fans just a bit overly optimistic? Here’s how I rank the top four teams in the West:
1. Lakers - I do give the nod to L.A., but just barely. With a healthy Bynum and the duo of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, there’s no reason for the Lakers to not be competing for the trophy again this season. It won’t be so easy, though, because even though the Lakers should be better, their competition will also be better, and that brings us to #2.
2. Hornets - The Hornets got better this summer by bringing in James Posey from the world champion Celtics. Posey gives New Orleans that defensive stopper they’ll need to get far in the post-season. Chris Paul is still going to give other teams fits and now that the Hornets have some playoff experience, they’ve got a good shot to survive the West.
3. Rockets - The Rockets enter the season with a great upside, but also a great downside after their acquisition of Ron Artest. Artest, a gritty defender and third scorer, looks to be exactly what Houston needs, but he could bring chemistry problems as well. Not to mention, T-Mac and Yao will need to be healthy come playoff time.
4. Spurs - The Spurs are aging and, like the Rockets, they have some questions of their own. They’ll need Manu Ginobili to recover from his ankle injury and come back at full strength. The regular season is not San Antonio’s forte, but they do know how to win in May and June so don’t count them out.
Who do you think will win the West?
Also, check out the new poll which asks who will win the East!
Posted by HoopsAvenue on August 4, 2008 under General NBA, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs |
Ok, calm down, this trade has not happened and probably won’t, but I was thinking the other day about what the Spurs should do to get back to the Finals and I came up with this biggie. While it doesn’t seem to make sense that the Spurs should trade away their franchise player, I’m not sure that Tim Duncan is the best fit in San Antonio anymore (Spurs fans gasp here). He’s been slowing down the last few seasons and plays mostly in the half court making his own shots and kicking it out to perimeter shooters. But, the thing is, neither Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker is a spot up shooter. Brent Barry is gone as well. Bruce Bowen can still knock down shots as can Michael Finley, but they aren’t exactly young either. Maybe it’s time the Spurs make a move for the current and the future, and go all-in with a new, up-tempo style? If Gregg Popovich could accept the trade without having a heart attack, it makes a lot of sense.
The Suns, on the other hand, gave up some young, athletic talent in Shawn Marion to get the lumbering Shaquille O’Neal. Time is not exactly on Shaq’s side and how nice would it be to see him paired with his former nemesis? The Suns didn’t win a title with their up-tempo style and now that Shaq is there and D’antoni is gone, why not give up Amare and transform into a veteran, half-court team? Nash likes to run, but I’m sure he won’t exactly have a problem getting easy buckets for the big men in the halfcourt either. And, Shaq and Duncan still both command double teams so it’s be a shooter’s paradise in Phoenix. Not to mention, Phoenix would have the best interior defense in the league.
I went over to RealGM’s trade checker to see if the deal works and it doesn’t when you make the trade straight-up because of Timmy’s salary, but the Suns would just have to add one more player, perhaps their draft pick Robin Lopez.
So, what do you think? Do you want to see the run-and-gun Spurs vs. the boring Suns next season?
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