by BASiC on Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:12 am
The McTen
By BASiC
1. About the Mavs
What about the Mavs? They started their season by winning 11 games straight. Then lost and won a few games and then..Dirk got injured. Their leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki was out for about 3 weeks. He missed nine games. The Mavs have a strong lineup and are one of the finals favorites but without Dirk they went 3-6 and lost their first place in the Western Conference. As soon as Dirk returned the Mavs won five straight before losing to the Hornets and Nuggets. Now..it seems to me that Dirk isn't only the leading scorer but he is the one that keeps this team running.
2. Denver - Chicago trade
For those who don't remember, on December 5th the Bulls traded Mike Sweetney and Malik Allen to the Nuggets for Yakhouba Diawara, Reggie Evans and Eduardo Najera. At first it was hard to say who benefited most from this trade. Shore, Denver got Sweetney who is probably the best player of the five and they also got Allen but they gave three players in return. It seemed like a very even trade.
Anyway, Denver was 3rd in the West before the trade and they are now 2nd. Although they moved up only one spot, they went 14-2 in December! Oh yeah..they did sign Lamond Murray about the same time the trade took place and Murry is averaging 6 points per game. And although Sweetney is averaging less than he did in Chicago despite getting more time on the court, I think the Nuggets did benefit from this trade.
And off course the Bulls..They were 7-10 before the trade and 10-5 after it. They rose from 10th in the East to 5th! And despite the fact that Evans' and Najera's combined averages are about the same as Sweetney's average, the Bulls have improved. So I guess both teams benefited from this trade.
3. Golden States' success
The Warriors trade with the Pacers worked well for them. They went from a lottery-team to a playoff team. They were 4th in the West after November and are 6th at the moment. They have fallen two spots because S. Jackson is injured.
A. Harrington is averaging 14.6 points and 8.2 rebounds for the Warriors. Injured Jackson is averaging 7 points. The Warriors already have two superstar players in Jason Richardson and Baron Davis. All they needed was some support. Golden State is a serious force to be reckoned with.
4. LA Lakers moving up
The Lakers are on fire. They are currently on an 11-0 run and have already tied Mavs' winning streak. One more and they will set the record for the season. They have beat strong teams on the way - 92:86 against the Mavs, 110:80 against the Nets, 104:84 against the Heat and 92:85 versus the Magic. And those have all been road games.
But how did they manage to do it you ask?! Well Bryant is averaging 25.5 points, 5.3 boards, 5.8 assists and 2 steals and Lamar Odom has 16.7 points and 10.9 rebounds. But the player who has stunned everybody is Luke Walton. His averages are 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists.
The Lakers were 7th after November and have climbed to 4th now. They have the same record with Dallas and Phoenix. The top teams in the West are very strong and Lakers have proven that so are they.
5. Minnesotas' fall
Poor T-Wolves fans. Minnesota was 5th in the Western Conference after November but have fallen to 12th. They had a 0-9 losing streak in December. And they lost to Philly and Sonics who are the two weakest teams in the league right now. No injuries or anything. Just poor team performance. KG averages 20 and 12, while Mike James has 24 points per game and Ricky Davis adds 19 but it's the overall team performance that matters and right now they don't have any.
6. New Orleans' rise
New Orleans have come from 13th in West to 7th. They had an 8-0 run in December and are currently a playoff team. Peja Stojacovic leads the team with 20.2 ppg and grabs about 6 boards. Chris Paul is second in scoring with 17.7 and dishes out 8.4 assists every game - that's good enough to be third in the league in assists per game. T. Chandler had 13 and 11 and Desmon Mason scores 12 ppg but D. West is a real surprise. He is averaging 16.6 points and 10.6 rebounds plus 1.59 blocks per game.
7. Bobcats going down?
They were 8th in the East a month ago. Now they're 14th. They went 3-11 in December, despite Elton Bland is putting up MVP numbers and Adam Morrison winning back-to-back Rookie of the East monthly awards. Again - it's the overall team effort that matters. The Bobcats have a problem with assists, they don't have any. They have two players who are averaging more than 1.5 assists per game (Felton and McInnis). They had a playoff spot but couldn't hold on t it - Shame on you!
8. Hawks in the playoffs?
Coming up from 14th in East to 9th at the moment. It seems that Joe Johnson is dragging his team into the playoffs. The season is far from over and they are still a bit short from the 8th seed but still - wow. J.J is averaging 29 points per game and yes, he is the leading scorer in the NBA at the moment. But Tyrone Lue broke his nose on the 31st of December (not a good way to celebrate the New Year!) and will be out for 2 weeks. So let's see how the Hawks will do without his 11 points per game.
9. The deal with O'Neal
Jermaine O'Neal was voted Player Of the East in November and in December. He is averaging 27.6 points, 11.6 boards and 2.16 blocks per game. But why are the Pacers still 12th in the East? It seems to me that the trade didn't work for them as well as they thought.
Talking about O'Neals, how's Shaq doing? How about 21.5 points, 10.6 boards and 2.2 blocks per game? The veteran still has it and the only reason why Miami gave up their 2nd place in East is because Wade was injured.
10. 'Melo going melo?
Believe it or not but the young star is averaging 13.9 points during the last 10 games. He was 4th among the top scorers in the league after November with 25.4 ppg but has now fallen out of the top 25. He doesn't have problems rebounding and passing the ball. And despite his lackluster performance in shooting the Nuggets did go 14-2 in December. But he should pick up his game soon, because if he doesn't, the Nuggets might find someone who can score.