First Week Observations
To start, I have no idea why I picked Luke Ridnour as Comeback Player of the Year. It's one of those things that you look at an hour after writing and think, "Who wrote that? That's stupid." Not only will Luke not be that great but I'm not sure what he has ever done that he can comeback to. Just dumb. Then again, so is the fact that Luke is getting minutes over Ramon Sessions but that's happening so who knows...
The C's had a terrible loss against the Pacers. Hopefully it will wake them up and keep them from getting lax.
Speaking of teams that don't seem to give it their all every night, the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat both are disappointing so far. There is absolutely no life in the Heat and Orlando seems to play down to the level of their opponent (which is hard to do with the Kings but they managed it for three quarters). I'd be stunned if Marion wasn't deal soon.
Memphis has looked pretty good. The Gasol trade wasn't THAT bad as Marc Gasol has proven to be a legit NBA center. Darrell Arther was also part of that deal and he's been looking good as well. The other man in that deal, Javarris Crittenton, is the odd man out in the point guard rotation and I wouldn't be upset if the C's made a run at him. I think Portland and Miami should both make a move for him as well.
The rookies are faring much better than last year's class. Rose has a lot to learn about playing PG but the kid is a player. Beasley, Mayo, and Love are also looking good. Danilo Gallinari? Well, there hasn't been anything to see but I still think this kid is a bust. Jason Thompson seems solid but I'm still not a fan of that pick.
While the point guard situation for many teams is shaky at best, the center position looks like it is going to be making a comeback in a few years. I doubt this new class is going to make anyone forget about the Dream, Admiral, Ewing, Shaq days but there are a number of up and coming pivot men: Andrew Bynum, Andris Biedrins, Spencer Hawes, Al Jefferson, etc. The two biggest question marks might be the two #1's: Oden and Bogut.
As for this year, the Warriors are fun to watch but I still don't see them winning a lot of games unless they make a trade for a legit PG (and Monta Ellis isn't a PG). The Bucks are one of the hardest teams to watch, both because of their style of play and their crappy announcers. The Knicks are a lot more fun to watch this year and Gus Johnson/Clyde Frazier could be the best announcing team in basketball. Minnesota's uni's combined with their two-tone court gives me a headache. For some reason, I find the Clippers extremely unlikable this year.
Right now, the non-Celtics teams that I'm enjoying watching are: Golden State (always a good game), Memphis (fun to watch quality young guys grow), Miami (Wade's comeback + Beasley), Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers (checking on the hungry up and coming teams in the East).
