TEN GAMES IN

I've been away for a while, we have a lot to cover, so please take your seats and shut up.

THE GAME

I don't want to talk about The Game. I mean, ever. I'm normally pretty good about taking shit, but this weekend was just too much for one man to handle. I drank enough in Las Vegas this weekend to kill all but the last few brain cells that are holding onto the memory of this game, and I plan on excising those shortly. If there's a rematch--and there sure as fuck should be--it'll be different, let's leave it at that.

OK, on to the NBA...

THE GOOD (TOMORROW: THE BAD)

Utah

Hey man, I'm as surprised as anyone. I mean, some of the elements were there at the end of last season--Boozer just destroying everyone in sight, Deron Williams playing the floor general and knocking down shots, Okur giving them one of the few good C-PF combos in the league--but this is ridiculous. They haven't even gotten anything from Kirilenko yet, outside of a few blocked shots. They're 10-1, with wins against Houston, Golden State, Detroit, LA Clippers, and Phoenix twice.

It's always fun to watch someone make the jump from 'very good player' to 'superstar', as Elton Brand did last year. This year's version is Carlos Boozer. Boozer has always been a solid, productive player, but he's made a quantum leap in the early season, averaging 22 & 13 and giving them just a dominant force in the paint. I'm really starting to think the new "dead" ball helps post scorers more than anybody; I've seen a ton of flat shots from close in just die on the rim, which gives the ball a good chance of rolling in. Boozer, Zach Randolph and Emeka Okafor are all benefiting from this, IMO.

And then there's Deron Williams. I'd like to point out that I said he's "gearing up for a big second season" in my preseason fantasy rankings. I'd also not like to point out that I ranked him #17, behind the likes of Stephon Marbury and Mike James. The key to this blog is finding the few pins of decent info in the haystack of crap. Anyway, Williams has started the season absolutely on fire, putting up 18 & 9 with just 2.6 TOs, and is shooting .485 from the floor. And after starting 0-10 from three, he's now back to his usual reliable self, hitting 8-18 in his last 5 games. It's amazing to think this guy is only the *second* best PG in his draft class--but I'm not giving the race to Chris Paul just yet. There's a lot of basketball to be played in these guys' careers. Utah is like Toronto in the 2003 draft: maybe Bosh isn't D-Wade, but you're still pretty happy with your guy.

And now Utah has their 2006 draft paying off as well, with rookies Ronnie Brewer and especially Paul Millsap making a splash. Millsap is a second rounder out of Louisiana Tech, one of these undersized PFs who were hyper-productive in college who seem to always pan out in the NBA. He's a 6'7 wide body with good athleticism and a high skill level. In the last 5 games, he's averaging almost 14 & 7 in only 23 minutes, and has totaled 38 & 17 over the last two games. He has something of a logjam in front of him with Boozer and Okur (and eventually Kirilenko coming back from injury), but keep a close eye on him, this kid can really play.

My gut feeling is that Utah is big, deep and talented, and while they might cool off a bit, they'll still stay among the league elites and have a real shot at competing for the big prize in the playoffs. I'd like to see them involve Kirilenko more when he gets back; although they've obviously been successful with what their doing, I don't think you want to have one of the 30-40 best players in the league scoring below double figures. When the playoffs come around, I'd rather have Kirilenko be my perimeter and mid-range scorer than Harpring, Fisher and Giricek, dig? I know AK-47 wasn't shooting the ball real well even before the injury, but he'll bounce back, mark it down. But whatever happens with Kirilenko, it looks like Utah has arrived and is here to stay.


Los Angeles

We're seeing some great ball here in the City of Angels, with both teams out to solid starts. However, they've both benefitted from favorably early schedules, particularly the Lakers who've played only one team over .500 and only three games on the road. The Clippers have played only *two* road games, but have faced far better opposition--the record of the teams they've faced is 44-36, 42-30 if you take out the Clippers 6 wins and 2 losses.

But both have shown a lot of promise. Andrew Bynum has been frustratingly up and down, as all young big men are, but is coming off a huge 12 & 13/4-block performance against Chicago. Laker management is just gushing about Bynum. When asked if he would trade Bynum for Garnett straight up, one unnamed official said he'd "have to think about it". http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-heisler19nov19,1,4500535.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-sports

For all the talk about Kobe being a distributor, his assists are only up .6 per game (and still .9 below where they were two years ago) and he's turning the ball over an absurd 4.8 times per. But the key is his shot selection, he's just not forcing nearly as many stupid shots as he has in the post-Shaq era--his .500 FG% speaks to that, as does his 14 shot attempts and 2.4 three-point attempts (down from 27.2 and 6.5 last year). But I'm telling ya right now that's not going to hold the rest of the year. I know Kobe, I know how his mind works. As he gets healthier and healthier--and more and more confident--look for those shot attempts to creep higher and higher. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am. He's going to shoot more--the key is whether "more" means "too much". Only Kobe can answer that.

The Clippers continue to struggle with their outside shot, making a laughable 3.0 threes per game. Everyone's just playing zone on them right now and daring the Clippers to beat them from outside. They may need to make a deal for a shooter, and Corey Maggette's solid play in the early going makes him a valuable asset. Still, it's so hard in the NBA to match up the money that it makes deals pretty difficult to pull off. If they stand pat, it still remains to be seen whether teams can stop them--even with all the zone, the Clippers are still averaging over 100 a game. They might not be able to shoot the three, but they have solid midrange shooting, from Cassell and Mobley to Maggette and Tim Thomas, and even Brand can stick the 15-footer with regularity. It's too bad Shaun Livingston still can't shoot the ball; I've hardly given up on him, I think he'll still be a superstar, but his start to the season has been very disappointing.

Golden State

I was pretty geeked about Don Nelson's return to the NBA, especially with a team who had a lot of players already well-suited for his offense--and I haven't been disappointed. Golden State is averaging 105 per game, up 6 from last year, and have jumped out to a solid 7-4 record despite suffering key injuries to Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy and Ike Diogu.

The new Baron Davis-Monta Ellis backcourt in Golden State has been dynomite, with Davis averaging 21 & 8 and shooting the ball surprisingly well, and Ellis emerging rapidly with 19/3/4 and shooting .517 from the floor and .393 from three. In the 6 games he's started (with Richardson out), Ellis has averaged 21 & 6. Michael Pietrus is also tearing it up, averaging 15 & 7 with a steal and a block per game, making 1.6 threes per, and shooting a ridiculous .538 from the floor and .436 from three. It's amazing what a Don Nelson offense does to put guys in positions where they can succeed. Even Mike Dunleavy is playing well!

And now they have Andris Biedrins emerging as a legitimate NBA center, the 20-year-old big man averaging 9 & 9 with 2+ blocks per game. This is a good, fun, entertaining team. They still don't play a lick of defense, but their 4.1 per-game point differential is third in the league behind only Utah and San Antonio.

Orlando

The Magic haven't set the world on fire quite yet, but in what looks to be a dreadful Eastern Conference they're one of the few teams exceeding expectations. Man-Child Dwight Howard is coming off back to back 20/20s and is now averaging 16 & 14 with 2 blocks per, on Shaq-like .608 shooting. He turns the ball over way too much, and his game is somewhat limited right now, but what he does, he does *very well*.

Orlando also has a nice supporting cast in Jameer Nelson, Grant Hill and Hedo Turkoglu, and a very deep and talented bench. It seems like every night they're getting something from Arroyo, Dooling, Milicic and Ariza. For you Pistons fans, Darko is averaging a solid 7 & 5 with 2+ blocks in only 19 minutes. The only mistake bigger than drafting him was in giving him (and Arroyo!) away for a couple of used basketballs--as predicted at the time, that #1 pick they got will turn out to be somewhere in the 20s.

Good, solid team, lots of depth, lots of youth and energy--this is someone to watch out for down the road. In a cruddy East, this is a team that can make some noise in the playoffs if they can continue to develop and stay healthy (particularly Grant Hill, his calming influence is a big factor here).

Individuals Busting Out

Emeka Okafor, welcome to Budding Superstardom. I'm dumbstruck over what this guy is doing in the early going--young Emeka is putting up 20 & 12 with 4+ blocks per night! That's insane. And remember way back last week when I was asking how a 6'10 guy shoots in the low 40s? Um yeah, he's up a bit since then. To .575. That's not a misprint. A guy who shot .447 in his rookie year and .415 in 26 injury-riddled games last year is now putting up a .575. Okafor has just been utterly dominant on both ends so far this year. Try this line on for size, from last night's Dallas game (a team with 2 decent defensive centers, mind you): 22/13/3, 8-14 shooting, 1 steal, and 8 motherfucking blocks! (that's how it's listed in the official boxscore: Blocks: Nowitzki 2, Dampier 2, Diop 1; Motherfucking Blocks: Okafor 8.)

Atlanta has dropped 3 straight, cooling off after their hot 4-1 start, but Joe Johnson continues to play like a real star, averaging 28/6/4 with 2.6 threes per game, and shooting .477 from the floor and .396 from three.

Zach Randolph might be the most valuable player in the league so far, averaging 26 & 11 to lead the Trail Blazers to a solid 5-7 record against a very tough early season schedule. He's also being helped out by a strong debut from rookie LaMarcus Aldridge, who's averaged a very solid 10 & 6 in limited minutes over his first 6 games, making almost 66% of his shots. He's already won the starting center job outright from the solid Jamal Magloire. With Jarret Jack playing well, the Blazers should be a pretty fun young team to watch when Brandon Roy gets back from injury (which should be within the next week or so).

Speaking of Biedrins up above, another couple of young Euro big men are playing well: we have Nenad Krstic averaging 16 & 7.5 on .552 shooting and Zaza Pachulia at 15 & 7 and .546. Krstic is 23, Pachulia just 22. With Bosh, Okafor, Howard, Kaman and Bynum all 24 or under--and the 'dead ball' helping out those FG percentages--all of a sudden the big man picture in the NBA is looking up.

There's a guy out there who I want you to keep your eye on: Sergio Rodriguez, the Spanish Magician. He's a 20-year-old point guard out of Spain who was drafted by Phoenix and then sent off to Portland. He's played very limited minutes this year for the Blazers, but I took notice of him when he had a stretch over 2 games where he racked up 16 assists in only 38 total minutes, with just 2 turnovers. Rodriguez is lightning quick and an absolutely gifted passer, and while he's shot the ball poorly so far this year (4-21 from the floor), the scouts say he's got a very good J, including from three. He's likely a major defensive liability--listed at 168 pounds, he'd probably get destroyed by the bigger NBA point guards, but at only 20, he has time to develop both physically and in technique. He's still probably at least a couple years away, but I have a feeling he's going to be a good one.