Saturday, February 6, 2010

Some NBA thoughts...

On a night where the Hawks get snowed out...

If Melo can get healthy, this scoring title race could come down to the wire. Durant, Melo, and Lebron are all within .3 of each other and Kobe and Wade will likely have a say before the season is over.

Speaking of scoring titles, is Kobe's 2005-2006 season not talked about enough? We all remember how good he was that year (his last year as the NBA's best player), but his 35.4 ppg number is pretty staggering. He played in all but 2 games that year and averaged 4 more points per game than any other year in his career. In fact, since Wilt's run of scoring titles in the 60's, only Jordan's 37.1 in 86-87 has been as high as Kobe's 05-06.

Tyreke Evans is going to be an absolute superstar. He may bring the Kings franchise back all by himself. Evans is already 14th in the league in scoring and adding 5 assists per game. At 20 years old with his 6'6 frame, he will be a household name soon. Rookie of the year is a lock...

If you were starting a team today, would you take Chris Paul over Derrick Rose? Paul is obviously a better distributor and shooter right now, but he is 3 years older and has had several injuries. Rose is much more explosive and is still learning the game. I am not saying I would take Rose for sure, but it is definitely close.

I think it is amazing that Houston is playing so well. They were built the last few years around McGrady and Yao doing most of the scoring, and are still winning with both out. Aaron Brooks is likely the leagues Most Improved Player and is averaging 20 points and 5 assists per game. Their starting center, Chuck Hayes, is 6'6. Trevor Ariza, Shane Battier, and Luis Scola are good, but it is amazing that these guys and Carl Landry are the nucleus of a team that is on pace to win 45+ in the Western Conference.

Other candidates for most improved? Brook Lopez has gone from 13 points and 8 boards a game to 19 and 10. David Lee still is bringing down 11-12 rebounds a night but has increased scoring (19.9 from 16.1) and assists (3.5 from 2.1).

The Hawks have pretty much held pace since their good start, but I am growing concerned about the post-season. This team is expected to advance past round 1, and if they don't get out of round 2, they should at least be competitive in the series. I don't like the 1st round match-ups of Charlotte an Toronto. We should win both series, but those teams are more scary to me than Miami last year. Best case scenario is to win the division, get the #2 seed, and host Boston in round 2. How sweet would it be to take out the Celtics to advance to the 1st Conference Finals in franchise history?

How up-and-down has Joe Dumars career been? The Hamilton/Stackhouse trade was a home run, Rodney Stuckey is a stud drafted at #15, and the Billups signing led to an NBA title. But since then, the Darko pick was a complete debacle, Rodney White (??) at #8, an the Billups/Iverson trade were all complete disasters.

Who has made the most 3's in the league so far this season? None other than Danilo Gallinari of the Knicks with 124. But, will he win the 3 point competition next week? I'll take Stephen Curry...

As for all-star weekend, please don't let Nate Robinson win the Slam Dunk contest again. Even if he is unreal, this scenario seems played out. Hopefully Shannon Brown shows out, he can thrown down some nasty stuff.

I also think the league is setting up a scenario where the NBA finals could be the highest rated in a long time. If Kobe vs LeBron plays out and both play well in the series, the games late in the series will be must see TV for most of America. With still a few out there thinking Kobe still is the better player, this would be a nice time for the proverbial passing of the torch...

Hawks can take the lead in the division if they can make a run here the last few weeks of the month. Survive the West Coast trip coming up, and then 5 of 6 are at home. Lets shoot for 55 and that #2 seed...

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