How much can you gauge after just two days worth of games? Not too much, I guess. But some teams made strong impressions--not all good, either.
I'll start first with the Utah Jazz. Will anyone be able to stop a healthy Carlos Boozer down low and Deron Williams at the point? They look potent in Salt Lake. That team is packed with skilled athletes. And because Jerry Sloan is the coach, the team will play with an edge and toughness, particularly on defense.
The AI-'Melo combo looked sharp. 'Melo continued to shoot well, and AI dished out double digit assists and made seven steals. If AI does those little things--assists and steals--and defers more to 'Melo on the offensive end, then the Nuggets have the makings of a special team.
Sure, the Cavs played the Mavs, but I'm not sure Cleveland could've played any worse (or any better). There simply aren't enough skilled players outside of LeBron on that roster. Sasha Pavlovic recently resigned with the team, but even he won't be enough. That's why I have the Cavs barely sneaking into the playoffs.
The Wizards looked terrible. Just terrible. Everything that was bad about the team last year showed up last night: Terrible late-game defense, bad late-game rebounding, no mental toughness, lack of preparedness, propensity to give up wide open 3-point jumpers, AWFUL coaching, poor player rotations and general aloofness. Yeah, it's just one game, but losing to a Pacers team without two of its starters, one of whom, Jermaine O'Neal, is the team's best player, is inexcusable and completely unfathomable. That's pretty bad.
And meanwhile, the world champs are quietly 2-0. No one ever pays attention to the Spurs.
Game to watch tomorrow night:
Wizards @ Celtics, 8 p.m., ESPN
1 comment:
Sorry I haven't been able to keep in touch much. Life has been so crazy for me these past few months. Congrats on the wedding, I owe you a night on the town (or at least a gift card to ensure you get those house-warming neccesities; I moonlight as a design expert when I'm not criticizing over-privileged athletes). Anywho, maaaan... could you imagine, two of the best writers on the East coast collaborating on what could potentially be the best basketball blog on the face of the universe? People would throw babies out of moving cars!!! Dude, with your writing and Rza-like web production and my... cough... associates degree in English, we can conquer the world. Dude, let's do this. Let's ffffffffffing do this.
The only question is who plays me in the movie. I'm thinking James Van Der Beek. Martha Stewart can be you. And Rob Zombie will direct. If you're not peeing your pants reading this... you have no soul.
#30
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