Okay, what a great night of basketball that was!!! Congratulations Lakers fans that was some game last night. here is what i saw last night watching the new teams in the West and how i think the trades will affect the balance of the season.
First, i gotta give props to the Raptors who pasted the Magic last night. Chris Bosh dropped 40 points shooting 14/16 and 11/11 from the line and he hit a 3 pointer in there as well. Dwight Howard scored 37 but Bosh was scoring from anywhere on the floor he wanted. Jose Calderon had another spectacular game going for 19 points and 13 assists with only 1 Turnover... wow when this team is shooting, they can be a very scary bunch...
okay, that being said... let's talk about the Suns/Lakers game. going in it was billed as the Shag/Kobe Bryant duel. as the game wore on, we saw a Suns team struggling to find itself on offense - to the tune of 124 points... the problem was the inside strength that the Big Fella was to provide was not there... sure he grabbed 9 boards, but the Lakers attacked the middle all night and scored at will as Pau Gasol lit up the Suns for 29. that being said, i still feel that Shaq will find a way to contribute at both ends of the floor as the rust will come off and by May/June, this team will be ready... was Amare Stoudemire not fantastic last night?? wow
Mavericks/Hornets and the return of Jason Kidd. we saw last night what most of us suspected.. that Jason Kidd can't be effective as an interior threat anymore... he looked slow and scared to attack... 8 points, 5 assists will not be enough to help the Mavs push over the top... i understand it is still early in the new season for him, but he didn't have a good sense of what the Mavs are about... and Chris Paul was awesome with his 31 points and 11 assists... probably the most consistant guard this year.
The Nets won which has to be a good thing, so for them the trade was a success.
we know that Shawn Marion has helped the Heat and will probably be a good trade for them, but i am still not sold on Shaq in Phoenix...
the Spurs getting Kurt Thomas for almost nothing suddenly makes all our Power Rankings irrelevent. he will provide strength at both ends of the floor and could make the Spurs very tough to match up in a playoff series with Tim Duncan, a healthy Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Kurt on the floor, who do you double? Can't wait to see him play a game with the spurs
So here is how i see the new Western conference Power grid...
1) Hornets - now have the best record in the west and continue to amaze with solid offensive and defensive play and probably the 2nd best player in the league in Chris Paul as well as David West and Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic who looks like he wants to play again... this team will destroy hopes and could end up 1st over all in the west
2) Lakers - this team looks like a championship team again.. and if Andrew Bynum comes back, this team will win most playoff matchups... Kobe, Pau, Derek Fisher and Lamar Odum form a great nucleus, and with Bynum in the mix, this team should get to the finals in the west
3) Spurs - i had written them off until the trade for Kurt Thomas.. this team will be in the final four again... but i am not sure they can out play either the Hornets or the Lakers for the title this year
4) Suns - I still naively believe that this trade will make them stronger if Shaq doesn't die first... Steve Nash, Amare, Leandro Barbosa... this group is solid, but i am not sure they have enough to get past the Lakers this year, they still seem to lack intensity and inside play from the wing position...
5) Jazz - a very solid team that could make noise in the playoffs if they get a good seeding. Deron Williams, Andre Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer make this a tough team to keep up with.
6) Mavericks - second round loss will disappoint, but this team NEEDS Jason Kidd to perform at above the level he has been playing so far... i think he could do it, and this team could be the dark horse in the west playoffs
7) Rockets - I think this team will stay hot and catch the 7th spot, which would draw the Lakers.. that would be fun to watch... Kobe vs. Tracy McGrady Pau vs Yao Ming...
8) Nuggets - i hope this team can figure out how good they are and start playing more consistently. Marcus Camby, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson can play against any 3 on any team...
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here is my take on the East now
having had a bit of time to ponder, i have decided that i should do a list for the east as well... it might be a bit shorter
1) Celtics - i think they will end up first overall as Kevin Garnett gets healthy again this team will again roll through the East and dominate the west with it's stingy defense... Paul Pierce is flourishing with quality support from Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins... a very solid team that will be tough to beat in a 7 game series
2) Pistons - after a nice 9 game run they have dropped 2 they should have won... not worried though, this is a vetern team that is above average in every area and very solid defensively, i think they could beat the Celtics in a 7 game series only if they have home court... March 5th will be a huge step on that quest...
3) Raptors - after last night, i think this team could beat most teams but need too many things to work right for that to happen... With Chris Bosh playing like a beast and Jose Calderon commanding the floor - 1 turnover is sick!!! - this team can score outside at will.. what is missing is power on the inside... Kris Humphries had a decent game, but neither him nor Rasho Nasterovic can pound to the point of being a constant threat.. and as much as i like Andrea Bargnani, he needs to gain about 25 pounds to become a relevant player in this league...
4) Magic - they might have had an off night, but this team seems to rely too much on Dwight Howard to do everything... the lack of top quality guards will hurt this team.. and already has done so as this team had no consistant pressure from the back end.. Jameer Nelson is not a top level guard, but does have flashes... he is just too small to take on a large back court like the Raptors, Pistons or Celtics can floor.
5) Cavaliers - this team has a perpetual mvp candidate with LeBron James, but not much else... Daniel Gibson needs to be elevated beyond his years as this team needs another scorer.. if they can play defense like they did last year, they might challenge, but i am not sure the support is there for LBJ this year... this team really needed to make a move to challenge and haven't yet...
the rest don't have a shot as far as i am concerned and will lose in the first round to whomever they play...
so i see the Celtics and the Pistons going 7 games with the Pistons pounding out the victory at home... Celts win if it is in Boston...
so i will put Celtics and Lakers in the finals right now... if Shaq can play at even 60% the Suns might roll the west... but it will be a great second half..
