It has been a very exciting start to the 2013-14 NBA season. Some teams and some players have lived up to the hype they came into the season with. Some have had a rough go of it to begin. Then there are a couple of teams who have shown that things are going to get worse before they get better. Here is the NBA in review.
The Good
On Saturday night, the Atlanta Hawks (3-3) defeated the Orlando Magic (3-4) 104-94 for their ninth straight home win verus the guys from Walt Disney World, forward Kyle Korver hit a three-pointer for the 79 straight game, which tied former guard Michael Adams and surpassed current NBATV analyst Dennis Scott, who recorded his 78 straight game with a three-point connection on Apr. 4, 1996 versus the Boston Celtics. He is now just 10 games short of tying former NBA guard Dana Barros, who did it from 1994-96.
"Records are good. I got a lot of great teammates looking for me setting great screens," Korver, who had 14 points, eight boards, five assists on 6 for 10 shooting, going 2 for 5 from three-point range, said to NBATV's Matt Winer after the game on Saturday.
Back on Nov. 5, the Miami Heat (4-3) won at the Toronto Raptors (2-4) 104-95, garnering their first road win of the season, two-time Most Valuable Player LeBron James achieved a remarkable milestone.
With his 35-point effort, which led the Heat, he recorded his 500 straight game of scoring in double-figures. He joined Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, who scored in double-figures for 866 consecutive games; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had a 787 streak and a 508 streak of scoring in double-digits; Karl Malone who did it for 575 straight games and Moses Malone who scored in double-figures for 526 straight games.
"When I see a stat like that, I'm like 'Wow,' because I know the history of the game, I know the guys who paved the way for myself and my teammates," James said after the game.
"To be in such a great class like that, it's an amazing feeling."
To top it off, when James scored on a put back with 2:31 left in the opening quarter, it was the 162nd time during that streak that he reached double-digits in the first stanza.
This streak began after he scored just eight points at the Milwaukee Bucks back on Jan. 5, 2007. The next night at the then New Jersey Nets he scored 19 and the rest as they say is history.
What this streak brings into focus more than anything is that James, like Jordan before him understands that the fans whether at Miami's home court the American Airlines Arena or when the Heat play on the road, fans come to see the four-time MVP at his best and he has delivered and at the same time he has a tremendous amount of respect for those that came before him and the foundation they have laid for him to be who he is and wants to continue to be on the hardwood.
"That's not something that any average player can do," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game.
"Part of his greatness is consistency. Night in, night out, you know what to expect."
While we have come to expect a lot from James, we did not know what to expect this season from Philadelphia 76ers (4-3) starting rookie guard Michael Carter-Williams.
Well, the 2nd player to win the first Eastern Conference Player of the Week to start a season, since current NBATV/TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal back in 1992-93, made a solid impression, especially in his first game of his NBA career.
The rookie out of Syracuse had a debut for the ages when put up 22 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and nine steals. Not a bad way to announce that you are in the league.
For a team that was supposed to have more low moments than up this season, the team has shown that they want to start growing this season and their lead guard is a big reason for that.
While the sample has been a small one, Carter-Williams has shown he not only belongs, but he can take care of business against the best as he stats of 18.7 ppg, 8.1 apg and 5.9 rebounds per contest has stated so far.
Against one of the best in the East the Chicago Bulls (2-3), who bring to the table one of the best defenses in the business, Carter-Williams scored 26 points and dished out 10 assists as the Sixers came from behind to defeat the Bulls 107-104 to go to 3-0.
On Saturday night in a 127-125 defeat at the Cleveland Cavaliers (3-4), Carter-Williams shined again against former Rookie of the Year guard Kyrie Irving as he scored 21 points to go along with 13 assists, seven boards, two steals and two block shots. Irving was stellar for the Cavs with 39 points and 12 assists.
While the Sixers have a small chance of making the playoffs this season, they at least have the lead guard of the future in Carter-Williams. While he will experience some tough times as this season moves on, if the small sampling can become a consistent one, the Sixers have something special to build around.
In New Orleans, the Pelicans (3-4) have that building block to build around in last season's No. 1 overall pick out of Kentucky in forward/center Anthony Davis, who this past Friday night had a game to remember.
In the Pelicans 96-85 win versus the Los Angeles Lakers, which snapped an 11-game losing streak to the visitors from the "City of Angels," Davis had a career-high 32 points to go along with 12 rebounds and a career-high tying six block shots.
This was the fourth double-double for Davis in the Pelicans first six games. He added another with 14 points and 12 rebounds in his team's 101-94 setback at the Phoenix Suns (5-2).
After last season, where he showed flashes of how good he could be, Davis start to this season has shown that he wants to stratch that surface of greatness and eventually break that glass. He also hopes that will help the team win more games and eventually be one of the elite in the Western Conference.
"We defintely got to keep playing like this. We can't come into our next game and be lackadasical and be satisfied with this win. We just got to keep coming in with this energy and effort," Davis said to Fox Sports New Orleans sideline reporter Jennifer Hale after the game on Friday night.
While they had a setback on Sunday at the Suns, it is clear that the Pelicans have a different mindset this season.
That showed in the rest of the Pelicans on Friday night at least as starting lead guard Jrue Holiday had a double-double of his own with 13 points, 13 assists and four steals. His starting backcourt mate Eric Gordon had 16 points and six boards.
If there is one team that came into this season where we did not know what to expect is the Phoenix Suns.
They have shown in their first seven games, winning five of them and four of those have come at home, they are headed in the right direction.
In their 114-103 victory versus the Denver Nuggets (1-4) on Friday night, some of their young core players really showed how much they have grown.
Forward Markieff Morris had a career-high 28 points on 10 for 13 from the floor to go along with 10 boards off the bench. His twin brother Marcus had 11 points and eight boards.
Two of the Suns newest players have been a major part of the Suns amazing start this season and they were on full display against the Nuggets. New starting lead guard Eric Bledsoe had 17 points and nine rebounds on 6 for 11 from the floor and new starting center Miles Plumlee, who the Suns acquired from the Pacers in the off-season had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
In the Suns 101-94 win versus the Pelicans on Sunday, Bledsoe led the way with 24 points. Markieff followed up his career night on Friday with a 23-point effort off the bench on Sunday. Plumlee had just eight points, but he had 12 rebounds and five block shots.
If there is one thing that is different about this team from a year ago is that they have leadership on the bench in former Suns and NBA veteran Jeff Hornacek as their head coach.
An example of this is that in the third quarter of Sunday's win at home, he called a timeout and ripped into his team for their uninspired effort and it resulted in them outscoring the Pelicans 30-29 in the fourth quarter to capture the win.
While the Suns, Sixers and Pelicans are teams trying to build consistency, their is one team that has the talent on paper that should be consistent, but injuries a season ago derailed an chance to turn that into reality. This season however, good health to begin the season has been great for the Minnesota Timberwolves (5-2).
Driving this train that will hopefully lead them to their first playoff birth since 2004 is the combination of forward Kevin Love and guard Ricky Rubio and the newest edition in starting shooting guard Kevin Martin.
In their 116-108 over the Dallas Mavericks (4-3), Love was amazing with 32 points, 15 boards and eight assists on 12 for 21 from the floor, including going 3 for 6 from three-point range and 5 for 5 from the free throw line.
Martin matched Love with 32 points of his own on 10 for 19 from the field, including going 3 for 5 from three-point territory and 9 for 10 from the charity stripe.
At the Lakers (3-5) the duo of Martin and Love were spectacular again and so was Rubio.
Love recorded his seventh double-double in as many games with 25 points, 13 rebounds on 8 for 17 from the floor, including 4 for 9 from three-point territory and 5 for 5 from the free throw line.
Martin led the way with 27 points on 11 for 23 from the floor.
Rubio, who has had his struggles shooting wise this season from the floor, recorded his second career triple-double on Sunday night with 12 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
Starting forward Corey Brewer and starting center Nikola Pekovic also contributed with 17 points and 14 points and 10 rebounds respectably in the win at the Lakers.
The 23-point win at the Lakers was not only the T'Wolves biggest against their opponent in team history on Sunday, it also snapped a 22-game losing streak to them.
The last time the team from the "Twin Cities" beat the Lakers prior to Sunday night was a 117-107 victory at the Target Center on Mar. 6, 2007.
The T'Wolves were led not led by current Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Garnett, who had 26 points and 17 rebounds, but guard Ricky Davis, who had 33 points, 10 boards and eight assists.
The Lakers were led by Kobe Bryant, who is out right now recovering from surgery on his Achillies, who had 40 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
As mentioned earlier, the Wolves are healthy unlike a season ago. Love by himself played in just 18 games a year ago because of a broken hand that he suffered twice. Martin, who played with the Thunder a season ago, has been a great pick up.
His stellar play though should not be a surprise because earlier in his career with the Sacramento Kings (2004-10) and the Houston Rockets (2010-12) he put up numbers like this while playing for the T'Wolves current coach Rick Adelman.
With the team that they have and stellar way they play offensively, if they can stay healthy and Rubio's shooting percentage improves, the Timberwolves will make the playoffs.
The one team and one player that have come out of the gates like gang busters has been the Indiana Pacers (7-0) and their top gun Paul George.
In their 96-91 win at the Nets (2-4), the Pacers eclipsed their best start in team history, which surpassed their 6-0 beginning since 1970-17 team when they were in the American Basketball Association (ABA), where they were led by Hall of Famers Mel Daniels and Roger Brown. The team went on to win the Western Division that season.
The Pacers were led by George, who scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half to go along with six rebounds.
George in Saturday's victory tied former Pacer Clark Kellogg for the most games of 20 points to start a season with seven. Kellogg's accomplishment came in the 1985-86 season.
In the Pacers 91-84 win versus the Toronto Raptors last Wednesday, he tied Hall of Famer Reggie Miller with six games of scoring 20-plus points to start a season. Miller accomplished that in the 1990-91 season.
"He's a stat stuffer. He just doesn't score. He rebounds, block shots, defends," Pacers starting center Roy Hibbert, who had 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks at the Nets on Saturday, said to NBATV's Matt Winer after the game.
After their season ended one game short of reaching the Finals a season ago to the eventual back-to-back champion Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers came into this season with a chip on their shoulder and it has shown in the first two weeks of this season.
They are balanced team now and the core players like George, last season's Most Improved Player, Hibbert, forward David West, who had 18 points and eight boards on Saturday and guard Lance Stephenson, who had 15 points and seven assists also on Saturday are primed for a big year.
The editions of forwards Luis Scola and Chris Copeland and guard C.J. Watson have made the bench better and when forward Danny Granger returns from injury soon, this team should be primed to challenge the Heat in the East.
The Bad
When the 2013-14 NBA campaign began, one of the teams in the East that was seen as a big threat to the two-time defending champion Heat was the Bulls. A big reason for that is that the Bulls' star guard Derrick Rose was back after missing all of last season recovering from a serious knee injury he suffered in the first round of the playoffs the year prior.
The team with their top scoring ace back in the lineup however, they have not gotten off to a great start.
Rose individually is struggling averaging career-lows to so far in scoring (14.4), assists (4.0) and shooting percentage (32 percent).
To bring this more into focus, Rose coming into last Friday nights action versus the Utah Jazz (0-7), Rose had more turnovers (25) than field goals made (24).
In the Bulls 97-73 win versus the Jazz on Friday, Rose stilled struggled scoring just 12 points on 3 for 8 shooting. The one positive is that, he did get to the foul line five times connecting on all of them.
What also happened in this game is that they were able to get contributions from the rest of the cast, which is why they were able to still win and make the playoffs a season ago.
Forward Luol Deng nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and five steals. The other starting forward Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 10 boards. Starting center Joakim Noah had 14 points and eight rebounds. forward Taj Gibson had 12 points off the bench and new acquistion swingman Mike Dunleavy had nine points as well off the bench.
We have to remember that it is early in the season and while Rose is medically recovered, it will take time for him to return to the form that made him the only player to win the MVP Award not named LeBron James, which he accomplished in 2010-11.
On top of that though, the Bulls must become consistent at the offensive end. The defense will always be there because that is preached each day by head coach Tom Thibodeau. If the offense cannot catch up though, they will have another disappointment in the postseason.
One other team that feels that they have a serious chance on contending for a title, at least in the eyes of their owner is the New York Knicks (2-4).
Unfortunately, the team that won their first Atlantic Division title since 1993-94 season and won their first playoff series a season ago since 1999-00 season has gotten off to a rough start.
They are just 1-3 at Madison Square Garden after beginning last season 10-0 at home.
Their 120-89 loss on Sunday versus the defending Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs (6-1), which was their largets marging of victory ever against the was a microcosm of their season.
They played very poor defense as the Spurs shot 53.9 percent from the floor, hit 12 three-pointers, surrendered 17 fastbreak points and 44 points in the paint.
A big reason the Knicks struggled defensively is because the absence of starting center Tyson Chandler, who suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right fibula in the 102-97 loss versus the Charlotte Bobcats last and will be out for the next four to six weeks.
On top of that, their three-point shooting which carried them a season ago has gone down to 29.9 percent this season.
"We didn't compete tonight," Knicks head coach Mike Woodson, whose team suffered its worst home loss since a 128-78 defeat versus the Dallas Mavericks back on Jan. 24, 2010.
"That's just unacceptable. Right from the start, we let our offense, shots that we missed dictate how we defended on the other end and that's a bad combination.
Anthony, who had 16 points and eight boards on Sunday, echoed those same feelings of Woodson saying, "It was embarrasing for us to come in on our home court and lose a game like this. It wasn't about losing the game, its just how we lost the game. We didn't compete today and it showed out there on the court."
While it may be early and that cannot be stated enough, the Knicks have some serious issues they need to straighten out and soon.
They need the likes of forward Andrea Bargnani, guard J.R. Smith, who made his season debut after missing the first five games for violating the league's anti-drug policy and scored five points on 1 for 9 from the field, guard Raymond Felton, forward Amar'e Stoudemire and Metta World Peace to play better on both ends.
To put the direction of both the Spurs and Knicks into perspective, they met in the NBA Finals back in 1999.
Since then, the Spurs have had only one head coach, Gregg Popovich, while the Knicks have had eight head coaches, current NBA on ESPN color analyst Jeff Van Gundy, Don Chaney, Herb Williams, Lenny Wilkens, Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas, Mike D'Antoni and Woodson. The Spurs have won four titles (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007), the Knicks have won none. The Spurs have won the Southwest Division 10 times, while the Knicks won their first division title since the aforementioned 1994. The Spurs have made 15 straight playoff appearances and the Knicks have made the playoffs just seven times.
So while in the eyes of owner James Dolan that his team is a title contender, those that were in the audience at MSG on Sunday afternoon and those that watch on television, might have a different point of view.
From one team that might be consider delusional of thinking their are championship caliber to a couple of teams who talent wise are that, but things have gotten off to a rocky start are the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors (4-3).
When the Clippers brought in Glenn "Doc" Rivers to be their new head coach, re-signed starting lead guard Chris Paul and brought in the likes of guard J.J. Redick and swingman Jared Dudley, it was clear the other Los Angeles basketball team was serious about winning it all.
Right out of the gate however, they lost to the undertalented Lakers 116-103. They followed that up with three straight wins, which began with a 126-115 victory on national television versus the Warriors, where Paul had 42 points and 15 assists. They followed that up with wins at the Sacramento Kings (1-5) 110-101 and versus the Houston Rockets (4-3) 137-118. That was followed by back-to-back losses in Florida at the Magic 98-90 and at the Heat 102-97. They did bounce back with a come from behind win at the Rockets 107-94 on Saturday night.
Their is amazing talent across the board with the Red, White and Blue Clippers. They have a championship caliber coach in Rivers. One of the best players and leaders in Paul. A supporting cast in the likes of guard Jamal Crawford, Redick, Dudley, guard Darren Collison, sharp shooting forward Byron Mullens and the athletic duo in all-star starting forward Blake Griffin and starting center DeAndre Jordan.
With all of that being said, they have to get to the point where they force themselves to become consistent where they beat the teams they are supposed to like the Magic and Lakers. They showed they are capable with two wins over the Rockets this season.
That consistency though must start at the defensive end and it must then turn into an offensive style that allows for consistent sharing of the basketball and Griffin to be more complete offensiveley with a lethal jumper from 15 to 17 feet and an ability to operate in the post.
In the case of Jordan, Rivers has said he should be Defensive Player of the Year. If he can perform to the tune of 12 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks and two steals nightly for the rest of this season, he will have a great chance of making his coach's dream a reality.
Last season, the Warriors showed that they are primed to be in the conversation as one of the best in the West. With four wins in their first five games, all be it against not the best competition in terms of the perception of each team, the Warriors started this season trying to build on their 47-35 season, which ended in the Conference Semis a season ago.
Their last two losses however at the Spurs 76-74 and at the Memphis Grizzlies (3-3) 108-90 are a cause for concern.
The Warriors setback at the Spurs last Friday night did reveal some positives. The team found out that they do have a solid back up in Toney Douglas who had 21 points on 8 for 14 shooting, including going 5 for 9 from three-point range off the bench. He got a lot of time at the lead guard spot because normal starting point guard Stephen Curry missed the game because of a bone bruise in his ankle.
They also learned that on a night they struggled offensively, they could defend and keep the game close and give themselves a chance to win. That is how it will be come playoff time.
The Warriors did not fair well the next night at the Grizzlies, who shot 53 percent from the floor, out-rebounded them 44-33 and outscored them 54-18 in the paint.
If the Warriors have any plans on contending for a title, they just cannot rely on their ability to make their hey offensively from the three-point line, where they went 10 for 30 from on Saturday night.
The Ugly
There are two teams in the league who in the first two weeks of this season have shown that its going to be very long and painful run.
The Utah Jazz (0-7) after 115-91 loss at the Toronto Raptors (3-4) continued them on a path to their worst start since their 0-11 beginning to the 1974-75 season when they were playing in New Orleans.
Their last two losses have been extremely tough as they lost by 24 points at the Bulls on Friday night and to the aforementioned Raptors the next evening.
"This is not fun. I don't think we showed up with the intensity that we need to compete against these guys tonight," Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin said after the game.
Coming into this season, the Jazz, Knicks and Lakers are the only NBA franchises not to lose 60 games or more in a season.
At the rate the Jazz are going, they could experience that.
What also has to be understood here is that this team is not the same that it has been in previous seasons.
For starters, veterans forwards Paul Milsap and Al Jefferson left in free agency for the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Bobcats respectably and the leadership and scoring responsibility has fallen to the likes of forward Derrick Favors, swingman Gordon Hayward and center Enes Kanter.
They are also without their prized draft choice in guard Trey Burke, who is out right now because of an injured finger.
This will be a season of growing pains for the Jazz and if they have plans of salvaging this tough beginning, Favors, Hayward, Kanter along with the likes of guard Alec Burks, forward Marvin Williams, when he returns from injury and forward Richard Jefferson have to step up.
Current starting guard John Lucas III said it best after the game on Saturday, "We got to figure out who we are. That's out thing. We got to look ourselves in the mirror because this ain't cool. I know its seven games in, but still I don't want nobody to get use to this."
The other team that has struggled out the gate mightly is the Sacramento Kings (1-5), who lost both games in the home-and-home against the Portland Trail Blazers (4-2) over the weekend.
After their 96-85 home loss to the Trail Blazers, head coach Mike Malone expressed his frustration.
"I'm embarrassed. Every night, its the same thing," Malone said. "I think we have a lot of guys that just care about themselves on this team and if their game is not going, they quit playing."
With everything that went on with the Kings from the owners to keeping the team in Sacramento, to the selling of the team to Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur Vivek Ranadive, the addition of new minority owner current NBATV/TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal and the selection of guard Ben McLemore at No. 7 in June's draft, it seemed like better days were ahead for the Kings.
They also gave talented but immature center DeMarcus Cousins a four-year $62 million contract extension and so far he has performed well early in the season.
After winning their first game on opening night back on Oct. 30 90-88 versus the Nuggets, they have not won a game since.
This team has talented players that have a lot of skill from forward Jason Thompson, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons, Marcus Thornton, Jimmer Fredette, Isaiah Thomas Travis Outlaw and Greivis Vasquez.
However, talent is only half the battle. It takes committment to the task at hand. That task in Sacramento is making that group of talented players develop winning habits and understanding the way things use to be cannot continue. Those who do not conform will not play.
"I've seen enough at this point. We've played six games and its more than a broken record so we'll make changes and give ourselves a better chance to win," Malone said after the game on Saturday night. Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy of 11/6/13 2 a.m. edition of NBATV's "Gametime" with Rick Kamla, Steve Smith and Rick Fox; 11/9/13 1:30 a.m. edition of ESPN 2's "NBA Tonight" with Cassidy Hubbarth and Avery Johnson; 11/9/13 2 a.m. edition of NBATV's "Gametime" with Rick Kamla, Mike Fratello and Steve Smith; 11/11/13 1:30 a.m. edition of NBATV's "Gametime" with Rick Kamla, Steve Smith and Brent Barry; www.espn.go.com/nba; USA Today.com article "Tyson Chandler injury puts Knicks' Title Bid in Reverse" by Jeff Zillgitt on Nov. 7, 2013.
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