The NBA: Why you should care

H o o p s C o r n e r . c o m

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December 02, 2007

The football world is glued to the New England Patriots’ pursuit of perfection. Baseball’s top hitter, Alex Rodriguez, is on the verge of a record $315 million contract. Basketball is… a month into a season that won’t see a playoff game until April 19.

So who cares?

Me.

And so should you.

While we’ll have to wait until spring to see if the Celtics, Mavs, or Suns can prevent the Spurs from defending a title for the first time in their history, plenty of early-season developments are worth our attention as we near the quarter-way mark. In fact, in lieu of a true season preview, I’m going to outline one reason why you should care about each and every NBA team this season (for those wondering, we are counting the Minnesota Timberwolves as an NBA team in this article). This week is the Eastern Conference. Next week comes the West.

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Boston

– Why you should care? This one’s easy. With the off-season acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the boys in Beantown are basketball-relevant again, and it’s showing with a 13-2 start.

Obviously it’s early, but if the Celtics continue at this pace they’ll win between 71 and 72 games. The NBA record for wins in a season is 72, set by Michael Jordan’s 1995-96 Bulls. Reason enough for you to stay interested?

Toronto

– After a disappointing start that saw him moved to the bench, Italian Andrea Bargnani may be starting to develop on the promise (15.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists over the last six games) which made him the top overall pick in 2006. Without question, he’s benefited from the Raptors’ new up-tempo style of play and the ridiculously efficient recent play of point guard Jose Calderon.

The Spaniard was an underappreciated bench star last season, but with T.J. Ford missing four games due to injury recently, Calderon’s really ramped it up, averaging 12.3 points, 11.3 assists, and just one turnover a game during that stretch.

Calderon – not Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, or Chris Paul – may be the NBA’s best decision-maker with the ball in his hands – a 5.55 assist-to-turnover ratio dwarfs the league’s second-best (Steve Blake with a 3.79 ratio).

New Jersey

– On a team with Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson (fourth in the league in scoring at 25.2 points per game, by the way), the reason you should watch the Nets is because of a skinny rookie with off-the-court hurdles.

Sean Williams, kicked off his Boston College team last season for undisclosed reasons, is enjoying a terrific start. Though the Jersey boys are just 3-7 in their last 10 and Williams is receiving barely 19 minutes a game, he’s proven to be an impressive help-side defender (2.2 blocks per contest), and self-aware offensive ‘threat’ (the Texan is shooting 62.5% from the field, also benefiting from his premier point guard, no doubt).

The downside is tunnel vision which rivals Eddy Curry’s – Williams has exactly one assist through 234 minutes played – but he disrupts enough opponents to make up for it. In fact, in ESPN writer John Hollinger’s player efficiency rating, Williams (19.53) is currently tops among rookies, albeit with limited evidence.

Philadelphia

– On a team that nobody watches, 21-year-old Lou Williams has arguably enjoyed the best start of any Eastern Conference bench player. We’re talking about a player many felt shouldn’t be in the NBA before the beginning of last season. A second-round pick of the 76ers in 2005, the 6-2 Williams didn’t have many fans after a rookie campaign that saw him finish with more turnovers than assists and a free throw percentage of 61.5%.

But a breakout second season has been followed by an equally surprising third season, and the cat-quick Williams is forcing his way into opponents’ game plans. The stats are up across the board, but the most noticeable improvements are at the charity stripe (79.2%) and the 3-point line (44.8%). While it’s early and those shooting numbers aren’t likely to remain so lofty, Williams’ future looks bright.

New York

– They may not be pretty, but there are plenty of reasons to watch this ‘team.’ A recent a 104-59 loss at the Celtics was just the latest disaster. Is there anyway Isiah Thomas survives this season with his job intact? Will the feud with Stephon Marbury continue to fester publicly? Is Zach Randolph compatible with Eddy Curry long-term?

The last question is the most concerning for Knicks’ fans, but it’s probably too soon to tell. The Knicks are the car wreck of the NBA – you don’t want to watch, but you just can’t turn away.

CENTRAL DIVISION

Detroit

– For all the glitter surrounding the Celtics after one month together, the Pistons may prove the East’s most dependable hope come playoff team. Besides the four borderline All-Stars who make Detroit so tough to prepare for, the bench may be the strongest it’s been this century.

Because of limited minutes, Rodney Stuckey, Jarvis Hayes, Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell, and Nazr Mohammed’s statistics won’t wow many folks. But four or five are above-average bench players, and the collective impact is impressive. Detroit rarely loses large leads when the second unit comes in, which should keep the stars fresh through the grind of the regular season.

Cleveland

– No surprises here. Although Zydrunas Ilgauskas is playing well, King Lebron James is normally the first, second, and third reason to watch the Cavs, and even more so of late. Before spraining a finger against Detroit recently, James was averaging 37.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 10.0 assists over his previous seven contests. Can you imagine being an opposing coach tasked with scheming to stop this guy?

Milwaukee

– Why to watch the Bucks… why… hmmm… give me a minute… just one more minute… OK. Here’s what I came up with: Yi Jianlian. I admit – not one of the more must-see reasons on this list. But he is an intriguing prospect who gives a team with plenty of offensive threats just one more… now if more than one or two Bucks could play defense.

Yi hasn’t been quite as promised from outside in the early going (he’s just 3-of-10 from downtown all year), but his across-the-board numbers are perfectly respectable for a 6-11 rookie; 9.6 points, 5.6 boards, .57 steals, and 1.14 blocks in 25 minutes of ‘non-guaranteed’ minutes (wink wink, nudge nudge). If he can clear the usual rookie hurdles of shot selection (42.9%), decision-making (.6 assists per game to 1.36 turnovers), and other nuances, he’ll be a troublesome factor for opposing teams soon, perhaps as soon as the end of this season.

Indiana

– The new high-octane offense isn’t exactly Phoenix East, but it’s at least a direction to build towards. Indiana’s biggest problem is that its best player, forward-center Jermaine O’Neal, doesn’t really fit that scheme.

Guys like Danny Granger (18.6 points per game vs. 13.9 a season ago), Mike Dunleavy (16.5 point vs. 14.0 in 43 games with Indiana), and Shawne Williams (10.1 points vs. 3.9) sure like the system, though, and if Indiana can find more parts that fit, perhaps via an O’Neal trade, they could be a dark horse to pull a first-round upset.

Chicago

– The best reason to watch this team now is because you’ll never see it again. I don’t mean GM John Paxson is ready to blow up the roster – but when ANYBODY starts consistently making shots, it’s doubtful you’ll ever again see a team-wide shooting slump to match this one.

It’s been well documented, but literally every impact player on the roster is shooting at levels below those achieved last season, while most other markers are roughly at expected levels. Preseason championship-aspirations in Chicago were misplaced, but expect the balls to start finding the nets eventually and the Bulls to get a measure of revenge.

SOUTHEAST DIVISION

Orlando

– Again, no secret on the incentive for caring here; Dwight Howard is an incredible individual player. While critics rightfully bemoan his foul shooting, the 21-year-old Howard more than makes up for it with his 23.8 points, league-leading 15.0 rebounds, and 2.67 blocks per game.

The most impressive part of his still-developing game, however, might be his shot selection. Howard’s shooting 61.8 percent, just shy of the league-lead, because he doesn’t sacrifice dunks for 15-footers. Since those four statistics (points, rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage) have been tracked, no one’s averaged those numbers together in one season, according to basketball-reference.com.

Washington

– With Gilbert Arenas out for at least the next few months, incentives to watch the Wiz are admittedly hard to come by. It doesn’t look like they’re going to lie down for anybody, though, beating the Mavericks in Dallas on Monday. They’ve lost two straight since, but one loss was at San Antonio and the other was by point (at home to Philadelphia).

The odd silver lining of Arenas’ absence until at least mid February is it may force the further development of inexperienced roles players such as rookie Nick Young (7.3 points per game, 9-of-22 on 3-pointers in 13.9 minutes per contest) and athletic freak Andray Blatche (7.1 points, 1.94 block in 20.1 minutes per game), Keep an eye on those guys… if their games round out – a big ‘if’ – it could pay dividends for a possible spoiler team come playoff time, if Washington hasn’t fallen too far off the pace.

Charlotte

– The Bobcats’ encouraging start is looking fluky, as they lost four straight heading into Saturday night’s game at the Bulls, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have some talented players who deserve our attention. Point guard Raymond Felton, in particular, has proven he’s the real deal. After a disappointing sophomore campaign, he’s started 2007-08 like a borderline All-Star, averaging 16.9 points, 7.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 39.5% shooting from 3-point land through 13 games.

Perhaps most importantly, he seems equally competent in the half-court and while pushing the ball, so whenever Charlotte finds a style it can win with (the team’s 93.2 points per game is 24th-best in the league), Felton should be able to make it work.

Atlanta

– Much like Charlotte, Atlanta has a ton of exciting athletes to watch. Much like Charlotte, they’re putting up a puzzlingly few number of points (93.8 per contest, 23rd in the league).

One of those intriguing young guys is rookie Al Horford. The 6-10 ex-Gator is playing a bit undersized at center, but you’d never be able to tell from the numbers; he’s averaging over 10 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block per contest. Horford is on pace to become the first rookie to accomplish that since Derrick Coleman in 1990-91 (and if that name doesn’t galvanize you into watching a Hawks game, consider the last man to accomplish the feat before Coleman was David Robinson in 1989-90).

Miami

– Here’s the Readers Digest’ version of the Heat’s season thus far: A 4-11 start, almost inescapable criticism of Shaquille O’Neal’s conditioning and passion, and head coach Pat Riley publicly stating he could play better than the roster team president Pat Riley assembled. Think about that for a minute.

But then forget about it. Because all you need to know about the Heat is that they’ve got Dwayne Wade back. And, boom, you’ve got a conference contender again. It will take some time to get everyone on the same page again, but if Shaq gets pissed enough to play angry, no one’s going to want to face this team in a couple months.

E-mail HoopsCorner writer Tyson Wirth at Tyson-wirth@uiowa.edu

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