Writing the Pine

AP Photo/Winslow Townson

1. PHOENIX SUNS (9), 6-1 – Despite getting smoked by the Magic in Orlando, the Suns made up for it by beating the Celtics on the road.  Steve Nash is playing like an MVP and is shooting better from 3-point land than 2-point distance.  Are the Suns for real?  This week will be a good indication as they play two average teams (Sixers, Hornets) followed by a showdown with the Lakers.

2. BOSTON CELTICS (1), 7-1 – The C’s did not look good in their last three games.  Two close victories over the Timberwolves and the Nets and a loss to the Suns.  Maybe it’s the eight games in 12 days thing, but if it is, how will they be in the playoffs?

3. LOS ANGELES LAKERS (5), 6-1 – The Lakers have not looked good without Pau Gasol.  But oh yeah, they still have a guy named Kobe.  The NBA’s leading scorer is carrying the team on his back and has already broken the 40-point mark three times.  His assists are down but he needs to shoulder the scoring load for the time being.

4. ORLANDO MAGIC (2), 5-2 – I was ready to anoint the Magic as the #1 team because of how well they’ve been playing without Rashard Lewis and now Vince Carter.  But a terrible loss to the Thunder drops them to the four spot.

5. MIAMI HEAT (12), 5-1 – The Heat were the benefactors of an easy first week but despite being handed their first loss by Phoenix in the second week, they did have impressive victories over the (disappointing) Wizards and the Nuggets.

6. DALLAS MAVERICKS (4), 4-2 – As Dirk Nowitizki goes, so do the Dallas Mavericks.  He only had 12 points on 4-15 shooting in the loss to the Hornets.

7. ATLANTA HAWKS (8), 5-2 – An absolutely awful loss to the Bobcats followed by an impressive victory over the Nuggets caps a 3-1 week for the Hawks.

8. DENVER NUGGETS (3), 5-2 – After starting the season as the league’s hottest team (thanks to an easy schedule), the Nuggets have cooled off with two straight losses.  They have two more games on their six-game road trip followed by a home game against the Lakers.  Let’s see what Denver is made of.

9. CHICAGO BULLS (13), 4-2 – Three impressive, gritty wins for the Bulls, including a win in Cleveland, vault them into the top ten.

10. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (7), 4-3 – The Cavs, along with the Spurs, are the most disappointing teams to start the season.  Maybe LeBron doesn’t see a championship happening in Cleveland…

11. HOUSTON ROCKETS (14), 4-2 – Before the season, I would’ve guessed the Rockets to start 0-6.  Rick Adelman is doing a great job.

12. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (16), 4-3 – LaMarcus needs to play with some consistency to prove he deserves his contract or he will make it into Bill Simmons’s next 50 columns.

13. TORONTO RAPTORS (NR), 3-3 – Whoever lands Chris Bosh this summer will be very happy.

14. SAN ANTONIO SPURS (6), 2-3 – Terrible start.  And without Tony Parker this week, they could easily be 2-6 come next Monday.

15. DETROIT PISTONS (NR), 3-4 – The Pistons aren’t very good but a win against the Magic counts for something.

16. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (NR), 3-4 – A perfect week for the Clippers!  Who needs Blake Griffin?  They have Chris Kaman!

MVP/ROY WATCH

MVP

1. KOBE BRYANT (NR) – Single-handedly carrying the team while Pau Gasol nurses his injury.  Can’t knock him for all the shots he’s been taking because the Lakers have needed every one of his points.
2. DWYANE WADE (NR) – It’s all Dwyane Wade all the time for the Heat.
3. STEVE NASH (NR) – Some may argue his Hall of Fame credentials, but he’s certainly playing like he should be there.
4. CARMELO ANTHONY (1) – He scored 30 points in each of the Nuggets’ two losses, but had a -19 and -23 +/- in them too.
5. DWIGHT HOWARD (2) – Not sure who else I could put here.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
1. BRANDON JENNINGS (2) – Possibly the second coming of Chris Paul.  I might’ve been wrong to put Flynn ahead of Jennings last week.  Still shoots too much though for my liking.
2. TY LAWSON (3) – It looks he finally may have moved ahead of Anthony Carter in the rotation.
3. JONNY FLYNN (1) – To be fair, I haven’t seen many T-Wolves games, but he needs to average more than 3.4 assists.
4. TYREKE EVANS (NR) – With Evans having to move to the 2-guard with Kevin Martin injured, maybe the Kings’ coaches will finally realize that he’s not a point guard.  He’s averaged 27.5  points since the move.
5. CHASE BUDINGER (NR) – Budinger has been playing very well this year.  It’s too bad he couldn’t play against the Lakers (sprained ankle).

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

I don’t know why everyone is making such a big deal over LeBron James saying a max deal is not important.  I know I’m going out on a limb here but I’m going to guess there will be no negotating dollars when it comes for him to sign his contract.  He’s obviously going to sign a max deal.  Teams would pay him triple the max if they could.  If the NBA had no cap, he’d make $50 million a year.  He should be the highest paid player in the NBA, along with maybe Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade but the fact that Jermaine O’Neal, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Michael Redd, Andrei Kirilenko, and Zach Randolph all make more money than him is a damn shame.  It would be stupid if that continued along with his next contract.  If LeBron doesn’t sign a max deal this summer than I really wouldn’t know what to say.  LeBron said he cares about winning but he obviously can win with anybody (except maybe his current team).  But seriously, look at that 2007 Cavaliers team.  If he can get to the Finals with that team, he could win the current Knicks team.  I honestly believe it still comes down to the Cavs, Knicks, and Nets.  I don’t buy the Miami talk.  Why would he go to a team that already has a superstar the returned the franchise to prominence.  The Heat are Dwyane Wade’s team and he built them up again.  It would make more sense to me if both of them went to another team together, like say the Nets (although I’d hate for that to happen for reasons I’ll get into another time, let’s just say I don’t like New Jersey).  I still think it’s a three-team race for LeBron and friend with the Cavs, Knicks, and Nets with Cleveland in third place.  The lure of the big city (and all the fame, endorsements, opportunity, exposure, etc.) that comes with it is too much for a superstar like LeBron to turn down.  I don’t buy the argument that he’ll get endorsements and the exposure in Cleveland.  What is Cleveland?  It is nothing compared to New York.  Jay-Z isn’t making hit records about Cleveland.  Even Chingy wouldn’t make a song about Cleveland.  You can just ask CC Sabathia what the difference is between Cleveland and New York.  Or better yet, let’s just ask Jay-Z and Alicia Keys: