At 12-1, Gregg Popovich's club has won 11 straight ballgames and has climbed its way to the top of the Western Conference.
Many thought San Antonio's run of NBA domination was over after Kobe Bryant and the Lakers ascended to the top of the league over the past couple of years, but Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili continue to show that they still have gas in the tank — and that you can never count them out.
Perhaps the most amazing part of the Spurs' hot start this season is that they've always been a great team, but got virtually no credit compared to the Heat, Lakers and Celtics. Meanwhile, San Antonio is pacing them all in the standings.
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San Antonio Spurs It can't be denied anymore. The Spurs' big three is looking bigger than ever, Richard Jefferson has come into his own, and San Antonio is deep and dangerous, just like the good old days. Don't sleep on Gregg Popovich's squad — it's not dead yet. |
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Los Angeles Lakers Pau Gasol is averaging 38 minutes a game this season with Andrew Bynum and Theo Ratliff injured, and he's made the most of them. Gasol is averaging 20.7 points and 12.0 rebounds for the Lakers this season, with a league-best 12 double-doubles in 15 games. |
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Boston Celtics The Celtics demolished the Hawks in the first quarter on Monday night, taking a 39-13 lead and never looking back. It might have been the single best quarter of the Big Three era in Boston. Never doubt what these C's are capable of when motivated. |
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New Orleans Hornets We saw something rare out of the Hornets on Monday night in L.A. — they failed to come through in the clutch. A couple of missed free throws and a rare turnover from Chris Paul gave New Orleans a shocking loss to the Clippers. The Hornets might not be the team to beat out West after all. |
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Miami Heat The easy impulse is to jump ship on the Heat, but that would be foolish. It's still only November, and they've got plenty of time to figure it all out. They've still got 68 games to go, which happens also to be the number of times Erik Spoelstra uses the word "process" in each postgame news conference. |
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Orlando Magic It's early, but so far, the Magic look like the best defensive team in the NBA. It's not just Dwight Howard anymore — the Magic are getting solid perimeter defense from guys like Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson, too. We'll see if they can sustain that all season. |
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Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki went off for 36 points against the Bulls on Friday, and the Mavs still lost by five at home. They're a great team, but they still occasionally have nights to make you wonder if the supporting cast around Dirk is good enough. Can someone else step up? |
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Denver Nuggets Chris Andersen made his return this week from right knee surgery. Expect big-time improvement from the Nuggets going forward — in defense, in rebounding, and in crazy tattoos. |
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Utah Jazz The Jazz staged another comeback this week, with C.J. Miles hitting five 3's in the fourth quarter to stun the Trail Blazers on Saturday. When they're pulling off dramatic come-from-behind wins like this, the Jazz are the most fun team to watch in the NBA by far. |
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Chicago Bulls We all knew Derrick Rose was a rising star in this league, but who knew he'd emerge as a scoring threat quite like this? Rose dropped 30 points on the Lakers on Tuesday night, his sixth straight game with 20-plus, and he's now vaulted to second in the league in scoring behind only Kevin Durant, with 25.6 points per game. |
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