San Antonio fell to the cross-state rival Mavericks 103-94 on Friday, only the second loss for the Spurs all year. And it came at the hands of a Dallas team that is, to nobody’s surprise, fixated neatly in the upper echelon of the Western Conference yet again.
The pool of talented teams in the NBA this year is unlike anything the league has seen since perhaps the mid 90s, when the Bulls reigned supreme but had plenty of worthy competition coming at every angle.
And to stir up the pot even more, the so-called preseason favorites, the Miami Heat, haven’t even made an ounce of noise in the standings.
We could be in for a wild ride come April.
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San Antonio Spurs Ladies and gentlemen, Manu Ginobili — defying common sense and having the best season of his career at age 33. Manu has career highs in points, assists, steals and blocks, and the Spurs have won 14 of their last 15 games. |
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Boston Celtics The Celtics are getting superb performances from two anachronistic stars — the Shaquille O’Neal of the past and the Rajon Rondo of the future. |
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Los Angeles Lakers You know the Lakers are going through a rough patch when Kobe Bryant scores 31, 41 and 29 points over a three-game stretch, and they lose all three. Andrew Bynum is still out, Ron Artest has been horrendous, and the once-stellar bench is starting to look more hit-or-miss. The Lakers have problems to deal with. |
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New Orleans Hornets Is there any doubt who the front-runner is right now for MVP this season? It’s got to be Chris Paul. Now that he’s healthy and taking over games again, he’s put the Hornets back on the map as a contender in the Western Conference |
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Dallas Mavericks The Mavs’ win Saturday night over the Heat looked like men against boys. Dirk Nowitzki is having a career year, and the Mavs have now won six straight games and 10 of their last 12. They’re on the rise again out West. |
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Orlando Magic The Magic are already scary good at 13-4. But if they pull off a deal for Carmelo Anthony, as it’s rumored they just might, they’re only going to get scarier. |
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Utah Jazz A few weeks ago, the Jazz made some noise with a comeback-laden five-game winning streak. But now they’re winning again, and they’re doing it the conventional way, by getting a lead and keeping it. The Jazz have won six straight going into Wednesday night’s meeting with the Pacers. |
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Miami Heat What’s the best explanation for the Heat’s impressive double-digit win on Monday night? Is it the fact that a Monday team meeting has given the superteam new direction — or just that they were playing the god-awful Wizards at home? I’m guessing the latter. |
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Chicago Bulls The Bulls are off to a solid start at 9-6, first in the Central, and things will only get more solid when Carlos Boozer returns. That could happen this week. |
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Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook exploded for 43, 8 and 8 in a Friday night win over the Pacers. Just how good is this guy? Is it time to include him in the conversation as a top-20 or even top-15 player in the NBA? It just might be. |
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