NBA Observations

[balt999]

Here are my early season observations of the NBA season

-- How valuable is Gary Payton...You take him out...and what do you have?? You have a lottery team. Gary Payton is the freak and should be getting the money he deserves...Last year and this year's 4-0 start is proving he's an awesome player.

-- Denver may not be as bad as people say they are...They are playing tough in many games and could be a value pick as they will be getting double digit points in many games....

-- Sacramento may have the swagger, but they sure aren't playing like one...3 games in a row against teams they should beat...Look, Kings, if you have dreams of beating the Lakers, you better start beating teams like Miami and and New York....

-- I know Yao Ming is the center of attention in Houston, but is there a more excited guard duo in the leauge like Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley....

-- Detroit is back to playing like last year....a no name team that's playing tough defense.....but lack of offensive firepower will doom them.

-- Most impressive rookie so far: Nene Hilario
-- MVP so far (I know it's early): Gary Payton
-- Surprising team: Atlanta Hawks
-- Dissappointed team: Boston Celtics

[Clarkmeister]

"Last year and this year's 4-0 start is proving (Payton) is an awesome player"

Where have you been? He's been the best PG in the NBA for over a decade now. In fact, I'd argue that he is the 3rd best PG of all time, behind only Magic and Oscar, and ahead of Isaiah, Cousy, Stockton, etc. He ceased having anything to prove a long time ago.

[balt999]

I think people are starting understand the greatness of Gary Payton the last two years....Without much talent around, he's able to raise the level of his game and his teammates to make them better, thus making the Sonics very competitive..

I agree, when mentioning the great PG of all time, Payton needs to be mentioned in the same breath.

[Teddy]

Two quick notes,

First, Houston's backcourt has gotta be the most promising in the league by far.. Both of these guys have the potential to be team leaders (Francis already showing it)..

Second, I'm not sure why you are surprised by Atlanta. They really have a solid team now with another scoring threat. Big Dog is a great fit for this team to take some of the heat of Shareef.. I was really impressed with the play of Glover last season, and if Ratliff can get it together, they will be playoff contenders for sure in the East. I haven't even mentioned Jason Terry yet either. Big upside for this team, especially given the fact that most are pretty unaware of the Hawks even being close to contenders.

[Teddy]

Don't discount Stockton so quickly.. With his grit I'd have to place him a notch above Payton. Not taking anything away from him, but just saying Stockton is a hell of a point guard.

[Wildbill]

Why do the Kings have to play well now? They are seriously injured, take away the starting PG for any decent team and they will struggle a lot more than if you take their PF away which is the guy whose injuries always seem to get the attention of the world. The Kings don't have to play well now for the same reason the Lakers don't have to play well right now. Come playoff time if they have a healthy squad the Kings will roll over everyone except the Lakers and the same goes for the boys from LA as well. Think anyone is worried in LA because they are under .500 right now? Take away the two best players from the Kings, take the most dominant player in the NBA and do it in the first two weeks of the season and its always going to lead to struggling inconsistent play. As the Kings learned last year, it isn't what you do at this time of year because they got their cherished home court, its what you do at the end of the year.

As for Payton, he has been a bit down for a few years so maybe this year he decided that he had to be the man with no more excuses and he has risen to the challenge so far. Don't get too excited, once again no one won the title in November. I would take Stockton in his prime in a heartbeat over Payton because he does things you can't get from the rest of your team. Scorers aren't that hard to find for the NBA, but guys that play defense, distribute the ball, keep your team from having too many long dry spells, hit clutch free throws...etc, those are rare finds. Most of all, he is one of those guys that just makes sure his team wins if its at all possible, I can't say that about Payton.

[scalf]

/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif actually, i think denver sux the gas pipe and should be faded regularly...gl /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Denver is terrible. Five rookies, no point guard, no shooting guard, no center, Howard is your main man? As I stated earlier, when Ryan Bowen is one of your starters, you are in trouble. That "hardest working team in basketball" stuff (thats their motto) lasts for about the first 20 games, then goes down the tubes as the losses pile up. Add the number of rookieson the team, and when the hit the proverbial "wall" about halfway thru the season, this team is really gonna suck. Check out last night games, a 26 point loss to the Pistons at Denver, and they were never in it. They will cover some spreads where they have a big point spread, but it will be where they are down 20-25 in the fourth and get it to 1-15 when the scrubs for the other team come in. This Nuggets team has a good chance to set the all time worst record. You may get some value plays early in the season, but as it drags on, stay away or go the other way.--Big Al--

I meant getting the final score down to between 10-15...