Surprise is a word most basketball fans are accustomed to by now. After a couple of weeks of the 2005-06 season, most of the standings are a surprise. There are a few teams that fans had huge expectations for along with a few teams that fans had no hope for. The Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks and the Seattle Sonics are a few of those teams that already find themselves at the bottom of the standings and whoever would’ve thought the Clippers would be 4 games over .500? Let’s check out the first week of power rankings powered by Courtside Magazine in order to see which teams are rising and which teams are sinking faster than the Titanic.
Category: NBA
NBA
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Moving to the Attic
I am the Bizarro Chicken Little. The sky is actually growing. After 8 games, my basketball team has failed to post a single losing record. They’ve now had 8 chances to take that familiar plunge into the lottery pool, the shallow end of the NBA where also-rans bob around in their floaties and learn how to hopefully make it to the deep end one day. Over the past decade, the Warriors have been the kid who simply refuses to get out of the lotto pool, closing hours and pruned fingers be damned. But this year, the Warriors haven’t so much as dipped a toe into the lottery waters, instead sprinting for the deep end and diving in headfirst. And the only thing more surprising than seeing the Warriors in the deep end for the first time in 12 years? They’re keeping their heads above water.
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Kobe or Shaq? Phil decides
To all of those who have crucified Kobe Bryant for thinking he can win a NBA title without Shaquille O’Neal, now is a good time to start planning for Bryant’s resurrection.
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Nen
Usually for a pro athlete to gain “singular name status,” they have done something noteworthy on the court or field. Something big! Like a championship, a scoring title or even the gulp……..slam dunk contest. There was Michael, Magic, Larry and Charles, and currently we have Kobe, Lebron, Shaq and Melo, but Nenê? It’s downright baffling to me.
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All the Right Questions
It’s been a long offseason for basketball fans, especially those in California. The past 6 months have felt like an eternity to all those Clippers fans who can’t wait for Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley to lead the Clips back to the promised land. With the season less than a week away, you’ll want to be prepared for when the real games begin. But don’t worry: you have questions, and I have the answers. Here are the biggest questions surrounding the NBA’s offseason, and how they affect your team.
Since the New York Knicks traded Patrick Ewing in September of 2000, they have been an undersized team. They have tried to get by at center with the likes of Kurt Thomas, Luc Longley and Marcus Camby. However, this past off season General Manager Isiah Thomas made numerous moves to add size. Will this collection of big men find enough minutes and be able to work together?
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NBA Eastern Division Preview
The NBA’s upcoming season should be as exciting as it’s been ever, and I have come up with equally exciting predictions. The Heat built up on talent, Larry Brown backstabbed Detroit fans by moving to New York, and the rest of the east is just itching to get started. The new season has brought new division contenders and new dismal teams. This is what I’m looking for to happen in this NBA season in the east.
“Ah, the wonders of youth.” That ought to be the mantra of the Boston Celtics for the coming season. If they decide to go in a different direction and endorse sayings such as “The future is now,” they and their fans may be sorely disappointed.
The newest version of the Celtics are very high on potential and quite low on actual NBA experience. Coming into training camp, the Green has eight players with four years of combined experience and 10 players aged 23 or younger. The inexperience on this squad has gotten so out of hand that Ricky Davis, he of the ripe age of 26, has been talked about as a possible veteran leader of this bunch. Sweet mother of mercy!
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Mullin’s Twelve
NBA training camps don’t open for a few more weeks, but Chris Mullin wasn’t about to let that stand in his way. His Golden State Warriors ended last season on a positive note, lending more promise to the 2005-06 season than any before it in the past decade. But to reestablish the chemistry of last year’s team, Mullin knew his players would need as much time as possible together. So he decided to round all of them up in person, several weeks early, and he recounted his efforts to me so that I could publish them on my website. Why me, you ask? Well, Mully and I have shared a special bond ever since my 7th grade season in CYO basketball, when I was voted “Player Most Likely to Make Chris Mullin Gag in Horror”. That kind of bond doesn’t just fade away with time.
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Michael Finley sweepstakes
Being the sly reporter that I am, I taped a micro-microphone in the room where Michael Finley and his suitors would be doing their buizznesss. And, boy, do you have to see this!
Some REAL NBA humor!