With most teams past the 10 game point in the NBA season, subplots and storylines are emerging. While the Lakers and Celtics are clearly the top teams in the league, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are playing well as the best of the rest. Other teams have not been up to the challenge. Heading in to Tuesday's action, here are the top ten surprises of the NBA season so far...
10. Mark Cuban's alleged insider trading - The league's most entertaining and passionate owner has been on the wrong side of David Stern before. He has a reputation for being a bit of a rogue, but always follows the law. The most surprising aspect of the story to me is public reaction fueled by speculation. Sure, the NBA is still reeling from image issues of the Tim Donaghy scandal two summers ago. But every piece of gossip is not connected to part of a bigger conspiracy theory. This is not symbolic of the behavior and attitudes of owners. In fact, let's look at the facts of the story and give Mark Cuban his day in court. The last time I checked, this is a country that prides itself in assuming innocence until proven guilty. Until that happens, the allegations are just that - allegations.
9. Knicks start 6-4 and Suns start 8-4 - Given the situation Mike D'Antoni entered in New York and the one he left in Phoenix, it's a bit surprising to see both teams doing so well to start. The Suns hired Terry Porter to take over as head coach and his previous coaching experience was a forgettable stint in Milwaukee. Shaquille O'Neal has been playing with a spark. Nash is showing no signs of slowing down and Amare Stoudemire is one of the game's most dominating power forwards. Getting past the powers of the west will have to be a total team effort, with big contributions from guys like Raja Bell, Matt Barnes, Grant Hill and Boris Diaw...provided none of them get traded over the course of the season.
As for the Knicks, Chris Duhon has been a great addition and they haven't missed Stephon Marbury or Eddy Curry one iota. Jamal Crawford continues to do what he does and Zach Randolph has been playing well in the center spot. Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler have been sparks for Mike D'Antoni, responding well to the run and gun system. Danilo Gallinari still has not suited up for the Knickerbockers, but they are making use of what they've got. You knew D'Antoni could turn it around, but they figured to have more growing pains at first than this.
8. Rudy Fernandez - The Trail Blazers supersub is no surprise to many basketball experts who expected the Spaniard to finish as a first teamer on the all-rookie squad. He's been a spark off the bench for Nate McMillan in the role that
Manu Ginobili plays for the Spurs. Shooting is his forte. Like Ginobili, Fernandez possesses surprising athleticism and the uncanny poise to know how to use it. If there ever was a veteran rookie, Fernandez would be it.
7. Wizards 1-6 start - You had to figure that the Wizards would struggle without Gilbert Arenas, but they faired decent last year without him. They still boast two all-stars in Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. So, what gives? Losses to the Nets and Knicks at home hurt. They have been without starting center Brandon Haywood, who's out indefinitely with a right wrist injury. They also haven't had a healthy Antonio Daniels. It was Daniels play at point guard that stabilized the team in Arenas absence. Without him, they are starting Juan Dixon at point guard. Juan Dixon is not a point guard.
6. Ramon Sessions - The Milwaukee Bucks started the season 5-5 in spite of only having Michael Redd for four of those games. The reason is Ramon Sessions. For diehard NBA fans, this should not come as a surprise. In 17 games late last year as a rookie, he averaged eight points and 7.5 assists a game in 26 minutes while shooting 43 percent from three point range. It was the potential of Sessions that allowed the Bucks to let go of Mo Williams this offseason. So far this year, he's averaging a shade under 16 points as the top guy off the Bucks bench. This is a player who nearly went undrafted two summers ago. Now, he's playing a key role as the second scorer to Richard Jefferson for a resurgent Bucks team. Remember the name Ramon Sessions.
5. Hawks 6-0 start - The Hawks limped into the playoffs last year as the eighth seed with a mere 37 wins. While they had a lot of talent, the franchise lacked direction and was notorious for passing up franchise point guards in the draft for guys like Shelden Williams and Marvin Williams. Shelden is long gone after being traded in the Mike Bibby deal, but Marvin is still suiting up for the Hawks and his improved shooting touch is one of the reasons the Hawks started 6-0 on the season. Mike Bibby didn't start in a funk this year like he did last year for the Kings. Joe Johnson has been spectacular. Flip Murray and Mo Evans proved to be good offseason acquisitions. Josh Childress is long forgotten. Now, Josh Smith is out 2-4 weeks with a sprained ankle and following the one point loss to the Celtics, the Hawks drop back-to-back games against the Nets. The win at Orlando to start the season and the November 5th win at New Orleans are highlights in the resume so far, but they have to forget about the Nets and get back on track. Devin Harris was simply on fire against the Hawks, but perhaps his performance highlighted a defensive weakness. Time will tell.
4. Clippers 1-9 start - Even though the Clippers lost Corey Maggette and Elton Brand to free agency, they were supposed to make up for that and perhaps a little more with the additions of Baron Davis, Ricky Davis and Marcus Camby. So far, it has not been pretty for the Lakers opening act. They opened the season with a 38 point loss to the Lakers and of the nine losses, six have been double digit deficits. They have the full lineup as well, so the lack of chemistry is not for lack of personnel. This is getting away from them in a hurry.
3. Texas triangle combined 15-16 - The Rockets are 7-4, but the Spurs and Mavericks are struggling. The Spurs are without Manu Ginobili and now Tony Parker will miss a few weeks with a sprained ankle. Parker was really turning it on in the absence of Ginobili, highlighted by his 55 point, 10 assist outing on November 5th against the Timberwolves. In five games, Parker averaged 27.4 points. He was averaging 33.3 points heading in to the November 7th loss at Miami where he only played 10 minutes before turning his ankle late in the first quarter. The Spurs lost that game, but have managed to go 4-1 since. The real surprise of the Texas teams is how bad the Mavericks have been. Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Kidd are suiting up, but they haven't been getting the job done. They gave the Clippers their only win and started out 2-7 on the season before winning in Charlotte. Time is running out for Rick Carlisle to turn things around.
2. Anthony Morrow - However the Warriors find these guys, you have to give them credit. Morrow is a free agent rookie who went undrafted out of Georgia Tech. He came in under the radar as a prospect who was known as a good shooter, but not assertive enough or balanced in other areas of the game. When you are shooting 58% on three pointers though, you can get some court time in Don Nelson's system. The other facets of the game will come around. Morrow got the start on Sunday, November 15th against the Clippers and he shot 15-of-20 from the field en route to 37 points. He was in the zone and it was far and away the best performance he's had on any level in his entire life. It's a long way from a guy who came to the summer league to prove himself, came to training camp to try and make the team, and now starting and starring for the Warriors. Marco Bellinari, the hyped 2007 first round pick from Italy, hasn't tasted this much success when it counted and is now taking a back seat to Morrow. Bellinari opened his summer league debut with a 37 point performance himself, so the work is far from over for Morrow. However, he's making the most of his opportunity and the Warriors are taking full advantage.
1. Iverson-Billups trade - The November 3rd trade between the Denver Nuggets and the Detroit Pistons is the most shocking development of the season thus far. With Allen Iverson going to the Pistons and Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets, both teams gave a dramatic face lift to their squads. The most surprising part is that neither team skipped a beat. Team chemistry got better for both teams as a result of this trade. It's rare that superstars are traded in the NBA and it works out for both sides so equally. In this case, call it a win-win situation.
Chris Fry created this group on SportProjections.com. 