Updated Nov. 3
If you believe most of the so-called experts, 25 teams tipped off their NBA seasons last week only because they'd sold tickets. Each had about as much chance of making the Super Bowl as the NBA Finals.
Lakers vs. Spurs and Cavaliers vs. Celtics or Magic. Those were your near-unanimous May matchups. Nobody else was given much of a chance.
|
|
| Jermaine O'Neal averaged 17.3 points and 10.3 boards during Miami's 3-0 start. (Getty Images) |
Speaking of tickets, the Mavericks had Phil Jackson talking Staples Arena refund after a 94-80 drubbing Oct. 30. We all know Dirk Nowitzki can play, and the Shawn Marion acquisition could be potentially huge. But turn-back-the-clock, double-digit efforts by Erick Dampier (10 rebounds) and Jason Kidd (11 assists) also sent a message to the Lakers.
Remember, this was a Dallas club that never got the better of Kobe Bryant last season, yet was strong enough at season's end to wrestle a first-round playoff series from the mighty Spurs. Having lost three nights earlier to Washington, we already see you never know which Mavericks club is going to show up on a given night -- and that's a bit scary.
The Lakers fully awakened, Atlanta ventured into Staples two nights later and lost to the defending champs 118-110. Even in defeat, the point total screamed out something about the revved-up Hawks team that now features Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague and an un-Eastern Conference-like assortment of weapons this season.
The last time Lakers fans had witnessed their team giving up 110 points in a home game was in the regular-season finale against Utah. That's right: None of L.A.'s four playoff combatants reached that mark. In fact, the Lakers' Finals foe last year -- Orlando -- averaged 24.5 points less in its two visits, one of which went into overtime.
It's clear from the get-go the Nuggets have an MVP candidate this year. The question is: Which star is it?
Carmelo Anthony lit up the league like no one else in his first three games, firing in 37.7 points in 38.7 minutes per outing. That gave him a slight edge in the I'm-More-Important-Than-You Department over Chauncey Billups, whose 6.7 assists complemented 23.0 points in the three consecutive wins and gave Denver the league's best 1-2 punch.
If not Boston, the best defensive team in the league's first week had to be the Heat. In blitzing the Knicks, Pacers and Bulls by an average of 11 points, Miami never surrendered more than 93 points and permitted the bottled-up trio to shoot just 38.6 percent from the field.
Like the Nuggets, it's more than just a one-man show in Miami this season. Jermaine O'Neal is playing like another guy named O'Neal in his Heat heyday, having averaged a double-double over the 3-0 start.
So, where do the four party-crashers rank in the first NBA Power Rankings of the regular season? Well, a whole lot higher than they did in last week's preseason edition.
But ahead of the league's Big Five? At this point, only the Nuggets can make that claim -- and barely at that.
| Power Rankings | ||||||||||
| Current | Team | Previous | ||||||||
 | 1 | Celtics · Trends | 1 | |||||||
| Biggest win of opening week: Re-upping with Rajon Rondo for five more seasons. ... Opening victory at Cleveland demonstrated that Rasheed Wallace was a better pickup than Shaq. | ||||||||||
 | 2 | Magic · Trends | 2 | |||||||
| Unhappy homecoming: Vince Carter sprained ankle in win at New Jersey. ... Who needs Carter and suspended Rashard Lewis? Dwight Howard goes back-to-back-to-back with double-doubles. | ||||||||||
 | 3 | Lakers · Trends | 3 | |||||||
| Most impressive part of win over Atlanta: When Kobe Bryant couldn't stop Hawks' Joe Johnson, Ron Artest took over and could. ... Why no drop in rankings? We haven't seen Pau Gasol yet. | ||||||||||
 | 4 | Nuggets · Trends | 7 | |||||||
| Defending division champs send early reminder to Northwest rivals Utah, Portland. ... This is hilarious: Nene Hilario averaged 5.7 fouls in first three games. | ||||||||||
 | 5 | Spurs · Trends | 5 | |||||||
| First back-to-back -- win over Hornets, loss to Bulls -- not encouraging for NBA's old-timers. ... After Manu Ginobili corralled bat, would you want to defend him? | ||||||||||
 | 6 | Cavaliers · Trends | 4 | |||||||
| Most discouraging aspect of 0-2 start: There's already talk of who the Cavs must acquire at trade deadline. ... Shaq not making any Cleveland fans forget Brad Daugherty. | ||||||||||
 | 7 | Hawks · Trends | 9 | |||||||
| Hawks (84.3 percent) are scorching opponents from free-throw line. ... Josh Smith (23) NBA's youngest ever to block 900 shots. | ||||||||||
 | 8 | Heat · Trends | 14 | |||||||
| Only Celtics (19.3) had greater average margin of victory than Heat (14.3) in first week. ... Here's another win: Hard-nosed Tim Hardaway gets No. 10 jersey retired. | ||||||||||
 | 9 | Mavericks · Trends | 11 | |||||||
| First-week wins at Staples Center: Lakers two, Mavericks two, Clippers one. ... Best offseason acquisition? Shawn Marion (16.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks) right up there. | ||||||||||
 | 10 | Trail Blazers · Trends | 6 | |||||||
| Brandon Roy scored 20 in home win over Rockets, 42 in rematch loss at Houston. ... Talk about filling up the box score: Greg Oden posted 11 blocks and 19 fouls in the first four games. | ||||||||||
 | 11 | Rockets · Trends | 19 | |||||||
| No Tracy McGrady, so Trevor Ariza (21.2 points, 48 percent shooting) is getting the green light and making opponents pay. ... When did Houston acquire Chris Paul and why does his jersey say "Brooks"? | ||||||||||
 | 12 | Suns · Trends | 17 | |||||||
| Easy to see why the Suns wanted Steve Nash back: 20 assists vs. Golden State ... Thank you, Mr. Nash: Pick-and-pop center Frye hits 13 of first 20 from 3-point range. | ||||||||||
 | 13 | 76ers · Trends | 13 | |||||||
| No early surprises: Loss at Orlando, wins over lowly Bucks, Knicks. ... Don't call me Louis: Williams averaging 20.3 points, five-plus rebounds, assists. | ||||||||||
 | 14 | Wizards · Trends | 21 | |||||||
| Message of season-opening win at Dallas: Gilbert Arenas is back. ... Vastly improved Andray Blatche hits 28 of first 39 off bench. | ||||||||||
 | 15 | Bulls · Trends | 15 | |||||||
| Why 1-2 is acceptable: Rugged slate tipped off with Spurs, Celtics, Heat. ... Round 1 of Derrick Rose vs. Tony Parker goes to the second-year standout. | ||||||||||
 | 16 | Jazz · Trends | 10 | |||||||
| Jazz look old, slow in blowout home loss to Rockets ... Carlos Boozer is earning his big bucks: three games, three double-figure rebound efforts. | ||||||||||
 | 17 | Hornets · Trends | 8 | |||||||
| My, how the mighty have fallen: Only win is over the Kings; already a loss to Knicks. ... Frustrated Chris Paul exchanged words with Rondo after defeat at Boston. | ||||||||||
 | 18 | Raptors · Trends | 24 | |||||||
| Why Chris Bosh remains a Raptor: three games, three double-doubles. ... Roller-coaster ride has begun: Loss to Grizzlies follows shockingly easy win over Cavaliers. | ||||||||||
 | 19 | Thunder · Trends | 23 | |||||||
| Who says offense sells? Defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha gets a generous extension. ... Not a list you want to lead: Kevin Durant tops in league in missed shots (43) through three games. | ||||||||||
 | 20 | Bobcats · Trends | 26 | |||||||
| Just keep shooting: Gerald Wallace opens season 11 for 40, then scores 24 in win over Nets. ... Good news: Raja Bell puts off surgery. Bad news: He debuts 1-for-8. | ||||||||||
 | 21 | Pistons · Trends | 12 | |||||||
| Duplication can be good thing: With Richard Hamilton (ankle) out, Ben Gordon pours in 25, 26. ... Home loss to Thunder was no surprise: Detroit dropped one to Western doormat last year, too. | ||||||||||
 | 22 | Pacers · Trends | 22 | |||||||
| Mr. Double-Double doing it again: Troy Murphy goes 14-10, then 12-13. ... League's Worst Player of First Week candidate: Dahntay Jones shoots 33.3 percent, has 9-2 turnover/assist ratio. | ||||||||||
 | 23 | Warriors · Trends | 18 | |||||||
| Stephen Jackson update: No tirades, no quality starts in club's 0-2 opening. ... First two opponents (Rockets, Suns) drop in 24 of 48 from 3-point range. | ||||||||||
 | 24 | Clippers · Trends | 16 | |||||||
| Balloon gets popped early: Club loses rookie star Blake Griffin to fractured kneecap. ... Only the Clippers: Despite triumph over Timberwolves, they still trail winless club (Warriors) in rankings. | ||||||||||
 | 25 | Grizzlies · Trends | 29 | |||||||
| One game into Grizzlies career, Allen Iverson already making waves. ... It may be time to start asking: Who got better of Gasol-for-Gasol trade with Lakers? | ||||||||||
 | 26 | Knicks · Trends | 27 | |||||||
| Remarkable feat: Danilo Gallinari averaging 10.5 3-point attempts per game. Equally remarkable: He has made 45.2 percent of them. | ||||||||||
 | 27 | Timberwolves · Trends | 25 | |||||||
| Who needs Ricky Rubio? Rookie Jonny Flynn second on Timberwolves with 14.8 scoring average. ... Who needs Rubio? Timberwolves do. No player averaging more than 3.2 assists. | ||||||||||
 | 28 | Bucks · Trends | 30 | |||||||
| Reserve lottery seat for Bucks: Michael Redd's knee already acting up. ... Paving path across Atlantic: Seasoned Brandon Jennings (20.5 points, 6.0 assists) was top rookie of Week 1. | ||||||||||
 | 29 | Kings · Trends | 28 | |||||||
| First coaching win is classic Paul Westphal: 127-116 over Grizzlies. ... Don't count Kevin Martin (31.0) out of league scoring race. | ||||||||||
 | 30 | Nets · Trends | 20 | |||||||
| It can't get worse: No field goals over 11½-minute stretch in loss to Bobcats. ... Why is Courtney Lee (33.3 percent shooting, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists) playing 40.3 minutes a game? | ||||||||||
