Essentials: Beasts in the East are few and far between

Miami and Chicago beat everybody in the Eastern Conference to 10 losses. While slow starts for both were predictable, they've reached low levels no one could've envisioned. Two of the league's supposed heavyweights have been pushovers.

Ben Wallace and the Bulls have had much to ponder this season. (AP)

At some point, the Heat and Bulls will make their runs and will find there isn't much ground to make up. Almost everyone around them has been mediocre, failing to take advantage while a couple of the big boys were away.

The Celtics and Magic have done well to run off and hide. The Bucks have this week to join them.

Milwaukee enters the week even with Detroit for the Central Division lead and gets to go through Philadelphia, Atlanta and the woeful Knicks before hosting the Pistons on Saturday. An eye-opening home win over Dallas on Saturday ran the Bucks' winning streak to five and has them on the cusp of earning a label as one of the NBA's surprise teams.

Taking care of inferior competition would seal the label. That's what good teams do. That, and they have to stay healthy.

Milwaukee has been better than .500 when the calendar turns each of the last two seasons and has faded due to attrition. In 2006-07, it used 20 different starting lineups. Bobby Simmons never saw the light of day due to a heel injury, Charlie Villanueva missed more than half the season with a knee issue and Michael Redd was absent for 29 games. Mo Williams and Andrew Bogut's missed games also reached double-figures, leaving reserve Charlie Bell as the only member of the team to play all 82.

That's why re-signing Bell, re-acquiring Desmond Mason and inking Royal Ivey was so pivotal this offseason. The Bucks don't want to be caught in the dilemma they fell into last year, playing guys out of position and relying on the likes of Ersan Ilyasova and David Noel for heavy minutes. Noel hasn't gotten into a game this season and is likely headed for the D-league, while Ilyasova is getting his seasoning at Spain's FC Barcelona. That should tell you something about how rough last season was from a depth standpoint.

Even with the improved bench, when Williams went to the locker room with a badly twisted ankle on Saturday night, there was a tangible sense of dread. The point guard Milwaukee out-bid Miami for had been playing great after a poor start, averaging 15 points and 10 assists during the win streak. Rather than let the injury temper his team's momentum, Williams got the ankle worked on and taped up and limped back out on to the court. He wound up going 41 minutes and finished with 19 points and 10 more assists, displaying the type of composure that had eluded him earlier in his career. He didn't try to do too much, just what he was physically able to.

That's another major change the Bucks can be cautiously optimistic about. Another is that Michael Redd, of late, has been much more than strictly a shooter. During this five-game win streak, he's averaged nearly six rebounds and more than four assists to go with his 28 points per game. His increased production has come against the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Joe Johnson, the ultimate leadership by example.

Plus, he has no problem vocalizing what the Bucks' next order of business is. It's nice that they've been perfect through the first six games at the Bradley Center, but true progress is made away from the comforts of home.

"We've got to win on the road. I can't emphasize that enough," Redd told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "We have to be able to win on the road in order to be a true contender."

Games in Atlanta and New York later this week will indicate whether these Bucks are to be taken seriously or not. Healthy and surging, the time is now to take that next step.

Team of the week:

Getting placed under this heading practically ensures a perfect week (12-0 so far), so San Antonio can bank on staying at the top of the Western Conference and running its current win streak to nine. After beating former assistant P.J. Carlesimo on Sunday night, head coach Gregg Popovich will have the pleasure of continuing a stretch where he won't see a team with a winning record until Dec. 5, when the last team to beat his Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks, come calling. The Kings, Wizards, Timberwolves and Trail Blazers are lined up as this week's victims.

Team of the weak:

This might be a make-or-break week for Knicks coach Isiah Thomas in his efforts to remain employed. Utah, Milwaukee and Phoenix all swing through Madison Square Garden this week, so he may want to invest in some earplugs. On the bright side, it does offer him a chance to pull an upset or two and take some of the heat off. On the not-so-bright side, the homestand is interrupted by Thursday night's nationally televised visit to Boston, which comes complete with the bonus of having TNT's Inside the NBA crew throw him under the bus.

Player to watch:

Cleveland hasn't been much defensively of late, but Mike Brown has relented on playing at a faster pace, which is why LeBron James has put up so many staggering numbers the past few games. He's notched triple-doubles in three of his last six games entering Tuesday's encounter with mighty Boston and just missed a fourth by a single assist. During the stretch, he's averaged 36.5 points, 10 rebounds and 9.4 assists, making him a shoo-in for Player of the Month honors despite what Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett have done for their squads. The show continues this week in high-profile meetings with the Celtics, Pistons and Raptors.

Showcases:

•  Baron Davis played out of his mind to help the Warriors win four out of five back east, averaging 23 points and more than seven boards and seven assists. Steve Nash has notched 10 or more assists in 10 of Phoenix's first 13 games, including the last seven. The orchestra leaders of the two highest-scoring teams in the league should make Monday night's encounter a must-watch.

•  Al Horford getting more playing time than Joakim Noah is no surprise. His Hawks having a better record than the Bulls undoubtedly is. The two towers from the University of Florida's back-to-back national championship teams clash for the first time in Chicago on Tuesday, but there's no telling whether they'll get to match up. Horford hasn't played less than 20 minutes in any game this season and leads all rookies in rebounding (9.8 per game), while Noah has only played more than 20 minutes once, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds in Denver last Tuesday. He's played eight minutes in two games since.

•  Wednesday's Memphis/Toronto game was supposed to be a showcase of four of the five Spanish National Team members currently in the NBA, but the latest is that Jorge Garbajosa may be shut down for the season due to the lingering effects of trying to come back too quickly from last season's gruesome ankle injury. Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro and Jose Calderon will have to do.

•  Rashard Lewis has already seen his old Sonics teammates when they rolled through Orlando earlier this month, but admits it will be even stranger to see what life in the visiting locker room in Seattle will be like. He'll find out Wednesday, when his new team visits Kevin Durant and Co. Speaking of Magic-related reunions, Brian Cook and Maurice Evans will be in uniform when Orlando visits Staples Center on Sunday night. They were traded for Trevor Ariza, who couldn't have been happier to be headed back home to play for the Lakers, his favorite team growing up. Cook, who spent his entire pro career in L.A., admitted he wasn't as thrilled when he heard of the move, shocked by how suddenly it all went down. He's happy that he was traded to a Magic team that wants him to play to his strengths, but still hasn't settled into his new locale and won't have anytime to go house hunting given that Orlando hit the road for the West Coast this week. He told me he plans on having a trusted friend scout out some new digs while he's away.

•  Atlanta fans get another opportunity to see the point guard they missed out on when Chris Paul leads his Hornets into town on Friday night for their lone scheduled visit. Word is that the Hawks choice came down to him and Marvin Williams, with the North Carolina product who drew comparisons to James Worthy ultimately winning out. Right now, despite how improved Williams looks in his third season, it still doesn't look like the right choice.