There was no full moon on Monday night. It was actually present over the weekend, visible throughout the earth. Despite the aid of cosmic forces, that really was Beno Udrih exacting revenge on the team that cut him, defending champion San Antonio, scoring a career-high 27 points to lead Sacramento to an unlikely win. He did out-play Finals MVP Tony Parker, the guy he used to back up for years.
That was Stephon Marbury scoring a season-high 28 points and turning the ball over only once to guide the Knicks to an upset of Utah before declaring "going forward, this is what's to come."
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| Starbury's performance and warning are both part of a bizarre Monday. (AP) |
Minnesota, the worst team to hit the NBA hardwood this decade, claimed its first road victory, winning in New Orleans. Washington won in Dallas, Golden State nearly scored 50 in the first quarter en route to a 129-114 over Phoenix.
To beat you over the head with what a strange week we're off to, the Suns, Spurs and Mavericks lost on the same night, something that has happened just twice since the turn of the century, the last almost four years to the day, back on Nov. 28, 2003.
Can't wait to see what the next few days have in store. Boston may even be in trouble on Thursday when New York comes calling. Can't say Steph didn't warn everyone.
Going forward, this is what's to come? I shudder at the thought.
Realistically, our position is to chalk it up as an aberration that only mildly affects ...
The week's Power Rankings:
| 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? | ||||||||||
