With the NBA’s All Star weekend already less than three weeks away, it is time to look back at the first month and a half of play and analyze which teams have surpassed or, in some cases, failed to meet expectations. Though we are only roughly one-third of the way through this already captivating season, the ‘League’ has certainly had its share of memorable performances. Players are becoming accustomed to the rigorous, condensed schedule and the legitimate title contending teams are beginning to separate themselves. With that, we take a look back at what has been an enthralling start to the season and highlight the most notable disappointments and surprises.
Most Surprising Team
Did anyone expect the Philadelphia 76ers to be sitting at third place in the East, a mere two games behind conference-leading Chicago? The answer is no, but with a balanced offensive attack led by do-it-all swingman Andre Iguodala, the young Sixers appear to be for real. Despite doing most of their early damage against some of the league’s bottom-dwellers, they are currently in the midst of the toughest portion of the schedule and handling it rather capably. Philly has won four of their last five, defeating Orlando, Chicago, Atlanta and the Los Angeles Lakers with the only loss coming at the hands of the Heat. Perhaps even more impressive is that only once over the five game stretch did a Philadelphia player eclipse 20 points (Lou Williams vs. LAL). While some (Andre Miller, for example) may feel a team without a true superstar cannot compete for an NBA championship, Philadelphia’s team-first approach has put them in position to contend in the top-heavy Eastern Conference.
Honorable Mention: Cavaliers, Clippers, Spurs, T’Wolves
Most Disappointing Team
This one comes down to one team in my mind: The New York Knicks. It is beyond me how a team featuring arguably two of the top 15 players in the League is sitting in tenth place in the East. Tenth, as in behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Carmelo-Amare pairing has been nothing short of a disaster so far and something tells me an out of shape, past-his-prime Baron Davis is not going to be the savior. The Knicks for some reason thought that bringing in Tyson Chandler would magically inspire Anthony and Stoudemire to pick it up defensively, but that clearly has not been the case. Despite the woes on that end of the court, the offense has been the real issue at Madison Square Garden this season. The Knicks rank near the bottom of the league in three point and overall field goal percentage and lead all teams with nearly 17 turnovers per game. While there is still plenty of time remaining to right the ship, clearly things need to change in the Big Apple. As far as pulling the plug on the Amare-Melo nucleus, I think it is a rather drastic move at the moment, but certainly warrants some consideration. The more interesting question, of course, would be which star to get rid of, and I think the answer is pretty clear.
While Anthony is undoubtedly one of the league’s premiere offensive talents, he has proven to be a player who cannot be built around. He commands the ball too frequently, slowing down the flow of the game (painful to watch at times) and is incapable of incorporating teammates at the level of other superstars who have found success. Remember back on January 24th when Anthony scored one point, grabbed eleven boards, and dished out four assists? And the Knicks won, by 33? Yeah, it was against the lowly Bobcats, but still. Anthony played 30 minutes and took just seven shots (nearly 1/3 of his season average) and others stepped up to earn what ended up being an easy victory. When a team is this talented, expectations are inevitable, and the bottom line is the Knicks are simply failing to live up to them thus far.
Honorable Mention: Wizards, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Warriors