We’re less than a week into the 2012-13 NBA season and it’s
already looking like it will shape into one to remember. There’s been a lot of action going on,
league-wide, and several great stories breaking out quickly. A few of these stories really stood out to me
though and I want to talk about those today.
James Harden
Wow. If you’re a
basketball fan and haven’t had the chance to watch James Harden play yet this season, I
would recommend doing so ASAP. I was in
attendance for Harden’s Rockets debut against the Pistons on Halloween night. Besides his beard looking burlier than ever,
he also played more focused and in control than I’ve ever seen him. After receiving an $80 million contract just
days before, it was clear that Harden knew he was there to be Houston’s new
franchise player.
The reigning 6th Man of the Year finished the season opener with 37 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. This was an outstanding debut, yes. But at the same time, it could’ve been credited in part to the poor defense that was played by Rodney Stuckey, who appeared to
be feeling quite intimidated that night.
Harden gave another MVP-like performance in his next game though,
dropping a career-high 45 points on the Atlanta Hawks. After 3 games, Harden is averaging 35 points,
6 rebounds and 6 assists per game.
Do I expect him to keep these exact numbers up? No, but we could have a new MVP candidate on
our hands by the season's end. The
Thunder may not have just traded away one of the league’s best shooting guards,
they may have also opened the door for someone to take away Kevin Durant’s 4th
straight scoring title.
The Lakers
Ron Artest said that he wanted to see his team achieve the
best record in NBA history. With already
3 losses to their record and not a single win to show for it, I doubt we’ll be
seeing that. Although the Clippers are a
great team, the team also suffered 2 losses to a couple less-than-spectacular
teams. The Trail Blazers have one of the
shallowest rosters in the league and the Mavericks were playing without Dirk
Nowitzki and Chris Kaman.
With that being said, I don’t think it’s time for everybody
to start panicking in Los Angeles. The
team is going to take time to adjust to playing together. Although I’m not a fan of Mike Brown (or anybody
involved with the Lakers for that matter), it was outrageous to see him being put on the chopping block after the team lost 1 game. Fans need to hang tight and give the team
some time, they have a good shot at reaching the finals. They have a fairly easy schedule over the
next few games and could very easily get up to .500 by next weekend.
Then again, I am The Laker Hater, and I couldn’t be happier
to see this team (including the preseason) being 0-11.
Plus they’re going to start Steve Blake for their next couple of games
since Steve Nash is injured. Have fun
with that La La Land!
Damian Lillard
Anthony Davis made a pretty good NBA debut against Tim
Duncan and the Spurs. He suffered a
minor setback this week when it was proven that his unibrow wasn’t protectant
against elbows (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGcyBS74Fw0). As seen in the video, fellow rook Austin
Rivers inadvertently elbowed Davis during his 2nd game, giving him a
mild concussion. His return should come
quickly though.
The strongest rookie performance so far though has been from Damian
Lillard. With 3 straight games going for
20-plus points and some solid assist numbers to match, Lillard is quickly making a
great case for himself as the Rookie of the Year. He and LaMarcus Aldridge will both be putting
up some good numbers this year. It’s
just too bad for them that every other player on their team is far below
average in their role.
The Knicks
Plain and simple, this team looks great right now. With two strong wins against the Heat and
76ers, they’re looking like a team that could easily snatch up the Atlantic
Division. Carmelo is a player who’s a
superstar, but one that needs some good leadership to keep him in check. Chauncey Billups did that in 2009 and the
pair led the Nuggets to the Western Conference finals. Jason Kidd is another point guard who could
do the same, and the other pieces of this team fit pretty well, also.
This team only has one worry standing in their way: Amar’e
Stoudemire will eventually have to return. Stoudemire is a loner out on
the court. He needs to be the center of
attention, and he needs to be with players who will let him do so. He has the size, skill and athleticism of an
MVP candidate, but he plays with the mind and effort of somebody who’s losing
by 30 in a pick-up game and has quit caring. During last
year’s run of Linsanity, commentators were bashing ‘Melo for being the problem
in the Knicks roster. I’ve always stood
by the fact that Stoudemire is more of a danger than a help to any team that he
plays on.
I want to see this team do well though, and if the Knicks’
GM’s want the same, they should find a way to trade for somebody who’s a little
more coachable to fill the power forward position. How about Glen Davis? Stoudemire would be a perfect fit for an Orlando team that needs to make themselves halfway watchable.
Then again, the season is still young. We’ve got many more twists and turns waiting,
and plenty of excitement coming our way.
Keep reading here for all of the latest NBA news and opinions from yours
truly, The Laker Hater.
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