NBA Poll: Boston's Good, But San Antonio is Better by Sean Deveany
1. San Antonio (4-1). They're riding Manu Ginobili so far -- he's got 20.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists. And he's doing it off the bench, in less than 30 minutes per game.
2. Houston (4-1). The Rockets shoot 43.2 percent and hold opponents to 91.2 points. If Rick Adelman shows up bald one of these days, you'll know he's been Van Gundy-ized.
3. Dallas (4-1). Keep an eye on a pair of youngstrers: forward Brandon Bass (9.3 points, 6.3 rebounds) and guard Jose Barea (8.6 points in 13.2 minutes).
4. Boston (3-0). No. 4, but with a serious shot at No. 1.
5. L.A. Clippers (4-0). They're not bumping off the elite here, but the offense has been overwhelming at 109.0 points per game. Sam Cassell will play till he is 75 (of course, he's 68 now).
6. Detroit (3-1). Rookie Arron Afflalo has been getting some playing time, but I'm looking forward to seeing Rodney Stuckey. He's out with a broken hand, but could be back by the end of this month.
7. New Orleans (4-1). The Hornets should start sending out the Chris Paul-for-MVP mailers, pronto.
8. Atlanta (2-2). My big surprise team in the East is doing some surprising things with a brutal schedule -- road losses to Detroit and New Jersey, by six combined points, big wins against Dallas and Phoenix. Now they get to play in Boston.
9. Phoenix (3-2). They're 10th in scoring, which is, of course, pretty good. But if they're not leading the league in scoring, they're not playing well.
10. Utah (3-2). It appears that they've gotten their shooting guard situation settled: Ronnie Brewer is averaging 16.2 points on 58.5 percent shooting. Oh, and he has 3.2 steals per game.
11. Orlando (4-1). The J.J. Redick breakout year watch: 13 minutes, three shot attempts, 0 points. I am not often right, but I did tell the Magic they should take Brewer in the '06 draft.
12. New Jersey (4-1). What's gotten into Richard Jefferson? He's shooting 50.7 percent from the field and has scored at least 22 points every game.
13. Indiana (3-1). At the very least, the Pacers are far more fun to watch under Jim O'Brien than they were under Rick Carlisle.
14. Cleveland (2-3). To allow Deron Williams to cruise through the defense in five seconds for a coast-to-coast, game-winning layup Wednesday … yeesh. A little D next time!
15. New York (2-1). The Knicks have winnable home games against Orlando and Miami this weekend, but a four-game West swing looms next week.
16. L.A. Lakers (2-2). Derek Fisher is playing well, Lamar Odom should return soon and, you know what? This team could be good enough to quell the Kobe trade talk.
17. Denver (2-3). They've struggled, and they very much miss Chucky Atkins. But then, you have to wonder how good any team whose fortunes ride on Chucky Atkins really is.
18. Milwaukee (2-2). The Bucks have lost two on the road, and won two at home. If ever there was a team that looked destined to win 41 at home and lose 41 on the road, it is this one.
19. Toronto (2-3). Maybe this Jason Kapono thing was a bad idea. The last two small forwards the Raptors faced (Hedo Turkoglu and Desmond Mason) shot 18-for-24, for 45 points. I repeat: Hedo Turkoglu and Desmond Mason.
20. Philadelphia (2-2). Last year, after trading Allen Iverson, the team was supposed to stink and get a high draft pick. This year, the team was supposed to stink and get a high draft pick. Funny how Andre Iguodala keeps getting in the way of plans to make the team stink.
21. Charlotte (2-2). Primoz Brezec is the starting center. Gotta wonder: Has there ever been a starter who posted averages of 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds?
22. Chicago (1-4). They won, finally, so all the stories about how Scott Skiles may have "lost the team" will have to wait. But still, I've got mine ready to go if they lose Saturday.
23. Portland (1-3). Meet Martell Webster, lottery pick. He's up to 17.3 points on 50 percent shooting, which is a bit better than the 6.8 points and 39.7 percent shooting he posted in his first two seasons.
24. Memphis (1-2). Slow going was expected for 20-year-old point guard Mike Conley. But he's only had one appearance for nine minutes in the first three games.
25. Washington (0-4). The Princeton offense is yielding a paltry 14.3 assists per game, dead last in the league, and Eddie Jordan is on the hot seat.
26. Miami (0-4). Dwyane Wade, Dwyane Wade, Dwyane Wade, Dwyane Wade …
27. Golden State (0-5). I'm no NBA coach, but I do know that if you allow 120 points per game, you better either average 121 points per game or start playing some defense. The Warriors aren't good enough to average 121, so ...
28. Sacramento (1-3). Ever see that cartoon where a guy is sitting in a doctor's office with an axe in his head, the doctor looks at the axe and says, "Well, THERE'S your problem …"? I look at the fact that the Kings allow foes to shoot 51 percent and say, "Well, THERE'S your problem."
29. Minnesota (0-3). Three games for Antoine Walker have yielded 39 total minutes, 10 points and eight rebounds. Pat Riley, it seems, was right.
30. Seattle (0-5). I miss Seattle already.
A record for the Hornets.
