Positive honors:
Seattle Supersonics: They aren't as good as their record but they suddenly seem to be a lock for the playoffs, I would have said they were a "hopeful" playoff team at the beginning of the year. Danny Fortson is the difference here, IMO. And Nate ought to treat him to dinner EVERY night -- because Fortson might have just saved his butt from the firing squad.
Honorable mentions:
Cleveland: Without Boozer? I thought this team was going DOWN! LeBron is proving himself night in and night out (let's still wait a little while on the MJ coronation party, okay -- like 8 or 9 years?) and the Cavs are right in the thick of things (thanks in part to a healthy Ilgauskas -- how long can that last?).
Utah Jazz: Okay, they had the best off-season but still, how many picked them to do this well?
Orlando Magic: Most everyone (me included) thought that the Magic ended up on the worse end of the TMac trade -- but suddenly the Magic are playing decent ball. A lot of this can be attributed to a healthy Grant Hill, who is looking like an MVP candidate.
Miami Heat: Everyone knew they would be better with Shaq in the middle but most didn't pick them to do this well. Wade is having an incredible year with Shaq and Haslem (PF) is doing well in addition -- the Heat really need a reliable 3rd weapon but they are still better than I thought they would be.
Phoenix Suns: I don't think anyone picked them to be playing this well this soon. Steve Nash is proving all his critics (including a certain owner in Dallas) wrong by leading the Suns to playing incredible ball. Do they have the frontline to win in the playoffs? No, not in my opinion.
Negative Honors:
Houston Rockets: Yeah, I know, there was a ton of hype to live up to but so far, Houston doesn't look as good as it was last year. JVG still hasn't gotten TMac to buy into a team concept at either end of the floor and JVG still shows that he doesn't have a clue on how to use Yao in the offensive scheme (other than just "give him the ball" at times).
Honorable mentions:
Minnesota TWolves: Okay, they aren't playing horrible -- along the lines that they played last year before they got their act together. I just thought since they had worked through that last year, it would carry on into this year. It's obvious that it isn't KG's fault. One has to wonder if Spree and Cassell's attitude toward their contract negotiations aren't spilling onto the court.
Denver Nuggets: Hmm, weren't they the talk of the town along with Houston before this season began? KMart was going to put them over the top, wasn't he? This team has some HUGE chemistry problems -- too many "I's" for a coach to try and turn into "TEAM," IMO.
Memphis: Okay, I know they've had a lot of problems with injuries but this team just nosedived. Is Hubie's health affecting this team or is this team affecting Hubie's health?
Philly: Did anyone expect them to be this bad? I sure didn't. The coach seems to be really changing things up yet -- it seems like they have a new starting line-up each game.
