|
November 19, 2007
A few nights back I watched Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl sit down with Chris Myers for a “Chris Myers Interview.” Despite Myers' sometimes clumsy and often unimaginative interview style, Karl said some things that, while a little obvious, resonated with me nonetheless. He said, to paraphrase, that NBA players today are soft and generally unconcerned with the game of basketball, instead choosing to focus on guaranteed contracts, commercials, rap music, acting and general styling and profiling. I imagine this to be especially the case with his band of tattooed misfits, one that includes Allen “Practice?” Iverson, Carmelo “Stop Snitchin’” Anthony and J.R. “Who Shot Ya?” Smith. And that’s saying nothing of Kenyon Martin. Still, the idea that new millennium players are clouded by the money and glitz of today’s game is hardly news, but it did beg the question who, if anyone, is worth getting behind in today’s NBA? Well, it’s early in the season, but here are a few of the clubs I’ve watched that actually warrant more than two hours in front of your television, never mind the ever-growing cost of tickets. Boston Celtics Call me Captain Obvious, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying watching two, maybe three future Hall of Famers on the court at the same time. Until they actually lose a second game, stay tuned in. San Antonio Spurs They’re the defending champs and Tim Duncan is still near, if not in his prime. Enough said there, really. Portland Trail Blazers A bit of an early season surprise even with a recent fade, but damned if the Blazers haven’t all but washed away the stains of the Jail Blazer days that really when you think about it, weren’t that long ago. Even without Greg Oden, Portland’s amassed a respectable record and beaten some decent clubs. More importantly, they play with a youthful exuberance that at the very least lends itself to some exciting, if sloppy ball. New Orleans Hornets Any room left on the bandwagon? Regardless of whether or not you think the Hornets have the potential to advance beyond the first or maybe second round of the playoffs, they’re clearly an improved team with a variety of weapons. Having returned to the Crescent City a winner is also probably providing some inspiration to ex-perennial under performers like Tyson Chandler. Never been a big Byron Scott fan, but he did get the Nets into two consecutive finals, even if it was in an Eastern Conference that at the time resembled some AAU leagues. Utah Jazz Okay, Okay, I’ll give early credit where early credit is due. The Jazz look like a serious contender for the first time since the mid 1990s, but please, oh please, don’t start referring to Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer as the new John Stockton and Karl Malone. It could be just a smidge too early for all that. Toronto Raptors They’ve looked like world beaters and the Craptors of old on consecutive nights this season, but there’s one thing you can say for this Toronto team that you really can’t say for many others in the NBA these days: they actually like each other, and for the most part, that comes through on the court. You get the impression with the Raptors that one or two of them might actually hang out together even if they weren’t on a basketball team with one another, and that alone is somewhat refreshing. Orlando Magic A few weeks back, right when the season started, I was talking with a friend of mine and we were struggling to even name 10 players on Orlando. Now all they’ve done is won 10 games and are the only team to beat the Celtics. Dwight Howard really is a man among boys, and yet, still kind of a boy. He’s going to be scary. Correction: scarier than he already is.
|
