[Izulde]

A new coaching staff, a whole new system and a shiny new rookie PG. It's a touch nerve-wracking, going with a fast-paced offense that features a rookie coach in Kurt Thomas, who's never gotten the head gig he deserves and another rookie in Tyrone Capel at the controls. Kind of like handing the keys to a Porsche Boxster or a Ferrari Enzo to a 16 year old. Just hope the results aren't a trainwreck.

Mateen Yeaton takes right to our new offense, scoring 41 points in our 122-102 season-opening victory over the Lakers. Tim Butler double-doubles for 19 points and 10 rebounds and Carlton Goree slides seamlessly back into the team with 13 bench assists. Tyrone Capel does pretty well for his first game, just missing a double-double with 9 points, 10 assists, a steal and just one turnover.

Andy Sola gets hurt yet again, so Clifton Snyder slots in as the starting SF and Kurt Thomas finally gets smart and names Marcus McKie the starting center. With the two new starters, we beat the Timberwolves 123-100. Mateen Yeaton scores 28, Tyrone Capel gets his first NBA double-double with 14 points and 13 assists and Andrew Bynum and Carlton Goree score 13 and 10 points a piece with the reserves. Great win, especially considering it's our first victory over the Timberwolves since they added Branko Starcevic last season.

A fourth quarter meltdown results in a 102-98 loss to the Jazz, despite good performances from Clifton Snyder (12 points, 12 rebounds), Marcus McKie (19 points, 10 rebounds), Mateen Yeaton (20 points) and Andy Sola (18 bench points).

We had trouble in the division games last year and it looks like a repeat this season as we drop both ends of the back-to-back. Utah beats us 109-90, Tim Butler's 23 points and 12 rebounds and Clifton Snyder's 13 points and 10 rebounds not enough and Seattle rallies in the fourth quarter to not only tie it, but win in OT 119-114. Tim Butler doubles for 18 points and 10 rebounds, Mateen Yeaton scores 23, Tyrone Capel nets 16 points and 15 assists and Carlton Goree explodes for 29 points off the bench in the loss. Center is proving a real problem for us this season.

A 109-98 win over the Pistons puts us back to .500 on the young season, all five starters scoring double-digit figures. Tim Butler and Mateen Yeaton lead the way with 22 and 24 points respectively and Tyrone Capel adds a double-double of 12 points and 11 assists.

We finally have a fourth quarter comeback of our own to nip the Kings 116-115 in Sacramento. Tim Butler thunders for 32 points and 14 rebounds, Mateen Yeaton scores 27, Marcus McKie puts up a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds and Andy Sola leads the second unit with 10 points.

Andy Sola comes back to the lineup and scores 25, but the real story of our 126-110 upset of the Raptors is Tim Butler heating up for 30 points and 13 rebounds. Great play from reserves Darrell James (12 points), Clifton Snyder (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Carlton Goree (11 points) doesn't hurt either.

The preseason favorites Bulls don't look so hot after we destroy them 116-91 in Chicago, including outscoring them 31-7 in the fourth quarter. Tim Butler has his third straight game with 27 points and 11 rebounds, Marcus McKie abuses the Chicago centers for 21 points, Mateen Yeaton scores 26 and Tyrone Capel picks up a 10 point, 15 assist double-double.

I love playing Dallas, especially when we win 118-110 as we do in the next game. Andy Sola leads all scorers with 33 points, Tim Butler posts 22 points and 10 rebounds and Clifton Snyder and Carlton Goree pace the bench with 14 and 12 points a piece.

But then our season takes a devastating blow as Andy Sola tears his ACL in the waning minutes of the game. He's done for the year and we're now forced to go with Clifton Snyder the rest of the way.

We tend not to play well without Andy Sola and sure enough, we lose 123-117 in OT to the Nets our next game. Mateen Yeaton scores 26 and Carlton Goree adds 25 off the bench, but it's just not enough.

Bad teams are good for one's record and we sweep the Spurs and Rockets on back to back nights. Clifton Snyder scores 20, Mateen Yeaton adds 21 and Andrew Bynum and Carlton Goree propel the reserves with 11 and 10 points respectively in our 110-96 win over San Antonio. A single layup is all that gets us the 115-113 win in Houston the next night, but I suppose credit's due for Tim Butler (27 points, 15 rebounds), Mateen Yeaton (31 points), Marcus McKie (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Carlton Goree (15 bench points) for getting us there.

Tim Butler is having the best season of his career so far and he shreds the Hornets for 41 points and 16 rebounds in our 105-82 rout. Mateen Yeaton plays a capable second with 21 points.

Rookie Lawrence Townes has finally given the Cavs a true starting PG, but it doesn't matter as we beat Cleveland 113-102 to end the month. Mateen Yeaton scores 25, Tim Butler doubles for 20 points and 11 rebounds, Darrell James plays beautifully off the bench for 15 points and 9 assists and Tyrone Capel, demoted in favor of Carlton Goree, scores 10 points in reserve time as well.

So we're 11-4, a half-game in front of the Timberwolves for the Northwest lead. Impressive run, especially after Andy Sola went down. I still may make a trade if things start to go haywire. Memphis is off to a torrid start at 12-4, 3.5 ahead of Dallas and the 10-5 Suns are showing last season's no fluke with a half-game lead on the Clippers.

Boston's a shocking 12-2, 2.5 up on the Raptors, 8-5 Milwaukee is 1.5 in front of Cleveland and Detroit and 7-6 is enough to give Charlotte a half-game lead on everybody but the Wizards, who are 4-9.

I'd like to smugly point out my predictions of a competitive Miami are right as they're 8-8. The Lakers are 5-11, second to last in the Pacific, so I think we'll be okay there.