20 games in, which team is the most surprising/noteworthy?

[lv2bll]

Same as title, lets discuss some of the most interesting nba storylines so far!

[ZB9]

Re: 20 GAMES IN: WHAT TEAM IS THE MOST SURPRISING/NOTEWORTHY

Atlanta is definitely the biggest story thus far imo

[ndeezlo]

Re: 20 GAMES IN: WHAT TEAM IS THE MOST SURPRISING/NOTEWORTHY

The Pistons winning/being competitive with all their injuries is compelling. Tayshaun and Rip have been out almost all year (Rip came back yesterday), Charlie has missed time and Ben Gordon is missing time now. Also the rejuvenation of Ben Wallace is kind of a story in it's own right.

[PlayaHataSupreme]

Re: 20 GAMES IN: WHAT TEAM IS THE MOST SURPRISING/NOTEWORTHY

Call me biased, but I'd have to say the Houston Rockets have to be considered a surprise........

Many people had the Rockets finishing 5 in the division. If we can tread this water until T-Mac returns (whenever that will be), this team could be pretty interesting. Not NBA Finals interesting, but pretty interesting nonetheless.

Not sexy, not flashy, no high-profile personalities...... just a solid, well-coached group of players.

Not to mention we are the best team this season to have NO games scheduled for basic cable.........

[Bornindamecca]

Re: 20 GAMES IN: WHAT TEAM IS THE MOST SURPRISING/NOTEWORTHY

The two biggest surprises for me are the strength of the Rookie Class and the slow start by the Spurs. I expected the Rockets to be competitive. They are only slightly better than I thought they'd be. Atlanta is exactly what I thought they would be. People who follow the Hawks and know the value of Crawford, Teague and Joe Smith aren't surprised in the least. I called Dallas' success early and still maintain that I wouldn't be shocked if they got into the Finals. They are a clear underdog but they have the tools to beat anyone. I'm not shocked at all by the Suns, since they have good players. Thunder are right on pace where I expected them to be.

Bulls are way worse than I thought, but they have horrible starts every year. They can still scratch and claw their way to mediocrity, but they might be playing themselves out of the free agent race. Is Derrick Rose compelling enough of a draw if Free Agents feel he is the only asset in Chicago? Hmm....

Cleveland is a story. When we debated the Shaquisition, this is one of the alternate realities that came up. Delonte West's struggles haven't helped them, but overall they don't look very sharp compared to last year, particularly at home.

The Allen Iverson saga has been entertaining, but it'll only become noteworthy if he can average 20+ and 6+ while making that team better. Hopefully he'll be in game shape in another week.

Also looking forward to seeing how Tracy comes back.

[Rexis]

Re: 20 GAMES IN: WHAT TEAM IS THE MOST SURPRISING/NOTEWORTHY

For me, its the Thunder. Who would've imagined Oklahoma over .500 after 20 games this year?

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: 20 GAMES IN: WHAT TEAM IS THE MOST SURPRISING/NOTEWORTHY

OKC and Phoenix

[BiggD]

Re: 20 GAMES IN: WHAT TEAM IS THE MOST SURPRISING/NOTEWORTHY

1/The Rookies..Jennings had everyone fooled

2/OKC,ATL...both teams playing some great basketball so far

3/Don Nelson is still coaching

4/It took 20 games before Oden went down for the count(didn't think he would last that long)



Oh and a question to throw at you guys

Could Durant be considered for MVP this year if OKC still in this form?

[Bornindamecca]

Re: 20 GAMES IN: WHAT TEAM IS THE MOST SURPRISING/NOTEWORTHY

Nah. It's best player on best team these days. If you don't have a top four/five record, you're pretty much ineligible.

[HMcCoy]

Re: 20 games in, which team is the most surprising/noteworthy?

The inexplicable fall of Gilbert Arenas.

It's not just rust...this dude is a mess right now.

SA is also a huge surprise.

[BigDofBA]

Re: 20 games in, which team is the most surprising/noteworthy?

I'm biased but it has to be OKC.

Around this time last year we were like 3-28. This team has been competitive in just about every game including the games we have lost. We took the Lakers into overtime and had numerous chances to win.

I like the progress with this team so far.

[Taur3asi3]

Re: 20 games in, which team is the most surprising/noteworthy?

To me its San Antonio. This seemed like the 1st year they had good depth but they've been a disaster. I have no idea what happened to them, maybe it's injuries but i dont think Duncan looks that old i've seen his stat lines and they seem Duncan-esque. Besides i thought with Blair and McDyess he could afford to take it somewhat easy. I have no idea why they're not just as good as the other top teams.

Another huge surprise; I'm actually rooting for Iverson. Never did before but i am now. I want him to succeed so bad with the 76ers again it's ridiculous. Probably because 9/10 a great player who gets written off by everyone drifts into irrelevance and ends up out of the league. It's nice to (hopefully) see it go the other way.

[stateprop]

Re: 20 games in, which team is the most surprising/noteworthy?

Spurs man wth is wrong with that team. Are they injured again? Well not really a surprise but i told my friend that this rookie class is deep with PG talent and he laugh at me. Now who is laughing now. Atl is a surprise they are beasting right now. Bucks is playing well, they are still above .500. The firing of byran Scott that was crazy.

The Rockets, honestly i was expecting them to be as bad as the nets, well maybe a little bit better. The Suns; wasnt expecting them to be this good. Didnt expect the nets to be this bad and the raptors to least to be over .500.

[ZB9]

Re: 20 games in, which team is the most surprising/noteworthy?

Spurs not being great is not a surprise to me...but it is somewhat surprising that they are struggling to hover around .500

[LionsFanNJ]

Re: 20 games in, which team is the most surprising/noteworthy?

NJ. I knew it was going to be a down year but C'MON SON. Perfect storm i guess, Most of the roster hurt, lots of young players and Frank was a horrible coach. That first year he rode off of the previous years success.