COLUMN: Hold you horses Jazz fans, the NBA has multiple contenders
OK, so, maybe I got a little ahead of myself last week. After reeling off seven straight, the Jazz have dropped two of their last three, showing us that maybe their previous wins might have been a little over-hyped. After their anticipated game against the Mavs last week turned into a serious bummer, the Jazz narrowly beat the Grizzlies and then lost to LeBron and Wade … uh, I mean the Miami Heat. It was a tough week for a team that was on such a roll, and therefore tough for me to find much to talk about.
So, how about an update on the rest of the NBA? I’ve got three words for you: San Antonio Spurs.
San Antonio is off to their best start in franchise history, 18-3. They’ve already recorded a 12-game winning streak so far this season, and their three losses have come at the hands of the Mavs and Hornets, two of the top teams in the league, and the Clippers, which I guess we’ll write off as a fluke.
The most impressive thing about the Spurs success is the fact that Tim Duncan is averaging career lows in points, rebounds and minutes. Timmy D per game is only getting 14 points, seven under his career average, and 9.5 boards, two under his career average.
So how are the Spurs getting it done this season without The Big Fundamental? The answer is a little thing I like to call teamwork. The Spurs have 11 players averaging more than 12 minutes a game, with 10 of those 11 averaging more than five points a game. San Antonio is averaging nearly 107 points per game, while holding opponents to just over 97 points.
The Spurs may not be very fun to watch, but entertainment value doesn’t win championships. This team flies under the radar almost every season, and almost every season they continue to play at a high level.
The other team I’ve just gotta mention, but for the opposite reason, is the Cleveland Cavaliers. The poor Cavs have now lost six-straight and 10 of their last 12, but none that hurt worse than getting pummeled by the man they used to idolize.
Thursday, Dec. 2, the date every person in Cleveland had circled on their calendar, LeBron came home and showed the Cavs how to play basketball. Showered with boos, chants and nasty comments and signs, LeBron scorched his former team, dropping 38 points – 24 of which came in the third quarter alone.
That loss stung Clevelanders for a couple reasons. Not only did their once-“king” single-handedly and mercilessly destroyed them, but second of all, it showed that their team really does suck without LeBron.
Going into this season, the Cavs somehow thought that they would be fine without LeBron. Uh, please, don’t make me laugh. The “LeBrons” became the “LeBron-less” which means that’s what they are, a lot less. After that loss to Miami, the Cavs look like their throwing in the towel already. Their last six games they’ve been beat by an average of almost 20 points, with one of those losses being a 129-95 annihilation by the Timberwolves. Yep, that’s about as low as you can get.
Speaking of the Timberwolves, Kevin Love is an absolute monster. If this guy was on a winning team, he would be running away with the MVP award right now. In Love’s last eight games, he is averaging almost 25 points and 19 rebounds. He’s had three 20-point, 20-rebound games in that span, bringing his total to five double-doubles on the season. Nobody can stop this rebounding machine.
Going back to the winning teams, the Spurs aren’t the only ones who are hot. Dallas is riding a 10-game win streak and the Celtics aren’t too far behind, with their own streak hitting eight, both as of Wednesday night. The other team that’s going streaking? The Knicks. What?! The Knicks?!
No, that’s not a typo. The New York Knicks have in fact won six in a row, and nine of their last 10. Raymond Felton is playing like an all-star, and Amare Stoudemire is lighting people up with averages of 25 and nine per game. It’ll be interesting to see if they can keep it up, but if at the beginning of the season you’d told me that the Knicks would be 14-9 at this point in the season, I’d have laughed in your face.
I guess all of this just goes to show that the NBA is unpredictability at its finest. You can never guess what’s going to happen and that’s what makes it so great.
MARK ISRAELSEN is a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering, and is the Statesman’s resident Jazz fanatic and NBA know-it-all (or so he tells us). His column appears here weekly. Comments can be sent to mark.israelsen@aggiemail.usu.edu.