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A few random opinions after one week of the NBA season:

1. The most exciting team to watch, hands down: Phoenix Suns.

The Suns play the game how it was meant to be played. Lots of running, lots of passing, lots of taking the ball to the rim, lots of scoring. Mostly, lots of fun.

Steve Nash is the West’s best point guard, having turned that old John Deere tractor into the sleek racing machine it’s always longed to be.

Amare Stoudemire runs the floor better than any big man in the league, and Shawn Marion is just flat-out electrifying -- not to mention a great finisher of the fast break.

Then there’s Joe Johnson, one of the most underrated players in the world, and Quentin Richardson, who has been given a new lease on basketball life after getting paroled from Clipper-land.

And you may not be too familiar with Mike D’Antoni, but the man running the Suns is my early favorite for coach of the year.

2. The four most surprising teams (in no order whatsoever): Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets.

The Raptors had already won three at this writing -- which pretty much equals what I figured this once disjointed bunch would have done by the All-Star break. Credit goes to new coach Sam Mitchell and, yes, “manufactured” superstar Vince Carter. Carter spends the entire offseason droning on about a trade, then plays the best team ball since his college days. I don’t get it -- but I like it.

As for Utah, it’s more of the same under the league’s most authoritative coach, Jerry Sloan. Guys put on a Jazz uniform and go from being average to good, good to all-pro. It just shows what can happen when upper management gives its coach complete control. With all-around talents like Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Raja Bell, and so on, Utah’s mastery isn’t just an illusion. And just wait until starting point guard Carlos Arroyo returns from an injury. Still, whoever thought they’d be this good, this soon?

Finally, the Nuggets and Grizzlies have been surprisingly bad. The team chemistry and overall depth that lifted both clubs into the playoffs last season has been absent this year, and no one can really figure out why. Guess that’s what makes it a surprise.

3. A return to their disappointing ways: Latrell Sprewell, Ron Artest, the New Jersey Nets.

In light of his “I have a family to support” line and continuous whining about a contract that already overpays him, it turns out Latrell Sprewell is as much of a chemistry killer at 34 as he was at 24. The only difference being that he now sports a ridiculous hairdo, providing more proof that whatever comes out of his head just ain‘t right.

Artest arrived to training camp with the promise of being less of a distraction and more of a fun-loving, all-about basketball type. Three games into the season, he was suspended by Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for the old “conduct detrimental to the team” routine. Artest’s behavior reiterates something I said about Christian Laettner years ago: Once a knucklehead, always a knucklehead.

As for the Nets … well, despite the admirable determination and talent of Richard Jefferson, they are back to being the Nets we always knew and loved. In other words, after a couple seasons of ruling the Eastern Conference, they have again become dominated by questionable money-saving moves and soured superstars. This is the same franchise that once traded Doctor J for something like a bag of potatoes, and don’t be surprised if they do the same with Jason Kidd. I do expect them to make the playoffs -- although it will be around the same time my four-month old son graduates from college. For now, they have returned to the Nets of my youth, and I like them better for it.

4. A marriage made in purgatory: Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets.

I’ve always said Yao lacks the aggressiveness to ever be anything more than a guy who averages 14 points and eight rebounds for his career. He‘s starting to prove me right.

Meanwhile, McGrady remains a remarkable offensive force and deserves praise for altering his game for the good of a team. Still, the move to Houston hasn’t kept his bad back from flaring up every time he hears the word “defense.”

This isn’t meant to trash the Rockets. I still really like Jimmy Jackson -- who only needs to play for about four more teams to run the board of NBA cities. Or as a good friend of mine said, “Jackson has to be the best journeyman in league history.”

5. You asked for it, you got it … an average team: Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers.

You know all about the Lakers’ ludicrous offseason maneuvering, which was basically done so Bryant could prove to the world that he can lead a team -- any team -- to the Finals all by himself. Well, he can’t. At least, not a team with Chris Mihm as the starting center and Chucky Atkins as the point guard.

Versatile forward Lamar Odom is good, but if Bryant can get this cast of deadbeats to the second round of the playoffs, it will be his greatest accomplishment to date.

6. You asked for it, you got it … a trade to a team that realizes you’re the best: Shaquille O’Neal, Miami.

What makes the Heat’s great start so interesting is that Shaq is now taking less shots and has deferred to a young superstar-in-the-making in guard Dwyane Wade. It’s exactly what he always refused to do as Bryant’s teammate in L.A.

But just as I predicted, O’Neal is more fit and determined than he’s been since the mid-1990s, and he and Wade will form THE dynamic duo of the league for at least another four years.

7. If you only read one new basketball book this season, make it this: The Last Season, by Phil Jackson.

Jackson kept a diary of his final season coaching the Lakers, then turned it into this book. In it, he portrays Bryant as a narcissistic gunner and O’Neal as the main reason the team won three titles.

Jackson also wrote about how Bryant’s father, Joe “Jelly Bean” Bryant, once said he would have been as good as Magic Johnson had he been given the chance (now we know where Kobe gets it), and how Lakers owner Jerry Buss has a “penchant for hanging out with young girls and staying up till three in the morning.”

A lot of folks in NBA circles are mad about the book -- but that’s only because it’s the type of excellent inside reporting we rarely see anymore from the majority of beat writers who cover the league.

8. The Worst Team/Dumb Coaching Move Award: Golden State Warriors.

Former coach Eric Musselman got the Warriors to overachieve and compete for a playoff spot, but new basketball director Chris Mullin didn’t care for Musselman’s tough approach with the players.

So the Warriors got rid of Musselman and brought in a college guy, Mike Montgomery out of Stanford.

And now they stink.

Did anyone really believe this was going to work? Haven’t the Warriors ever heard of Rick Pitino? John Calipari? Jerry Tarkanian, for crying out loud?

Mullin is one of my favorite players of all time, but I’m not so sure he should be running a team. Granted, I’m rushing to judgment here, and maybe things will pan out by season’s end. But I’m having a hard time watching a team I once loved.

9. Alright, already. I‘ll write about this guy now: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers.

Despite all the demands on his free time, James obviously spent a big portion of the summer refining his outside shot and figuring out how to play man-to-man defense. (Think spending six weeks with Larry Brown on the Olympic team had anything to do with that?)

The best thing about James is, while possessing Jordan-like confidence, he has that old Midwestern humility -- and a drive to keep getting better.

Drew Gooden is no Carlos Boozer, but the Cavs are more of a team this year, and don’t appear to have anyone with any hidden agendas.

As good as James is, the Cavaliers’ overall success appears to be based on the performance of center Zydrunas Ilgauskus. When he dominates, they win.

But if Cleveland wants to get past the first round of the playoffs, it might not hurt to drag former All-Star guard Mark Price out of the broadcast booth to provide some still desperately needed long-range shooting.

10. Three teams that have played better than I said they would: Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Clippers.

For all the grief they’ve taken for continuously messing with the roster, it looks like the Mavericks haven’t missed a beat. In fact, this year’s experiment of subtracting Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker, and adding Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Terry and rookie Devin Harris, appears to have made Dallas better. I especially like the addition of center Erick Dampier, a veteran who gives this team the toughness that had eluded it for years.

Jamison is now with the Wizards, and he and former Golden State running mates Gilbert Arenas and Larry Hughes have matured into a competitive trio. In fact, Jamison is just awesome. And don’t underestimate coach Eddie Jordan, one of pro basketball’s 10 most intelligent people. The playoffs are a real possibility.

Finally, the Clippers won three of their first five games, including a 102-68 hammer job of the Pacers in Indiana -- a game that the Clippers turned into 48 minutes of pure garbage time. Elton Brand is as consistent as ever, and Corey Maggette continues to be an athletic, underrated swingman. Perhaps the biggest difference this year is forward Bobby Simmons, who has played better than Quentin Richardson did last season and is the early frontrunner to be named most improved player.

11. Finally, the five best teams (in order): 1. Miami Heat; 2. Indiana Pacers; 3. Detroit Pistons; 4. San Antonio Spurs; 5. Minnesota Timberwolves.

Hey, did you notice the top three are all in the Eastern Conference? Cool, huh? I just can’t wait to be inundated with all those “the East is catching up” stories on ESPN -- the king of sports media, not to mention unoriginality.

At any rate, I’m bracing myself for a bunch of angry e-mails from Pistons fans, who will demand that I cancel their free subscriptions. One Detroit front-office employee was so aggravated that I didn’t pick the Pistons to win 60 games that he threatened to ignore everything I write about basketball “for all eternity.“ My God be with him.

Reader E-mails

From Bob Woods (Wadsworth, Ohio): “Please tell me why you and many other media people are so negative toward Kobe Bryant. He is one of the best players to ever play the game and by the time he is done he may very well be the best.”

Dear Bob, I am negative toward Kobe because I’m in the Shaq camp. Namely, I firmly believe O’Neal is the reason the Lakers won all three of their titles, and that Kobe should have graciously accepted his role as a sidekick -- because that’s what he was at the time. But that’s not to say I don’t like Bryant, or have a great deal of appreciation for his game. I just think he can be selfish in a bad way -- unlike Michael Jordan’s egotism, Kobe’s desire to be the greatest ever too often gets in the way of team goals. And as great as Kobe is, he stands no chance of being considered the greatest ever, or even in the top 10, in my book. If you really think a young Jordan -- who rebounded, shot, passed, and defended better than Bryant ever will -- wouldn’t have won at least 10 titles with Shaq at his side, you really missed some good basketball in the 1990s. Do I like Kobe as a player? Absolutely. But as someone with a totally unbiased opinion of the Lakers, I would rather have Shaq. Ten years from now, I think the Lakers will look back and say the same thing. But watching Bryant play is thoroughly enjoyable, and there’s no question that he’s been one of the top two players of the post-Jordan era.

From Jacinto Barreiros (Spain): “I'm sending this email just to make you look good the next time you write something regarding European prospects: Make sure the name SERGIO RODRIGUEZ is in your newsletter. This guy is the bomb. He’s 18 years old and a 6-foot-3 point guard who is playing his first year in the Spanish professional league. He's the most naturally talented point guard I've ever seen playing in Europe. He is flashy but effective and he definitely has a sixth sense for the game.”

Dear Jacinto, thanks! Although, it will take a lot more than that to make me “look good.”

Final Note

Just wanted to say thanks for reading and I hope you’re enjoying the season as much as I am. And is it just me, or has scoring increased league-wide this season? Anyway, keep those e-mails coming, as I thoroughly enjoy reading them. I have a couple of good ones coming next week from Jim Logan and Arley Collado, as well as Charles Barkley’s take on some comments made by Larry Bird.

Until next time …

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