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By Marshon Robinson
Nov 6, 2000
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Philadelphia - The 76ers took out
pretty much every major threat in the East, with three of the victories
coming on the road. Playing with a lot of heart and outstanding defense,
the 76ers are proving that it doesn't take a lot of high priced players
and big name trades to be successful in this league. Now all we need
to see is how well they can play against the West.
OTHER NOTABLES
Minnesota - Who apparently don't
need Joe Smith nearly as much as we thought. Chauncey Billups is
looking like a great pick-up and Kevin Garnett is Kevin Garnett.
Cleveland/Vancouver/Boston - Off
to their best starts in a while. I had to go ahead and include these
guys now, because who knows when the next opportunity to compliment these
squads will come along.
Utah/San Antonio - The two forgotten
powers in the West are its only unbeaten teams.
GAME OF THE WEEK - LA Lakers
at San Antonio - The Spurs have whipped Laker butt 7 out of the last 8
times and are itching to pay back Phil and Shaq for comments made about
them. Should be the game we all expected Portland vs. LA to be.
STINKERS
Portland Trailblazers - After being
beaten in front of their home crowd, they turned around and were creamed
by the Suns. Saturday night they suffered another fourth quarter
let down and almost gave the game to the Sonics. Shawn Kemp saved
them, and I've got a feeling that Kemp will wind up being their much-needed
go to guy.
Chicago/Atlanta - At least some of
the other losing franchises are showing signs of life and putting up half
a fight before they go down. These teams are playing just awful and
might challenge for the worst record of all time.
PRIME TIMERS
76ers - you can't really pull out
one guy because they're winning as a team.
Karl Malone - Who is this guy, the
Bionic Man? Karl shows no signs of aging as he averages 30+ points
and 9 rebounds while leading the Jazz to 3-0 record.
Danny Fortson - Making a serious
run for the title of the league's best rebounder, Danny putting on nice
numbers on the boards and scoring.
Shaq/Gary Payton - no real need to
explain.
Kevin Garnett - ditto.
Antoine Walker - Could this be the
year he finally becomes the superstar he was always meant to be?
Pitino's job is riding on it.
PINE TIMERS
Atlanta Hawks - Just plain bad.
Rider's gone so who are they going to blame now?
Jerry Stackhouse - What happened?
Yeah, he's still putting up nice numbers, but his shooting has been horrid
in Pistons losses.
Larry Hughes and Mookie Blaylock
- If the Warriors are going to have any chance this year, these two have
got to shoot better.
Michael Olowokandi - I still can't
believe that even the Clippers would pick him up as number 1. The
Kandi man has a long way to go.
THE OVERLOOKED
The last 4 guys I picked are still
doing pretty well
Shammond Williams - Seattle - 12.3
points, 2.3 boards, 2.3 assists
Predrag Stojakovic - Sacramento
- 19.8 points, 5.0 boards, 2.3 assists
Stephen Jackson - New Jersey (Rookie
of the Year??) - 9.3 points, 2.3 boards, 2.3 assists in limited minutes
Baron Davis - Charlotte - 16.8 points,
4.5 boards, 5 assists
Here are some more guys to add to
that list
Steve Nash - Finally the PG everyone
thought he'd be.
Scot Pollard - Actually putting
up better all around numbers than Vlade.
JR Rider - With everyone predicting
his demise, JR is blending in well with the Lakers and win he moves into
the starting line-up, we'll probably see his numbers rise as well.
X-FACTORS
Darrell Armstrong - With Grant Hill
hurt, Tracy McGrady needs someone to take some of the heat off of him and
Armstrong will have to be that guy. The Magic will have to incorporate
the team effort they put against the Hawks to their other opponents when
McGrady returns.
Morris Peterson - A big load to put
on a rookie, But Vince will put a lot of hollow statistics if someone on
the team doesn't step up and help him win games. Most of the other
Raptors are past their prime, so it's up to the young guys like Morris
and Corliss to help the Raptors win.
Horace Grant - Grant's putting up
nice numbers, but he'll have to step up his D with Tim Duncan on the horizon.
THE TOP TEN
With so many teams getting off to
lackluster starts, the Top Ten from last week was pretty much completely
overhauled.
1. San Antonio - They're getting
a lot from their role players. The Lakers are going to have to get
a lot more production from their bench to take these guys this week.
2. Utah - Jazz - Pulled off a nice
win against the Lakers in LA. Their Iron men will continue to make
them a force.
3. LA Lakers - The champs are still
great, but they need a bit more time to learn how to play together.
4. Philadelphia - Have stripped
the heat of their crown as the league's best defensive team.
5. Phoenix - Recovered from their
loss on opening night with a big win against Portland.
6. Miami - Not nearly as helpless
as some thought.
7. Charlotte - Baron Advise is the
difference.
8. Portland - They won't be down
here for long, but they've got to learn how to use all their parts.
9. Seattle - Any team with Gary
Payton is a contender.
10. Minnesota - The Twolves are
playing with a lot heart, despite all their trials and tribulations.
____________
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