A week into the season, three undefeated teams remain.
In the East, the Boston Celtics are 5-0 (surprise, surprise) and look every bit as dominant and overwhelming as many thought they were going to be.
In the West, Denver and Phoenix are two huge shockeroos. Both are 4-0.
For the Nuggets, Carmelo Anthony is simply playing at another level. He is the first player in NBA history to score 30 points or more in his first three games, and he just looks on another level right now.
He’s determined. Focused. Inspired. Efficient. All but the last one, you would have never associated with Anthony, who seems ready to assume the leadership mantle and carry the team on his back.
For Phoenix, it’s a matter of a team playing cohesive, team basketball in a style of play that is fun to watch and extremely dangerous.
They’ll come back down to earth though. When Jared Dudley is one of your primary reserves, you are a very flawed basketball team.
Of the three, I consider Boston the lone legit threat. I like what I see out of Denver, especially considering they’ve pulled out two tough wins against Portland and Utah, but George Karl teams have a history of beating themselves a year after they’ve experienced great success.
So I’m still taking the “wait and see” approach on them.
The Nuggets aren’t shooting at a high percentage (41 percent) and are giving up way too many points (107), which means their offensive firepower has been solid, and they force a lot of possessions to where eventually their offense becomes too much to handle.
I reeeeeally like Boston, however. A great mix of efficient offense and stingy defense, and their depth has proven to be a heck of a lot better than last year.
I’m not convinced with the Lakers right now. Their depth, or lack thereof, is troubling, and Artest has been so-so. They can be beat if you’re long, athletic and quick, and that’s the direction many of the teams are going these days.
LA would be unstoppable if it slowed down its pace and played more halfcourt ball, but the fact that it likes to run and get out more often than not means more possessions in the game, and it’s transition defense is not very good.
Jury’s still out on them.
