Jesse D. Garrabrant / Getty Images

Evan Turner killed it on Sunday night. The numbers: 20 points (on 9-15 shooting), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 memorable moment after a frantic sequence, and 1 undeniably endearing postgame soundbite.

It was a great watch. Sure, he made some mistakes – a few botched defensive possessions, a couple of turnovers, and one airball I’d like to forget – but this game was exactly what Sixers fans were waiting for. He made aggressive moves and quick decisions, just like he did when dominating at Ohio State. It was what we could easily call a breakout performance, but we won’t.

Turner followed this up by scoring 10 points on 3-8 shooting last night. He started strong, hitting a corner three, a midrange jumper off a hard dribble to his right, and a second midrange J after a spin that made Clark Kellogg exclaim, “My goodness!” But after taking a flagrant foul from Dahntay Jones, he basically disappeared. He played meaningful minutes in a good win, but those minutes felt nothing like those he played on Sunday. And that’s okay.

This Pacers game reminds us that Evan is still a rookie, one who was correctly described as “shamefully gun shy” in December. And while it would be convenient to see modest showings like this eliminated rather than limited, it’s rewarding to catch a few flashes of brilliance before brilliance becomes the norm.

We should celebrate inspiring games and promising stretches. We should cherish all the firsts in bright young careers. But if we believe our guy’s got stardom in him, we should treat each impressive night as evidence, not proof, that he’s going to let it out.

The potential star in my hometown is DeMar DeRozan, which means I sometimes find myself in discussions about what his peak might be, whether or not he can be a franchise player, and what we should reasonably expect from him next season. His scoring totals warrant these questions, but it’s foolish to act like we’ve seen enough to answer them. What we have seen, though, is progress. We’ve seen the results of a willingness to work and a very obvious increase in confidence.

A year before reading articles with “Turner” and “problem” in their titles, I was yelling at my laptop whilst reading about the Raptors’ apparent need to start Antoine Wright over DeRozan. Now, I’m enjoying his emergence as a go-to scoring option. Seeing him break out the Kobe spin I saw him testing in Summer League could not make me happier, and when I hear that he wants the ball in crunchtime, I’ll admit that I’m a little proud, as someone who’s believed in him from the day he was drafted. But, what’s DeMar proven this season about his place in the league? Has he “turned the corner?” With a PER of 13.9 and a long way to go with his handles, defense, rebounding, and three-point shooting, I can’t say he has. But I can question what exactly “turning the corner” means.

A partial list of players/teams who came up when I searched my RSS reader for “turned the corner,” along with the aforementioned Turner and DeRozan: J.J. Hickson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Roy Hibbert, Rodney Stuckey, James Harden, the Lakers, the Magic, Darko Milicic, the Pacers, and the Heat.

The fact that the word “inconsistent” could be applied in most instances here should be instructive. It sounds great to say players or teams have “made the leap” but in reality they’re jumping around until they’re (hopefully) somewhere near their desired destinations. And as for the one guy on that list who does seem to have transformed himself overnight, we must note that the shift took place years after we thought it would.

Development in anything is a product of more reps, more responsibility, more opportunities to screw up and learn from those screwups, and, eventually, more confidence. Improving in the NBA is about slowing the game down, thinking less, and fearlessly doing the things that have been practiced thousands of times. In Lee Jenkins’ phenomenal SI feature that you’ve likely read multiple times by now, Derrick Rose is described as having turned the corner to superstardom. By embracing the challenge of being the MVP, ceasing to defer to others, and finding his killer instinct, Rose has become, in Brian Scalabrine’s words, a motherfucker. All the moves he used on his buddies at 1 A.M. at the Bulls’ practice facility are now being unleashed on the poor, helpless point guard defenders in the pros. But does that mean he’ll play like an MVP every night? Do the thousand of threes a day in the summertime and the much-improved three-point shooting we saw for most of this season mean that his game has changed forever? Evidently, no, as he’s made just 12 of his last 68 three-pointers and still routinely has nights where he only attempts three or four free throws.

I point this out not to put a damper on Rose’s unbelievable season – he’s unquestionably evolved from where he was in his first two years – but rather, to emphasize that he’s still, as writers and players line up to declare him the league’s Most Valuable Player at age 22, very much a work in progress. And this is the way it should be, for just as some of us don’t want the game to be too easy for anyone, climbing the ranks of the league’s elite shouldn’t be easy, either. We don’t want to miss any of the steps along the way.

If you’re a fan of Evan Turner, realize that if Rose is allowed to have rough nights, your rookie is definitely allowed to have rough nights. Perhaps what we saw Sunday was a glimpse of what’s to come as he gradually matures into the all-around Villain Philly envisioned when it picked him second in the draft.

Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images

1. LA Lakers @ Chicago / Oklahoma City @ New Orleans – Friday

Flip a coin. Both of these games should be great.

When Chicago and LA met earlier this year Derrick Rose went off for 30 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Unfortunately for Chicago, so did Shannon Brown. He scored 21 points off the bench, going 5 for 10 from deep, grabbed 4 rebounds and dropped 3 dimes for good measure.

The New Orleans/OKC meeting last Monday was fantastic. Durant had a tough shooting night with Ariza all over him all night long. Westbrook was phenomenal down the stretch scoring 12 points as part of OKC’s 14-0 4th quarter run. Durant forced David West into 6 straight missed and blocked two of his shots late in the game. If this week’s matchup is half as good as it was last week then you’ll be entertained.

2. OKC @ Chicago – Monday

Westbrook. Rose. AHHHHHHH my ankles hurt just thinking about all the crossovers. Right now, Westbrook is having the better season. He’s shown more improvement and is compensating for Durant’s terrible shooting this year.

I mean Derrick Rose no disrespect, he’s been unreal this year and is averaging a point a game more that Russell. The tipping point for me come from Russell’s extra steal, and rebound a game and the fact that he’s getting to the free throw line almost twice as much as Rose.

In the end, who really cares which player is ‘better.’ Getting to see them head-to-head is what really matters here.

Should be a great matchup between Durant and Deng, add in Ronnie Brewer for good measure. I’ll never lose interest in watching defences try to man up on KD.

3. Miami @ Utah – Wednesday

As of right now, the November 9th meeting between these teams has to be one of your favourites if you’re from Cleveland.

I’m not from Cleveland and it’s up there for me. Millsap had 46 and was godly down the stretch.

I’m sure Spo’ll have a very clear pre-game message: ‘Don’t let up!’

4. Washington @ Sacramento – Wednesday

These teams have combined for 10 wins this season. That being said, this game features two of the NBA’s most exciting young talents in John Wall and Tyreke Evans.
Throw in the erratic JaVale McGee and the bi-polar play of DeMarcus Cousins and we’ve got a game!

In all seriousness though, no one is going to run away with this game and I expect ‘Reke and Wall to try and outdo each other.

5. Utah @ Dallas –Saturday

Twenty games in, Dirk and Deron are on my list of possible MVP’s. Deron’s played every role asked of him this year and put up a career year doing so. His team is tops in the Northwest and playing some great basketball to watch.

Dirk’s doing the same for his Mavs. The big German’s numbers are pretty much the same as last year and now that New Orleans has faltered, they’re only one game back of the Spurs for best in the West.

Fernando Medina / Getty Images

1. Miami @ Cleveland – Thursday 8pm

The prodigal son returns for the first time. They’ve banned ‘anti-LeBron’ shirts and added extra security. Still, I’m almost nervous to watch this game. While Cavs fans may be able to snicker at Miami’s 9-8 start (as of today), they undoubtedly still hold hard feelings regarding Bron-Bron’s departure. We can’t say for sure what they’ll do when upon his arrival, so I’ll be watching. You will be, too.

2. Dallas @ Utah – Friday 10:30pm

I can’t stress enough how well these two teams are coached. Watching Miami and Dallas play was like watching an NBA team play a bunch of guys assembled on the playground. Unlike that game, This game will have BOTH teams executing offensive sets to take advantage of each other’s mismatches rather than simply letting their players roam freely on the court.

Dallas’ Caron Butler is starting to find his groove, putting up 23 against the Heat, and Dirk is playing some unreal basketball. His 26 points against Sacramento may not seem that impressive, until you consider the fact that he shot 12 of 14 from the field.

3. New Orleans @ OKC – Monday 8pm

Premier point guards going head-to-head is sort of an obsession of mine. No disrespect to Derrick Rose, Steve Nash, or Rajon Rondo, but to me Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook are on another level right now.

Russell had his career high in points with 43 last week against Indiana, also managing 8 boards and 8 assists. Who’s that Kevin Durant guy?

Also, check out Okafor and Ibaka battle inside. Okafor’s coming off a 5 block performance against the Spurs but Ibaka is no slouch there himself. He’s posted 5 or more blocks 3 times this year.

4. Chicago @ Boston – Friday 8pm

Again, a great matchup at the 1 with Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose. Both of these point guards haven’t mastered the jump shot but have almost everything else figured out on the court.

Rose’s improvements this year have gone a bit overlooked because Westbrook has made ridiculous progression with his game. Derrick didn’t play last week against Denver because of a sore neck. He then returned, apparently not 100%, to face Sacramento and scored 30, with 7 rebounds and 7 assists, besting his replacement at Memphis.

Rondo’s been battling his own injury issues with that nagging hamstring but he played against Toronto on Friday and seemed to have solid mobility. Even if he isn’t fully recovered by the time these two meet, the matchup between Garnett and Noah will be a lot of fun to watch.

5. New Orleans @ San Antonio – Sunday 7pm

These teams met yesterday and New Orleans was up 17 early into the 3rd when my brother said “Pretty sure this one’s over.” Ah yes, we should never count out those wily old Spurs.

If both teams learn their lesson, we’ll see 48 minutes of basketball from two opponents instead of each team taking one half over.

Rick Bowmer / AP Photo

John’s back hosting this week, yay!

We begin with the depressing, depressing Blazers. Then, Chris Bosh, Michael Beasley, Julian’s “statgasm” segment, All-Star balloting, J.R. Smith & Marcus Thornton sitting at the end of the bench, Wagman’s “basketball bubble” segment, Sham’s point guard question, my “broner” segment, and “predictions on last night’s games.”

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Recommended links:

Woj on the Blazers
Noam Schiller on the Blazers
Art Garcia’s apology to Paul Millsap
Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post on J.R. Smith/Gary Forbes
Kevin Love’s GQ blog

Jim Rogash / Getty Images

John Bennett’s been on the OTN team for a few weeks now, as the host of The Outside The NBA Podcast. This is the first edition of his weekly column The Lookahead, where he’ll preview the games he’s most looking forward to. He just joined Twitter and you should harass him because doesn’t worship Hubie Brown. -Ed.

1. Thursday’s TNT Doubleheader: Boston @ Miami & Lakers @ Denver

Miami looked completely lost in its season opener in Boston. Wade was understandably horrible as he played 3 minutes in the pre-season, and they barely ran an offense. That will not happen this time and while the crowd won’t be as ridiculous as it was in the Garden, it should help the Heat when Boston’s D tries to clamp down.

The Nuggets won both times the Lakers visited Denver last season. Maybe this time Ty Lawson will dunk on Theo Ratliff.

This is a new year, though, and the Lakers’ new pieces have blended smoothly into the rotation. Everyone seems to be playing their roles perfectly and it’s resulted in a 7-0 record. Pau’s touch passes are as crisp as ever. He’s so good at them it makes me think he should be the setter on Spain’s volleyball team come London 2012.

2. Portland @ New Orleans, Saturday

This off-season I punched the Hornets franchise in the face. I mean, Trevor Ariza’s a great defender and when he shoots the 3 well, he can be a dynamic offensive player… but really, that’s your move to keep Chris Paul?

I won’t say I ever doubted Chris Paul’s ability but I did doubt his body. Paul hasn’t missed a beat and shows no sign of injury. He also punched me right back in the face by leading the Hornets to a 6-0 start to the season.

I felt this was a bubble playoff team at best. 6 games in, they look like a legit threat in the West and have beaten some very solid teams.
Jerryd Bayless faces his former club for the 1st time. It should be a solid battle of backup PGs in Bayless and Amon Johnson.

3. Portland @ Oklahoma City, Friday

Looks like too many mainstream prognosticators labeled Oklahoma City the 2nd best team in the West. They’re 3-3 and their defense has slipped to 23rd in the league.

I think they’ll break out of their current funk by the time these two teams meet. I also think that Portland goes into this game with a bit of an attitude. All the attention going to OKC when Portland went 50-32 (same as the Thunder) last year with massive injury issues. Here’s hoping they’re upset about being overlooked, giving this game a real playoff feel to it.

4. Golden State @ Milwaukee, Saturday

MONTA ELLIS! MONTA ELLIS! MONTA ELLIS! Loving the new and improved Monta Ellis.

The last time these two played in Milwaukee, Brandon Jennings dropped 55 points. G-State is a completely different team than they were last year, though. They have a new head coach who cares, and a retooled roster. And the Bucks have one of their main scorers from last year, Mr. Corey Maggette.

5. Milwaukee @ Atlanta, Wednesday

This is a rematch of last year’s first round series. It’s a statement game for the Bucks as they lost last year in 7 without their big Aussie.

I can’t tell you why, but I have a feeling Drew Gooden has a great game. Don’t ask me, it’s just a hunch that by all accounts makes absolutely no sense since Josh Smith should theoretically destroy the Kansas grad on both sides of the ball. Only bring this up if I’m right.

6. Washington @ Chicago, Saturday

I fully expect John Calipari to sit back and drink a beer while marvelling at two of his former players fail to contain one another. Any way we could have the eight other players just hang out on the sideline while John Wall and Derrick Rose play a 48 minute game of 1-on-1?

Layne Murdoch / Getty Images

My God, it’s great to watch Chris Paul again. The Hornets/Heat game last night might have been my favourite game of the whole season. Dude was the best player on the court for those 48 minutes, and that court had a few pretty amazing players on it.

I’m sure you’re aware the Hornets are 5-0. And it hasn’t been an easy schedule – Milwaukee at home, Denver at home, San Antonio on the road, Houston on the road, and Miami at home. Plenty more impressive than Atlanta going 6-0 against MEM/PHI/WAS/CLE/DET/MIN, right? Or the Lakers beating HOU/PHO/GSW/MEM/SAC/TOR? Yeah. Shoals is right, New Orleans is the biggest story in basketball.

You know who else might be right? Ethan Sherwood Strauss, who picked CP3 to win MVP before the season started. He said, essentially, that CP3 could win because he’s the second best player in the league, he’s going to have an amazing statistical season, and there’s a good chance his team will outperform its modest expectations. The media people who vote on the award will still dislike LeBron and view Dwight Howard as more physically gifted than skilled, KD’s Thunder will underachieve, and Paul will emerge as the guy with the best MVP story. [This is just a stupid summary - pleeeease read the whole thing 'cause Sherwood Strauss is good at writing.]

I loved the post when he wrote it, but still would have picked LeBron James. And now, I think I’d still roll with LeBron, but I’m nervous about the pick. Here’s why: LeBron is the best player in the world, but statistically he might not be THAT much better than Chris Paul. Paul’s started the season putting up impossible-looking numbers, but this isn’t anything new. Last year, before the injury he was producing more than anyone else on the planet. And even though he won’t shoot 50% on threes all season and defense means LeBron will still be the better overall player in my books, there’s a good chance at the end of the season that Paul’s numbers will suggest that the “best player alive” conversation is at least worth having. Couple that with a winning team that no one expected to do anything, and bam. He’ll be MVP, unless the Heat win close to 70.

Everything hinges on the Hornets continuing to win, though, and I’ve got lots of questions that I sort of want to think about and sort of want to push away so I can simply enjoy watching them.

• How can I possibly reconcile my belief that Monty Williams is an excellent young coach absolutely perfect for this team with the fact that he’s playing Marcus Thornton fewer minutes than Willie Green?

• Is Emeka Okafor seriously going to make a leap in his seventh season in the NBA?
• Has Jason Smith’s more-than-solid play been a figment of my imagination?
• Can Trevor Ariza figure out how to score efficiently and become the perfect 3′s and D role player we want him to be?
• Shouldn’t employing D.J. Mbenga and Aaron Gray as your only backup centers disqualify you from winning 50 games?
• Is Chris Paul the best point guard… ever? [And all the other questions Dwyer posed here, really.]

Planning to watch all of the Bucks/Hornets game tonight, with absolutely no idea who to cheer for, so maybe I’ll have more of a handle on New Orleans tomorrow. For now, I’ll just say Chris Paul is brilliant at basketball and you should be obsessively paying attention to his team for the next little while despite its lack of national TV appearances.

Before today’s quotes/tweets feature, a quick programming note: LeBlog James is generally going to run Mon-Fri, but I’ll put something up on the weekends sometimes as well. If I miss a weekday, like I did yesterday, there will pretty much always be a Saturday post to make up for it. ONWARD:

Quoted

“He just absolutely was adamant when we talked about it. He didn’t feel it was correct to be there for a week and get paid for the season.” – Herb Rudoy, Fabricio Oberto’s agent. Oberto suddenly retired on Thursday because of a heart condition. Amazingly, he decided to give ALL of the $854,389 he was set to make this season back to the Blazers. Players who suffer career- or season-ending injuries have no obligation to give back even a penny.

“My phone’s on mute.” – Nate McMillan, asked for a reaction to losing two players in a span of four hours. In addition to the Oberto news, it was announced Thursday that Eliot Williams would have surgery on his dislocated right patella. This will likely mean he’s out for the season.

“SEMIH … YOU … GO!” – Doc Rivers, to Semih Erden, after he missed a defensive rotation. The lovable Turkish rookie apparently is not amazing at English just yet.

“I thought it was a great idea and I think it will really help the team. I won’t have to start the game off and I’m still learning. Coming in off the bench, I can see how aggressive the game is so I can know how aggressive to be and not be. I’ll get the feel of the game a lot better.” – The totally immature, team-killing problem child DeMarcus Cousins, after learning Samuel Dalembert would replace him in the starting lineup. What a jerk. Good thing the Wolves didn’t draft him at #4.

“There’s one thing that I know for sure, and it’s that KG would not offend cancer patients. That makes no sense. It makes no sense on a lot of fronts. Not only is he experiencing it in his own family, but that’s just not something I’ve ever heard — in 30 years — ever say, in trash talking.” – Danny Ainge

“I’d love to see Charlie and KG in the ring. I’d pick Charlie. I’ve seen KG get his ass whupped. … He’s always barking, and when it’s time to get physical, he’s always been a little chihuahua.” – Reggie Evans

“I’m trying to change it now where instead of avoiding the contact and hitting crazy shots, I’m trying to get fouled and go to the free-throw line. It’s kind of weird for me right now getting used to it, but it’s coming along.” – Derrick Rose, making people who care about scoring efficiency extremely happy.

“Against a good defensive team we have trouble a little bit. We don’t have — and this isn’t to put down anybody in our locker room — but we don’t have the great one-on-one players. We don’t have [Dwyane] Wade and [LeBron] James and Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant.” – Stan Van Gundy, after the loss to the Heat. You better believe this is a challenge to Vince Carter.

“I couldn’t have said this with 100 percent honesty last year: We’re way better than this. We know we are. We’re way, way better than this. It’s heartfelt and upsetting to see where we’re at right now.” – Kevin Love, after the Wolves lost by 42 to Orlando. God, I feel bad for him.

“Obviously, I’ll be Prime Minister one day but I was going to wait until after I finish playing basketball.” – Steve Nash, when asked about this nonsense.

“I just hope I don’t pass the ball to Rondo, and then go set a screen.”- Brian Scalabrine, on his return to Boston as a Bull.

“Scal is the ultimate professional athlete. I have uncanny respect for the guy. He came in here and was a professional every day that he put on the green and white. I respect him more than anything. He’s one of my favorite ex-teammates in my small 15 years [in the NBA].” – Kevin Garnett, on Scalabrine. Wow. And Scal got a hell of a welcome – the crowd gave him a standing ovation and chanted his name when he subbed in, and a tribute video was played for him and Tom Thibodeau on the big screen.

“We have a saying: ‘DTW — Defense Travels Well.’ Your legs and your shots won’t go all the time. Your jump shots may not be there. But if you can lock into your defense — that’s what they’ve done. And that kept us in the game. We weren’t down by 10, 15 points. Our defense kept us close.” – Keith Smart. THE COACH OF THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS SAID THIS! Get very excited.

“We are not trying to take so much crazy shots as we did in the last couple of years. We try to more move the ball and get easier shots and get everybody else involved in the offense. So I think that helps, that we don’t take those shots after five or seven seconds on offense, just pulling up.” – Andris Biedrins, who must be unbelievably happy that Don Nelson is no longer the coach of his team.

“This is probably one of the toughest things to do when you leave a year. One of the things about the NBA is out of sight, out of mind. For Denver to give me an opportunity, I want to do well, not only for the opportunity but so they don’t feel they wasted a spot.” – Melvin Ely. I bet you didn’t know he started for the Nuggets last night.

“I’m not here to defend myself. I just want to get on the court and just let my actions, the way that I play (take care of it). That’s all I care about is just getting out on the court and playing at the level that I’m capable of playing at. I don’t really worry what people say about me.” – Baron Davis. Good. I’d love to be wrong about you, Baron. Let’s see it.

“None of your business.” – Gregg Popovich, when asked what drills Richard Jefferson was put through to rejuvenate himself in the summer.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I don’t even have a computer, I barely can answer my cell phone.” – Jerry Sloan, on Twitter.

Tweeted

“I am sorry Indiana. That was not Pacer basketball. What u saw is not acceptable and we r not gonna let this be the norm. We can do better!” – Roy Hibbert, after Indiana lost by 26 in Philly.

“Gotta talk to Leo and figure out how to use Inception.” – Roy Hibbert.

“I would like to apologize 2 the woman who I jumped in2 when I dove for the loose ball out of bounds. I am sorry and I hope I didn’t injure u” – Roy Hibbert, who accidentally kicked a woman in the head last night.

“I’m starting to feel like I did something to the refs in my previous life! I felt like a kid who couldn’t play with his friends!”- Jermaine O’Neal, who is averaging 7.5 fouls per 36 minutes so far this season.

“Big congratulations to JD! He’s worked really hard and is a great teammate. He deserves everything he gets.” – Steve Nash, congratulating former All-OTN Team member Jared Dudley on his contract extension. Who would have thought 3 years ago that the only members of the 2007 draft class to be extended would be Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Mike Conley, and Jared Dudley? Very happy for Mr. JMZ.

“Rod Strickland was REAL!!!! I don’t care what nobody say. Top 5 to me, no ASG, no Hype….” – Brandon Jennings, who also studies tapes of Kenny Anderson and watches several NBA games simultaneously.

“I really hope the rockets lets me know something soon…” – Jermaine Taylor, who is the most likely Rocket to be waived in order to facilitate an Erick Dampier signing.

“Beyond frustrated…feels like I’m being lied 2″ – Jermaine Taylor, who might be talking about his situation with Houston or might be talking about something completely different.

Luis M. Alvarez / AP Photo

There were seven games on the schedule last night, but the Knicks and Magic didn’t play because Madison Square Garden is not safe. I’ll start with the one game that came down to the wire:

The Wizards beat the Sixers 116-115 in overtime. It wouldn’t have made it to overtime if not for Cartier Martin (representing the D-League) tying the game with a last-second three-pointer that could easily have been an and-one. John Wall could not have been introduced better in the Wizards’ home opener and proceeded to put up a monster line: 29 points (on 16 shots), 13 assists, a franchise record-tying 9 steals, and, gulp, 8 turnovers. Since there are always fun numbers in overtime games, check out some other stats: Lou Williams started 0-8 but finished with 30 points on 16 shots (15-17 FT!), Elton Brand had a super-efficient 21 and 9, and Jrue Holiday had 14 points and 13 assists. I wanted a second overtime, but I was happy that Wizards fans got this win and EXTREMELY happy for Mr. Martin.

The Hawks beat the Cavs 100-88. Great to see Marvin Williams score 22 and get fourth-quarter burn. For Cleveland, J.J. Hickson was awesome. He hit a bunch of mid-range jumpers to start, which opened up his game. He’s coming along quite nicely. Wish I could say the same for Ramon Sessions, who is way better than he’s showing right now. He and the returning Mo Williams combined to shoot 9-31 and dish out only 5 assists. I thought it was over when the Hawks scored 40 points in the first quarter, but Cleveland worked its way back. Byron Scott said he loved the effort.

Portland beat Milwaukee 90-76 in an unsurprisingly slow-paced (87 possessions) game. The Blazers couldn’t hit anything at the outset and the Bucks started off on a roll. It looked like Carlos Delfino was going to do what Luol Deng did to the Blazers a night earlier, but the difference was that Wesley Matthews came in and stopped Delfino like he couldn’t stop Deng. The Bucks’ offense pretty much died near the end of the first, which was when the Blazers’ came to life. 6 turnovers and 0-4 shooting behind the arc was not what I was hoping for from Brandon Jennings after his awesome triple double on Saturday.

There were three blowouts yesterday: Boston 109, Detroit 86; Miami 129, Minnesota 97; and Lakers 124, Grizzlies 97. I won’t discuss these ones, but I will share three great dunks.

Credit to Zach Harper, Ben Golliver, and @jose3030 for the videos in this post.

Before I get to today’s feature, where I’ll quickly take stock of every team in the league after one week of basketball, I want to share a couple of links:

The Wall Street Journal profiled Anthony Morrow, which is awesome because he’s the best damn shooter in the world. There are a bunch of Steve Kerr quotes within.

And I don’t know how this got by me a few days ago, but CelticsBlog interviewed the great Jackie MacMullan. Really great read on her early days in the business, the 80′s in the NBA, Kevin McHale, and a couple of current Celtics.

Week 1 Catch-up

The Hawks are undefeated and they are getting to the line, but they haven’t been tested and it doesn’t look like Jeff Teague is who they hoped he would be.

Rajon Rondo has 67 assists in 4 games and his Celtics are rebounding their way to wins, but Nate Robinson has been bricking everything and they still need to cut down the turnovers.

D.J. Augustin’s been better than expected, Boris Diaw is still playing more than Tyrus Thomas, and Charlotte’s defense is almost the league’s worst after being the league’s best last year.

Derrick Rose is leading the league in usage rate, James Johnson does stuff now, and Keith Bogans has played more minutes for Chicago than Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer.

J.J. Hickson looks suited for his bigger role, Antawn Jamison has been all kinds of disappointing, and Ramon Sessions has been about 1/100th as good as I thought he would be in Cleveland.

The Mavericks have been awesome defensively against weak competition and Dirk Nowitzki is too good for Halloween costumes.

Arron Afflalo’s force people to spell his name right and Denver’s playing very good defense, even Al Harrington!

Rodney Stuckey’s getting assists now, the Pistons’ bench is outplaying their starting five, and they’ve looked fairly good in each loss before the C’s game last night.

Andris Biedrins and Brandan Wright get to play now, Monta Ellis is lovable again, and the Warriors really need Stephen Curry’s bum ankle to heal.

The Rockets have lost all three games, two of them close, but Kyle Lowry’s back and Erick Dampier will arrive shortly.

Roy Hibbert’s dominating from the high post and McBob is dunking on everyone in Indiana.

Blake Griffin is everything we hoped he’d be, but his team is still Clippering its way to losses and Baron Davis thinks that, before this season, “getting in shape was never a problem.”

Lamar Odom is shooting 6-8 on threes and 27-38 overall on the season and the Lakers are making me think they could go another month without a loss.

The Grizzlies looked good in half their games, they need Zach Randolph back, and you’re going to have trouble watching Mike Conley play without thinking about his contract.

The Heat are playing incredible defense and they’re going to win tons of games, but we’d like them to start running – the blowout against Minnesota last night was their only fast-paced game.

There are still too many missed jump shots in Milwaukee, but Brandon Jennings had perhaps the best game of his career the other day.

Kevin Love is averaging 15.5 points and 11.3 rebounds and has yet to play over 30 minutes in a game this season.

The Nets look nothing like they did last year and Derrick Favors is not a bust.

Chris Paul has the Hornets undefeated against three playoff teams and Marcus Thornton had 17 points and 7 rebounds in 30 minutes in San Antonio the other night.

Gallo’s been awful, Chandler’s been awesome, and the Knicks are going to need some time to put it together.

The Thunder have not been playing the awesome defense we saw last year, but that should change.

After the Magic lost by 26 in Miami, I can’t wait for the rematch that’s three weeks from today.

Elton Brand’s averaging 16.3 points and 9 rebounds, Evan Turner’s had three 7-rebound games, and the Sixers haven’t won a game yet.

The Suns can’t rebound or stop anybody, but Goran Dragic’s PER is 25.8.

Armon Johnson’s been a pleasant surprise and you have to watch the Blazers play against Oklahoma City tomorrow.

Tyreke-Cousins-Casspi is my favourite young trio and I’d much rather talk about the Kings’ much improved offense than their inconsistent, often-terrible defense.

Hope you’re as excited as I am to see more from Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal for the Spurs against Phoenix tonight.

In Toronto, Andrea Bargnani and Reggie Evans are perfect for one another.

The preseason may have tricked us into forgetting that the Jazz need time to gel, but Paul Millsap deserves your attention right now.

John Wall’s a must-watch, but I wish he had better teammates and wish the “new and improved Yi Jianlian” would put on a Wizards uniform.

…erm, not really. My schedule is going to remain the same as it was last year. I’m going to watch basketball at night, read about basketball during the day, and write about basketball in between.

The format’s going to be new, though. The majority of my writing will live in this space: LeBlog James. This is where I’ll recap what I’ve watched, make observations, drop stats, recommend links, share gems from my Twitter feed, etc. It’s also where I’ll post a feature every day. It’s not exactly going to be a recap column and it’s not exactly going to be a “James rants about the NBA” column. It’s a blog. By me, James. LeBlog James. It’ll generally be posted in the afternoon.

The podcast will keep going as its been for the past few weeks – recorded Thursday before the doubleheader, posted Friday. It’ll continue to sound a billion times better than it did last year, as we’re using the studio at the College of Sports Media.

John Bennett, who’s hosting the podcast now, is going to be on board as a writer, too. Julian Guy-McCarvill will have a weekly column that’ll no doubt be full of statistics and hate. Eric Wagman will be writing and podcasting at least until he leaves Canada to become a spy – I hope someone pisses him off early this season as much as Turkoglu did last year.

Aaaaanyway, let’s get to last night’s fun. It was a great, great second night in the NBA. Even better than the first, I’d say. As awesome as it was to see the huge nationally televised games and the Blazers’ 4th-quarter explosion against Phoenix on Tuesday, there’s nothing like some extreme League Pass ADD on a Wednesday featuring 13 games that are all worth checking out. Can’t tell you how much I missed the simultaneous good finishes and #leaguepassalerts.

Here’s a long list of things I loved about Wednesday, starting with this picture:

• Prokhorov is obviously hilarious. That was a fun finish in Newark, too. 13-3 run in the final 1:40 and Anthony Morrow (sweetest shot in the league) nailed a late three that made me yell. Other happy news from that game: Derrick Favors was GOOD… And, TBJ! Hells yes. So pumped for the TV debut this evening.

• Favors wasn’t the only rookie to start strong after a disappointing preseason: Evan Turner had 16/7/4 against the Heat. He crossed over Dwyane Wade nicely, too. And Wade? 30/7/4. Nice bounceback.

• Reggie Evans was a beast. He had my favourite line of the night: 33 mins, 0 pts (0-2 fg), 16 reb (4 off), 2 stl, 1 blk, 5 fouls. He also had a great quote: “I ain’t no diva. I don’t have no blond hair, red hair. I’m Reggie Evans.” He annoyed the crap out of Amar’e, until STAT realized at the end of the game that he should be able to score whenever he wants. And he did, so the Knicks won.

• I had the Raptors feed, but wish I’d heard Clyde Frazier’s call when Jarrett Jack stepped out of bounds: “That’s inexplicable. Actually, it’s despicable”.

• Cleveland WON! Great, great, GREAT for their fans. I kept feeling like Boston was going to pull it out at the end, but the Cavs held on. Insane energy in that building. Must have been tough for the C’s to go from their raucous supporters in the first game to this hostile crowd in the second.

• Big Baby looked improved for the second night in a row. He’s definitely slimmed down, and he’s hitting turnaroud J’s.
• Derrick Rose had numerous incredible finishes around the basket. His layups are often as impressive as his dunks.
• Joakim Noah’s crazy line: 18/19/2/2/2. And from the same game, KD and Russ dominated the fourth quarter for the win. KD finished with 30; Westbrook had 28/10/6 and this huge dunk.
• Serge Ibaka played 32 minutes to Nenad Krstic’s 16.
• The first dunk of Wes Johnson’s career was quite something.

• Carl Landry put up some numbers: 22/11, including 7 offensive boards – awesome because his offensive rebounding rate has been declining since his rookie year.

• Jennings’ 10 assists to 1 turnover. Bogut getting 15/15 in his return, and still taking the blame for the loss. Chris Paul looking brilliant as ever: 17/16/4, with 1 turnover.
• Roy Hibbert made Noam Schiller’s MIP pick look like a great call. 28/9/3 blocks against Tim Duncan. Also, Josh McRoberts getting everyone all excited on Twitter. He made his first 5 shots, including a three and this alley-oop.

• Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki reminding us that some things don’t change: Timmay had 23 on 10-12 shooting, with 12 boards against Indy. Dirkus Circus had 28 on 11-13 shooting, with 13 assists against Charlotte. Almost forgot Jason Kidd, too: 18 assists and 1 turnover.
• T.J. Ford played well in an NBA game!

• Arron Afflalo had led the Nugs with 12 first half points to break the game open against Utah. And SHELDEN WILLIAMS had 16 rebounds.
• And what I liked most of all: Clippers/Blazers and Rockets/Warriors at the end of the night. One on my computer, one on my TV. Really excited for the west coast games this year. Blake Griffin was breathtaking and needed the ball more in the end. Hubie Brown was FAWNING over him. The Blazers had a dominant fourth quarter again, going on a 15-0 run while shutting the Clips down with a zone. Nice to see Camby still so active and good defensively, even though he’ll be turning 37 in March. Nice to see Batum make me look smart for saying he’s going to have a huge season. Enjoyed Brandon Roy’s TWO buzzer-beaters in the first half.

• All the wacky stats that come with a 132-128 game. Steph Curry: 25/11. D-Lee: 17/15/6. Scola: 36/16. Kevin Martin: 28 points on 14 shots, 17-17 from the foul line. Chuck Hayes: a career high 16 points, with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. And Monta deserves his own bullet point:

• 46 points. 18-24 FG. 9-12 FT. 1 turnover in the win. Incredible, incredible night. Efficient Monta is someone we should all love. And how efficient was he? 78.6% True Shooting. I’d have stayed up all night making a highlight video if I didn’t have to be at school right now. I’ll get that done later if no one else beats me to it. LOVED the slooooooooow mo replays on the Warriors broadcast, too

And quickly, ‘cause the first week of the season is the time for optimism and appreciating that basketball is back, a few things I didn’t love at all:

• Amir Johnson played just 12:34 and picked up 4 fouls.
• Bill Walker and Roger Mason shot  a combined 0-9.
• Marcus Thornton playing only 11:14, which was less than Willie f’ing Green.
• Derrick Rose’s inefficiency: Even though he looks improved, his production has the same problems: he needed 31 shots to put up his 28 points. He missed all four of his three point attempts. And he only got to the line 4 times, compared to Russell Westbrook’s 13.
• Kevin Love played only 23 minutes and sat the entire fourth quater. Kurt Rambis said it was because Anthony Tolliver was playing well, not because Love was doing anything wrong. I like Tolliver, but ugh. Not this again.

That’s it for me today. TNT doubleheader tonight! Ernie, Kenny, and Chuck in the studio! John Wall! Podcast will be up tomorrow. LeBlog James will properly get started, features and all, next week.

Chris Graythen / Getty Images

The NBA season is almost here.

First of all, WOOOOO!

Second, um, hello. I come to you with my predictions for the season, along with reasons I’m excited about each and every team that I’ll be watching on League Pass from this week till mid-April. We know how difficult it is to prognosticate in October and that injuries and trades will change everything, but hey, predictions are fun! Feel free to call me out when some of the things I say look hilariously dumb a month or two from now. Here we go:

Eastern Conference

1. Miami: 66-16 (last season: 47-35)

I might actually be selling them short with 66. They’ve got weaknesses (old and slow bench, subpar centers) but their strengths are so strong that they should win most regular season games fairly easily.

I can’t imagine trying to gameplan for them. We’ve seen that it takes a total team defensive effort to limit LeBron and Wade separately. Now, they’re together, with Bosh?! They’re going to punish teams on the break and get to the line a billion times a game. It’s going to be amazing to watch.

Excited about: Finding out if they care about winning 70+, seeing if Spoelstra gets creative with his offense, and discussing LeBron’s on-court brilliance instead of his off-court madness.

2. Orlando: 60-22 (last season: 59-23)

Don’t forget how good the Magic were last season. They had the league’s best point differential and it wasn’t close. They went 33-8 in the second half of the season. Entering the playoffs, lots of extremely smart people (and I) picked them to win the East. Problem is, they ran into a Boston team playing at its peak.

This year, if Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis play the way they should, you still have to consider Orlando title contenders. The Heat look impossible, but you can see the Magic giving them trouble. Miami currently has no one to guard Dwight one-on-one and there are plenty of capable outside shooters here to make them pay for doubling.

There’s room for improvement on last season’s mark because Vince Carter had some truly awful stretches last season while learning the offense and playing hurt. A bounceback season is possible for VC, even though he’s turning 34 in January. His strong pre-season is evidence for this.

Excited about: Dwight Howard proving Ben Q. Rock right for saying what he said here.

3. Boston: 50-32 (last season: 50-32)

This is still a championship contender. No one wants to face them in the playoffs. When you’ve got Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, and Kendrick Perkins, you’ve got an elite defense. Even with Tom Thibodeau gone.

However, as we saw last year, this team isn’t built with the regular season in mind. While it is certainly possible to improve on last season’s mark due to their painfully average second half of 2009-2010, I wouldn’t bet on it. Even with the strengthened bench – watch out, they’re incredibly deep now – the Celtics likely will lose games due to their veterans’ injuries and reduced minutes. Hopefully, though, they won’t lose any due to disinterest this time around.

Excited about: Delonte West redeeming himself, Rondo starting in the All-Star Game.

Gary Dineen / Getty Images

4. Milwaukee: 47-35 (last season: 46-36)

If you’re pessimistic about the Bucks’ chances, I understand. They vastly overachieved relative to expectations last season and Skiles has a track record of flaming out. There are difficult rotation decisions to make here and Keyon Dooling is a downgrade from Luke Ridnour at the backup point guard spot that was so important last year.

I’m going the other way, though. Counting on improvement from Brandon Jennings and hoping for only a small drop-off from Andrew Bogut, I think Milwaukee can sustain despite not being able to sneak up on teams anymore.

Drew Gooden and Corey Maggette address their desperate need for more scoring. Maggette in particular is a perfect fit for the free throw-challenged Bucks, as he is incredible at getting to the line. These two don’t play standout defense, but Skiles has incorporated poor defenders into great defensive systems before. And with the deep bench and versatility on this roster, it should happen again.

Excited about: EVERYTHING. This was one of my favourite teams to watch last season. Can’t wait to see Jennings and Bogut work the pick and roll (on both ends), thrilled that CDR has a fresh start, and hungry for a Brockman Burger.

4. Chicago: 47-35 (last season: 41-41)

Trading Vinny Del Negro for Tom Thibodeau and acquiring a much-needed low post scorer and pick-and-roll man in Carlos Boozer means the Bulls should be worlds better than last season.

I hesitate to put them in the 50-win category just yet, especially with Boozer out to start the season, but if Thibs can impart some of his defensive wisdom on Derrick Rose then they certainly have a shot at it. Rose can improve on the other side of the ball, too – even if he doesn’t become a three-point threat this season, just getting to the line more would be huge.

Excited about: An improved offense – TT is known as a defensive mastermind, but the Bulls’ problem under VDN was the other side of the floor, where they’ve already shown progress.

6. Atlanta: 46-36 (last season: 53-29)

Atlanta’s bringing back basically the same club that won 53 games last season. But with Larry Drew implementing a motion-based offense and a defense that isn’t built on switching every screen, Hawks games will be different.

To sustain their record, I’d have to bet that the potentially more entertaining offense will be as effective as their isolation-heavy offense. I’d have to bet on Jeff Teague emerging as a viable alternative to Mike Bibby and his atrocious defense. I’d have to bet on Jamal Crawford duplicating his fantastic Sixth Man of the Year campaign last season. I’d have to bet on another essentially injury-free season. Can’t do that.

Excited about: Josh Smith remaining the best player on the team and finally making it to the All-Star Game.

7. Philadelphia: 38-44 (last season: 27-55)

Call me crazy, but I think they have playoff talent. I had them at 40-42 a year ago and still think they were capable of that mark if Eddie Jordan hadn’t lost them.

Jordan was hired to make a good defensive team also a good offensive team. He ended up making a bad offensive team also a bad defensive team. Under Doug Collins, things should be different.

As has been the case for years now, there’s plenty of young defensive weapons here. They should be able to force turnovers and bad shots. And on offense, they have plenty of options. I am sure Collins will draw up a thousand plays and make sure they get efficient looks at the basket.

They still lack wing shooting, but have numerous big men who can help space the floor. For things to go right, the rotations must be balanced and everyone’s going to have to buy in. You can’t count on this happening, but I’ll be optimistic.

Excited about: Jrue Holiday, but maybe not as excited as Doug Collins is.

7. New York: 38-44 (last season: 29-53)

With the additions of Amar’e, Felton, Azubuike, Turiaf, and everyone’s favourite 21 year-old, Anthony Randolph, we’re looking at a possible playoff squad.

I’ve got them in the post-season because I think they’re going to be a quality offensive team. And, if D’Antoni has them practicing defense this season, they’re capable of being not-completely-terrible on that end, too.

Felton isn’t the ideal 7SOL point guard, but he’s solid for the price they paid. And Amar’e, assuming he’s as motivated as he was after the All-Star Break last season, could average over 30. With the fantastic value they got for David Lee, you have to call the off-season a success.

They really need to look at acquiring some rebounding help, though.

Excited about: Amar’e Stoudemire and Anthony Randolph finishing fast breaks.

9. Charlotte: 35-47 (last season: 44-38)

The playoffs aren’t out of the question, with Larry Brown’s track record of squeezing the most out of clubs like this. But the fact is that this team lost its starting center and point guard and haven’t replaced them.

Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson had to carry the team offensively last season. They’ll have to do that again, and I’m not confident they’ll have the league’s best defense again.

Excited about: Shaun Livingston having an NBA home.

10. Indiana: 34-48 (last season: 32-50)

Finally, they’ve got a point guard. The Troy Murphy for Darren Collison trade looks like a home run for Indy. But how will it translate in the win column this year?

I see Indy being terrible on the glass, average on D, and decent on offense. Sure, the offense could be better than decent if Collison, Granger, and Hibbert all have great seasons. But will that make ‘em a playoff team? I’m guessing no, even in the East.

An offensive boost would change what it’s like to watch this team, though. In contrast to their very entertaining 2008-2009 run, last year’s Pacers were a chore to watch. As the second-fastest team in the league, they proved that fast-paced basketball isn’t always exciting basketball. Here’s hoping Collison makes things fun again.

Excited about: The new and improved Roy Hibbert.

11. Washington: 30-52 (last season: 26-56)

If you’re like me, you’re a big Gilbert Arenas fan and you’re itching to see him out there again. You want to know if he can be an efficient scorer off the ball. You want to see if he’s healthy and committed enough to play solid defense.

And if you’re like me, you watched more college basketball last season than you had in years simply because of John Wall’s Kentucky team. The kid is electric and we expect big things for good reason. Just know that rookie point guards make lots of mistakes while learning on the job.

Without knowing how Wall/Arenas works out, and with the tantalizing/frustrating talents of Andray Blatche still in the frontcourt, it’s difficult to project where this team lands up. I suspect they’ll be the most inconsistent team in the league. I’ll say they improve this year, but they’ll need to make a roster move or two with defense in mind if they are to make a big jump right away.

Excited about: John Wall’s alley-oops to JaVale McGee.

12. Detroit: 28-54 (last season: 27-55)

No doubt, last year’s team underachieved. It was a deep team that had plenty of offensive firepower, yet it finished 21st in offense. Injuries to almost every key contributor had much to do with it. The team never clicked, roles were never established, and one got the feeling halfway through the season that the team was looking forward to next year.

Now, it’s next year. They’ve got something to prove. But there are flaws on this roster. It lacks a star and quality two-way players. Kuester’s going to have to figure out how to balance the rotation and define roles. Even with Jerebko hurt, there are major logjams at the 2, 3, and 4. The front office must want to see development from the young guys, but can they sit the highly-paid veterans?

The McGrady signing is confusing because of his age and the fact that they have guys who play the same positions. It’s interesting, though, because this team desperately needs a distributor. That’s a role McGrady is capable of fulfilling if he wants to.

Excited about: Will Bynum’s increased range.

13. New Jersey: 27-55 (last season: 12-70)

Last season, the Nets’ power forward minutes went to Yi Jianlian, Kris Humphries, and Josh Boone. This year, they’ll go to Troy Murphy and Derrick Favors. This alone should bump up their win total.

Their offense should improve greatly, as Avery Johnson will make sure they actually run plays. Anthony Morrow, Travis Outlaw, and hopefully a full year of the late-season version of Terrence Williams will help, too.

Avery will preach defense, but I don’t think they have the personnel to be good on that end. This is what’ll keep them out of playoff contention.

Excited about: The beauty that is an Anthony Morrow jumper and a Terrence Williams dunk.

13. Toronto: 27-55 (last season: 40-42)

Duh, the Raptors will be significantly worse this year. They lost their only elite player and their off-season moves don’t give us reason to see their-league worst defense becoming passable. Bargnani’s touch and size make him an extremely tough cover, but teams have fared a lot better against him with Bosh sitting out. Unless they hit an absolute home run with their trade exception, don’t expect much winning this year.

Toronto could be fun to watch, though. Last year’s team was maddening at times due to high expectations and Hedo Turkoglu. Both are gone, now. Any success this group finds will be a surprise. I’m looking forward to watching my hometown team, even if I have no delusions about a playoff berth.

Excited about: The Young Onez dunking on fools.

15. Cleveland: 18-64 (last season: 61-21)

It kills me to make this prediction. Cleveland fans don’t deserve this, but here we are.

What was once an elite defensive team will be much worse without LeBron and Delonte. Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson were efficient offensively, but never had to create shots for themselves. Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison can score, but I doubt they’re in Cleveland by the trade deadline.

It’ll be great to see Ramon Sessions get starters’ minutes and you have to hope Byron Scott lets the young guys run. You’ll want to watch the Cavs to see Jamario Moon and J.J. Hickson finishing fast breaks.

Excited about: The healthy Leon Powe.

Western Conference

Lluis Gene / AFP Photo / Getty Images

Just as they did last year, the Lakers have 70-win potential. In fact, there’s no reason they can’t improve. Their bench will be better than it was. Pau could get more touches. Kobe could be more efficient.

The other side of it: these Lakers haven’t consistently played with the discipline required to win 70 games in the regular season. They’ll abandon the triangle, coast through some possessions, and rely on their superior talent to win close games. They’re an absolute joy to watch at their peak, but we don’t know when they’ll play at their peak.

With Bynum’s knee and Kobe’s finger, I’ll say they’ll duplicate their last regular season. I also expect them to return to the finals.

Excited about: Matt Barnes and Ron Artest on the same team!

2. Portland: 53-29 (last season: 50-32)

Portland overachieved last year when you consider the ridiculous assortment of injuries it had to face. With fewer injuries, a young core one year older, and a full season of Marcus Camby, this team should be among the league’s best.

Stat people love this team and it’s clear why. The Blazers are deep at every position, Brandon Roy is a year removed from being “just a step behind Kobe,” Greg Oden is a monster at both ends when he’s healthy, and Nic Batum seems poised to break out. I just hope they’re at full-strength come playoff time.

Excited about: Rose Garden going f’ing crazy in the playoffs.

3. San Antonio: 51-31 (last season: 50-32)

The West will be tough, but don’t expect the Spurs to go away. They won 50 games with disappointing seasons from Tony Parker and Richard Jefferson. Now, with Tiago Splitter giving Timmy some help on the inside, they’ve improved.

Duncan and Ginobili are still producing and I don’t expect that to change. Sure, Tim’s not the dominating defensive presence he once was, but he’s still effective there and a game-changer on the offensive end. They probably won’t get a full season from Manu, but George Hill can capably fill in and The Poo God is still one of the league’s very best two-guards when he’s healthy.

Excited about: DeJuan Blair, 21 years old, starting in the NBA without ACL’s.

Nathaniel S. Butler / Getty Images

4. Oklahoma City: 50-32 (last season: 50-32)

Despite OKC being my favourite team to root for, I’d be surprised if these guys increased their win total from last season.

Even with improvement from almost everyone on the roster, wins will be hard to come by in the West. And last year was a special, special season for the Thunder: In addition to finding that magical chemistry that made NBA freaks fall in love with them, they somehow managed to remain injury-free. They’d be incredibly lucky to duplicate that.

Excited about: More minutes for the lovable Serge Ibaka and the bearded James Harden.

5. Utah: 49-33 (last season: 50-32)

Their 8-0 preseason made me rethink this team a little. I thought they’d start slow again, with Okur out and Jefferson getting himself settled in. Now, though, I’m thinking maybe we won’t have to wait for the new year to let out a collective “holy crap, this team is good!”

With Korver in Chicago and Matthews in Portland, it’s important for the Jazz to get some production from Raja Bell and Gordon Hayward.

Excited about: Paul Millsap being featured in the offense again, Al Jefferson playing on national television, and Raja Bell at full health.

6. Dallas: 46-36 (last season: 55-27)

The Mavs are old and they overachieved last season by winning tons of close games. Nonetheless, they are a good basketball team.

Dirk is a treasure and he’ll continue putting up monster numbers without wasting possessions. I hoped they’d get more for Dampier’s nonguaranteed contract, but Chandler should play well with Jason Kidd. Hopefully he can stay on the floor.

The problem is that they still don’t have an elite wing creator to pair with Dirk… or at least not a proven one. If I’m Rick Carlisle, I’m playing Roddy Beaubois 30+ minutes a game because he’s the only hope Dallas has of making a significant improvement this year. If he can come close to sustaining his awesome per-minute stats from last year, this team could be on the right track. The problem, of course, is keeping Kidd/Terry/Butler/Marion happy with the reduced minutes that would result.

Excited about: Rodrigue Beaubois, just like every other NBA diehard is.

7. Denver: 44-38 (last season: 53-29)

There’s talent in Denver, but things aren’t looking great for 2010-2011. Obviously, the most important storyline here is what happens with Melo. After that, though, you have to wonder how they’ll do up front with the Birdman and Kenyon Martin having knee issues – this team was only average on defense last season.

Ty Lawson should get more minutes and look for his own shot more often. This’ll help. Al Harrington will help, too. But we’re still waiting for J.R. Smith to put it all together and there’s no way to know when that’s going to happen. Assuming Melo sticks around, I’m comfortable saying this is a playoff team, but uncomfortable predicting anything better than that.

Excited about: More gems like this.

7. Houston: 44-38 (last season: 42-40)

You already know Yao’s playing a maximum of 24 minutes each night and he’ll skip some back-to-backs. He’s still going to transform the way this team plays.

They’re going to have to get used to playing two different styles on a regular basis: with Yao, they must make a concerted effort to feed the post in the half-court. Without him, they must push the ball in the style they did last year. It’s going to be up to Aaron Brooks to pick his spots offensively. (Hint: cut down the field goal attempts when the big man is out there.)

The Rockets certainly have the pieces to be a much better offensive team than we saw last year. We don’t know, however, if they can get back to being the defensive force we were used to until Yao’s injury. With Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin sharing the backcourt, and Yao struggling with mobility, this will be a challenge.

Excited about: Yao! And probably my favourite bench in the league: Kyle Lowry, Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger, Patrick Patterson, Chuck Hayes, and the suddenly-intriguing Ish Smith.

9. Memphis: 42-40 (last season: 40-42)

Like the Thunder, Memphis was able to avoid major injuries last season. With that luck, an unexpected All-Star campaign from Zach Randolph, and the emergence of Marc Gasol as an All-Star caliber player as well, they exceeded expectations.

Their undefeated preseason is definitely encouraging. Historically, teams that roll through the preseason at least make the playoffs. And with the way this team should dominate the offensive glass and score at the basket, that’s a realistic goal. It’ll be tough in this conference, though.

The Grizzlies brought back their important players and added Tony Allen and Xavier Henry. If Darrell Arthur can give them something and there’s improvement from OJAM and Gasol, they could do some damage. I’m just not convinced that they’ll be playoff-bound with that bench and that defense.

Excited about: Marc Gasol getting more touches. Please, Basketball Gods, make this happen.

Christian Peterson / Getty Images

10. Phoenix: 40-42 (last season: 54-28)

Of course, it’s possible that Phoenix will return to the playoffs. With Steve Nash and plenty of shooters, their offense should be very good. (I say this despite them making less than a quarter of their threes in the preseason.)

The problem is that, without Amar’e, I don’t expect them to be GREAT offensively. And if you’re going to be as bad as I think the Suns will be on defense and on the boards, you need a fantastic offense to make up for it.

Look for Nash/Lopez and Nash/Warrick pick-and-rolls. Look for Turkoglu to be better than he was in Toronto, but nowhere near worthy of that crazy contract. Look for Josh Childress’s awesome mini-fro. But don’t look for a team anywhere near as good as it was last May.

Excited about: Another year of Steve Nash, another year of JMZ.

11. New Orleans: 39-43 (last season: 37-45)

A healthy Chris Paul is worth more than two extra wins in a vacuum, but almost every team in the West improved.

Paul has carried weak supporting casts before and this year he’s actually a part of a very solid starting unit. This team is shallow, though. In fact, the bench is so blah that it makes sense for Marcus Thornton to play the 6th man role despite being clearly superior to Marco Belinelli, horrendous preseason shooting notwithstanding. I dig the Jerryd Bayless acquisition and I like me some Pops, but I think they need more help.

Excited about: Chris Paul reminding people he’s a legit MVP candidate when he’s at full-strength.

12. Golden State: 36-46 (last season: 26-56)

David Lee, Lou Amundson, Dorell Wright, Jeremy Lin, Rodney Carney, Charlie Bell, Dan Gadzuric, and half a season of Ekpe Udoh > Corey Maggette, Anthony Morrow, Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, Ronny Turiaf, and C.J. Watson?

Not exactly.

But it’s not as simple as that. These Warriors should be much better than last year. With Don Nelson out of there, this team should play some defense. Reggie Williams won’t have to play power forward. Andris Biedrins will actually get on the floor. Brandan Wright might finally get a chance.

The Steph Curry/David Lee pick-and-roll will be almost impossible to stop. Monta Ellis could go back to scoring efficiently. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the W’s right now. I just get the feeling they’re a year away, in this conference.

Excited about: Staying up late to watch these guys put up lots of points, Bay Area fans finally seeing this franchise move in a positive direction.

13. Sacramento: 35-47 (last season: 25-57)

If DeMarcus Cousins is as good as I think he is, Sacramento’s offense just got a lot better. And with a full season of Carl Landry and improvement from their young guys, the Kings should have made some progress on the offensive end anyway.

Samuel Dalembert might be seen as simply an expiring contract, but he should be huge for the Kings on D when he returns from injury. The Kings haven’t had a shot-blocker in ages and desperately needed an anchor last season. Spencer Hawes may be full of potential, but he’s never going to be that guy.

The second-year bump from Evans and Casspi along with the Cousins/Landry/Dalembert/Thompson frontcourt makes it tempting to predict an OKC-like leap in the standings. While I’d LOVE to see it happen, I’m betting against it. Still, there will be progress.

Excited about: DeMarcus Cousins making a couple of GM’s look very, very foolish.

14. Los Angeles Clippers: 31-51 (last season: 29-53)

The Clippers were awful again last season. Baron Davis was better than the year before, but he still launched way too many ill-advised threes. Despite a great season from Chris Kaman, they were 28th in offense. And if you’ve paid for ESPN Insider and read Hollinger’s preview, then you know that they only had the point differential of a 21-win team.

This year, with Blake Griffin, they should be better. But he’s the only reason I’m optimistic. Baron Davis came into camp out of shape and I’m not confident that Vinny Del Negro is the answer here. As with any of Baron’s teams, there’s potential for a huge turnaround because we know he has an incredible amount of talent. I just don’t see how you can trust that he’ll harness it the way we want him to at this point.

Excited about: More highlights like this.

15. Minnesota: 22-60 (last season: 15-67)

I want to give them more than 22 based on talent, but I see them underachieving on offense and being terrible defensively.

Kind of like last year, where they finished 29th in offense despite having Al Jefferson and Kevin Love on the team… and were so bad defensively that Darko Milicic seemed like a revelation to their General Manager.

The difference is, this year, if they underachieve like I think they will, it’ll be even more annoying. This team really has talent. David Kahn made some puzzling off-season decisions, but Wesley Johnson, Martell Webster, Luke Ridnour, Nikola Pekovic, and Anthony Tolliver are rotation players. Minnesota actually has real depth here.

I’d love to see a more-than-7-game improvement, but I’m worried that tons of turnovers, players struggling with the system, and embarrassing interior D will keep them in the West’s basement.

Excited about: Kevin Love finally getting the minutes he deserves.

Mark J. Terrill / AP

We start with the Clips, move on to the teams dominating the preseason so far (ORL, MEM, UTA), and touch on the expectations for the Thunder and Andrea Bargnani. We go over some interesting preseason stat lines and end with Julian complaining about Shaq being a statue and Ron Artest’s shenanigans.

Runtime is 42:04.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Recommended links:
Lee Jenkins on the Thunder
Sebastian Pruiti on Andrea Bargnani
Ben Q. Rock on Vince Carter