2006-2007 Season: Early Surprises!
It’s nearly a week since the new season has started and already there’s so much to talk about. I’m going to talk about expectations being surpassed early on. I’m not talking about Jason Kidd’s triple double last week or Brandon Roy’s and Rudy Gay’s early performance so far. we know they’re good so it’s not surprising.
1. Perfect Records
After almost a week of play, only three teams have a perfect record so far and they’re not even the teams you’d expect like the Mavericks or Spurs. The Sixers, Jazz the Hornets are loss-less sitting at the top of their respective divisions. It’s a bit odd that these are the three teams since they all failed to make the playoffs last season. Looks like those teams are looking for an early push.
2. Guess who’s at the bottom out West!
Who’s at the bottom in the West? Not Portland it seems… it’s the Mavericks! They sit winless with the Nuggets at the bottom of the Western Conference standings but the Nuggets have a 0-2 record while the Mavs have a 0-3 record. Another surprise is that the Phoenix Suns are not far ahead with only a 1-3 record so far.
3. Andrew Bynum is looking good
With Kwame Brown out, the young Andrew Bynum is starting for the Lakers at center after seeing limited minutes on the floor last season as a rookie. He’s filling in very nicely, scoring in double figures and showing some flashes of dominance on the boards. Averaging more than twice as many minutes as he did that last season, he also upped his stats pretty much across the board by thrice or even more this season. That’s improvement to me and a pretty good surprise!
4. Thabo Sefolosha looks better than I thought
Sefolosha was drafted by the Bulls to add some size to that small back court of Hinrich and Gordon while also providing some defense. Defensively he’s performing the way he was envisioned to be with the steals and all. Offensively he’s showing that he can put on some numbers, averaging 8.3 points in 17 minutes (in some games so far he scored in double figures) and we’ve seen him play some point too racking up those assists. He’s really looking a lot like a Doug Christie type player to me.
What do you think? Do you have other things that surprised you early on in this season?
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POSTED IN: NBA Basketball
5 opinions for 2006-2007 Season: Early Surprises!
Chase
Nov 8, 2006 at 3:27 am
No love for the Hawks? They’ve gotta be a surprise at 2-1 and leading the Southeast Division…
pedro
Nov 8, 2006 at 8:35 am
you forgot to mention craig smith - the kid is already logging several mpg for the t’wolves, rebounding like a madman and even scoring a few points. not bad at all for a 2nd rounder…
…on the other, if randy foye doesn’t deliver soon, kevin mchale is going to look pretty damn stupid for trading roy, won’t he?
Angelo
Nov 8, 2006 at 9:34 am
Chase: Forgot about the Hawks hehe. Guess I’m so used to seeing them lose games it slipped my mind. They’re doing very well right now thanks to Joe Johnson and company. The offense looks better now with Claxton running the point.
Pedro: I saw Craig Smith in action and he’s looking good at the boards. This proves 2nd rounders can be gems too! I was expecting Foye to rack up the numbers like Roy was. It really sucks to see him disappoint so far. To think he’s one of the most NBA ready rookies if not the most.
If you look at my post draft commentary I did question the trade of Roy for Foye. So far I’m right, sadly.
ikabon
Nov 8, 2006 at 11:36 am
i beleive warriors under Coach Nelson had a good start early this season. warriors love beating the Mavs!
Angelo
Nov 8, 2006 at 3:23 pm
Another surprise that slipped my mind is the performance of Miami’s Dorell Wright. Pretty solid numbers in points and rebounds after 2 seasons of showing nothing much. For a guy coming out of high school that’s acceptable though. Looks like he’s finally showing why Riley was high on him on draft night in 2004.
Pedro: Randy Foye finally showed some production with 12 points in the T’wolves game loss against the Lakers. I guess he finally found his groove. That 3-9 field goal stat doesn’t look too good though.
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