Talking to myself...

It seems like this is a pretty weak rookie class. None of these guys seem to be major league changers. Blake Griffin was the only one. Anyone worth checking out?
--Danny, Chicago


Tough loss for the Clippers to lose Griffin, but I had serious doubts from the beginning that the Clippers were going to make the playoffs even with him. Hopefully he can come back stronger, but the Clips are not good. I've enjoyed Ty Lawson as a nice surprise. I thought he was undersized and too young to make an impact as a short guy in a big man's league, but he's played quality minutes for the Nuggets, who are one of the premiere teams in the league.  Brandon Jennings and Stephen Curry have also been good, but they play for much worse teams and are both getting 35 minutes a night.

The Cavs suck. They can't score, Shaq is too old, LeBron has to do too much and isn't good enough. They can't compete with Orlando and Boston.
--Tanner, Tampa

Well, not many teams do match up well against Boston and Orlando, but LeBron and Co are one of the teams that do alright with the C's. But let's not kid ourselves-- that Celtic team is for real. A healthy Garnett ( see intimidation in photo below), improved Rondo and all the key players from their title run... nasty.

The Cavs are still a premiere team and a title contender. They still have LeBron, who I swore never to bet against in the playoffs. It would just be dumb. But Cleveland does have a hole that they need to address in order to score enough points in the playoffs when teams will just throw everyone at LeBron.

Sources around the league say that there is an inkling chance that Cleveland is interested in getting Golden State's fallen captain, Stephen Jackson. This would be terrific for the Cavs, as he would be happy on a winner as well as a contributor in a team that needs his scoring and defense.

How bad do you feel for all the Portland fans who are just now realizing that their team isn't that great?
--Steven, Denver

Not as bad as I feel for you. Portland is a good team and has lost a few close games in. Keep in mind, most teams at this point have played five games or less, so any grand statement or definitive judgments are probably stupid. Just as the Cavs aren't about to miss the playoffs after starting 0-2, we know Portland has talent and character. I wouldn't worry about them too much.


What the &#$! happened? What just happened? Seriously, what the %@#! JUST HAPPENED?!!?
-- Jerry Sloan, Salt Lake

You got Dirked. That's one of the things that makes this league so special; the talent level that makes it so it's always a bad idea to give up on a team. In case anyone missed it, Dirk Nowitzki went off for 40, but it was the 29 points he scored in the fourth quarter that helped turn the 16 point Jazz lead into a Mavs victory. It doesn't matter if you like Dallas or not, it's just one of those moments when a star takes over and its just awesome for basketball sakes.

When is that short white Canadian guy going to slow down?
--Dwyane Wade, Miami

Oh my gosh. Never, I hope. Nash threw in 16 in the third quarter and beat Wade's Heat in Miami. It appeared last season that Nash had finally lost a step, but now that he's free of Terry Porter's idiotic coaching, it appears that Porter was the one with the problem. Look for the Suns to not only make the playoffs, but to make a contender sweat once they get there.

Denver is overrated and has just had an easy schedule. Melo is the most overrated player in the whole league and they just got lucky last season and ain't that good. They can't beat anybody who is good and are just punks.
--Desmond, Atlanta

Nope. The Nuggets started the season on the road by beating their two biggest division rivals-- Utah and Portland-- and did so convincingly. Anthony is leading the league in both scoring and Efficiency. They seem like the team that grew up, and no one-- not even the Lakers-- want to see those baby blue uniforms in the spring. Nasty team.