Opening Night Impressions
POWE!
Love Leon. He's looking steady in the sixth man role. Not sure about Tony Allen and Eddie House but at least we learned that the idea that the Celtics wouldn't be able to handle LeBron without Posey isn't the problem that many people assumed it would be. I'm not sure why Cleveland is kryptonite to Ray Allen but he just can't get it done against them. Hopefully he bounces back against the Bulls. A so-so night but they still got the win so I'm happy. Solid game from Rondo but a couple of dumb plays and Perk was pretty awful.
As for the Cavs, I love that they have Mo Williams because Mo's a scrub who can't defend his shadow. The Cavs better hope that they face the Magic in the first round this year because they don't want to go up against anyone with a guard who can score.
The Bucks/Bulls game was hard to watch. It should be interesting to see the Bulls on Friday. Derrick Rose is just fun to watch. The rest of the Bulls? Not so much. Ty Thomas looked like he had a little life but he still doesn't know how to play basketball. The Bucks just aren't good. Michael Redd is arguably the most overrated player in the league now that Zach Randolph has been downgraded after last season. Redd's got a great shot but he has no court vision and doesn't do anything to help his teams win.
The Lakers looked good. Bynum showed a couple of nice moves but looked rusty. Still, the Portland frontline is one of the few frontlines in the L that is softer than L.A. so we'll have to wait to see how they do against tougher competition. The Battle for Los Angeles tomorrow should be better: Kaman and Camby should put up more of a fight. Trevor Ariza seemed improved. if his 3pt stroke is as good as it looked, he's a legit sixth man and a kind of Bruce Bowen type stopper that the Lakers need.
The Blazers gave one of the worst offensive performances I've seen in years. Any offense that has Channing Frye tossing up long jumpers needs to be scrapped. The team has serious PG problems because Steve Blake and Sergio Rodriguez just don't seem to have it and Jerryd Bayless isn't ready. Brandon Roy looked like he was high for 3/4's of the game. I know people like Roy's poise but he needs to show SOME emotion out there. He makes Ray Allen seem animated. Nate McMillan was awful. When the Lakers went small, he stuck with his big lineup even though neither Aldridge nor Pryzbilla were taking advantage of the mismatch. Rudy Fernandez didn't look bad but this team needs to get Martell Webster back and they might miss Jarrett Jack more than anyone expected. Hopefully Oden isn't badly hurt but they should probably bring him off of the bench for a bit.
As for my rankings, I might have overrated the Bucks but neither they nor the Bulls seem like playoff caliber teams. The Blazers will battle the Warriors and Clippers and I might give the Clips the edge for the 9th spot (I don't see any of those three teams taking out the Nuggets). The Lakers and Cavs stay where they are.
Can't wait for tomorrow when there's a full slate of games.
