Opening night notes

The season is three days old and already lots of things to talk about
The Rockets are good. When did a Rocket team score 112 points and Mcgrady only take 10 shots? Artest might be the best player on a team that won 50+ games without him. Mcgrady doesn't have to be ON every night, he can just score when he needs to, grab rebounds, get assists but doesn't have to dominate for the Rockets to win if Artest carries some of the scoring burden. Yao is pretty much automatic at about 25 and 10 every night as long as he is healthy. He is like the Asian kid that used to sit next to you in math class. Not flashy and doesn't look good but always got the highest grade on the test. The Rockets can score, defend, have great one on one defenders, rebound exceptionally and have role players that play their role. No one on this team needs to exceed their capablities in order for them to win. Now if Mcgrady can find a donor to get him some heart, this team might be championship caliber.

The Lakers are good. Last year was the first year that the team had any kind of success and they went all the way to the finals. This year they have the swagger of a returning champion, or at least the favorite to be the champion and they know it. Bynum wasn't amazing last night but he didn't need to be for them to win. What's great about this team is that they are deep enough that no one guy needs to be consistent. Kobe is very consistent but then Odom has always disappeared every second game or so. Gasol can be shut down and Bynum is too young to be consistent, but all Kobe needs is one of them to have a good game for the Lakers to win. Jordan Farmar keeps getting better and is going to take a lot of minutes from Fisher this year, which is good because I've always hated that robotic shooting motion and the put your head down he's going left again drives of his. This is another team that has stars but also great role players. Just of note, I'm not a big Bynum fan but now with that contract he just signed, he just joined the hall of fame for all of the other overpriced big men that get rewarded for playing well in a handful of games. He's better than Calvin Booth, Jim Macilvaine, Jon Koncac, and Erik Dampier but will he be better than Big Country Reeves who was 16 and 8 in his prime. If you don't believe me look it up.

I was watching a replay of Hakeem Olajawon's first game in the NBA today on NBA tv and he was impressive but even more impressive was Ralph Sampson. He was in his second year I think at the time and this guy was 7'4" but moved liked someone 6'8". He was grabbing rebounds high in the air, not flat footed like most 7 footers that lack mobility. There was a possession where he blocked a shot and then Hakeem blocked the next one that lead to a fast break, talk about tough interior defense. Too bad he only shined for a couple of years or that duo might have gone down as the best of all time.

It was a bold move by Dantoni to sit Curry and Marbury the other night. Luckily his strategy worked and the Knicks won but we will see what happens if they go on a losing streak. I can understand Curry not playing because you get the same thing with more efficiency with Randolph. They basically cancel each other out so why have two of them. Knick fans have been waiting 2 years to see David Lee gets starters minutes. What was Isiah thinking? He is the only guy on the team that hustles and he was only playing 20 minutes a game. He can easily average a Charles Oakley style 15 and 10 on pure hustle. He is a perfect compliment to a guy like Randolph because he doesn't need to dominate the ball and he creates his own possessions. I've already said that I'm not a Duhon fan and I think 20 minutes of Marbury can give you more than 20 minutes of Duhon. I like Nate Robinson off the bench but if he is your starting point guard then your team is in trouble. He doesn't like to pass and has too many match up problems defensively to be on the floor for the whole game. We'll see what will happen but its nice for Knick fans to have something to cheer for even if it is only for one game.

Ok, before everyone goes crazy over this Kevin Love kid, I have to remind everyone that it was just one game against a very bad team. I don't know if there is any precedent for a goofy 6'10 white guy that can't jump and doesn't move well to be very good in this league. I'm sick of people talking about this guy's outlet passes, that is all I have heard about since he started last year at UCLA. How many outlet passes can you make in a game, 2, 3? The only guy I can think of that has the same size and movement is Mehmet Okur but he isn't a good comparison.