The NBA season is now and full swing and some teams are exceeding expectations, while others are struggling. Here are the biggest surprises thus far.
Atlanta Hawks 6-3
The Hawks gave the Celtics all they could handle in the first round of last year's playoffs taking them to 7 games. This year Atlanta jumped out to a 6-0 start, but have now lost 3 straight games to the Celtics and the Nets twice. The Hawks are the real deal and will contend with the Magic for the Southeast Division cro! wn. With Al Horford dominating the middle, Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby manning the guard spots, and Josh Smith and Marvin Williams doing everything else this team has a great starting five. The bench is still a bit suspect, but if they pick someone up before the trade deadline this team can challenge the Celtics in the East.
New York Knicks 6-4
Go ahead take a double take....the Knicks do in fact have a winning record. With Stephon Ma! rbury a healthy scratch every night and Eddy Curry not even in! the rot ation, this team has had success. Led by new PG Chris Duhon and fan favorite David Lee this team looks a lot better than the past few years. New head coach Mike D'Antoni has began to change the culture and it shows on the court. The Knicks are by no means contenders, but may not finish last this season.
San Antonio Spurs 5-5
With Manu Ginoblii out until around Christmas and Tony Parker recently injured and out for a few months, this team is struggling. Tim Duncan is too old to p! ut this team on his back and will need a lot of help. This is a shocking site in recent times because the Spurs have been so dominant in the last decade. There just isn't the talent there without those two guys for this team to succeed. A lot of old vets are on the roster along with Duncan like Kurt Thomas. The Spurs are in for a long season. I will not go as far to say this is the end of an era, but it could be on the horizon.
Dallas Mavericks 3-7
Av! ery John son took all the blame for last year's disappointing season and he was fired. Well, the Mavs look awful under new head coach Rick Carlisle. Johnson was not to blame last year and was unrightfully fired. Dallas was a 7th seed in the postseason last year, which was far below their expectations after acquiring PG Jason Kidd. The Mavs have superstars like Dirk Nowitski, Josh Howard, Jason Kidd, and Jason Terry, but are still playing awful basketball. The Mavs need to make some moves and shake up this team or another disappointing season will be the result.
