10 Things (Part 2)

5) Bull Sh*t: To me the Chicago Bulls are one of the more underrated teams in the league. At 19-10, they're first in the Central and third in the conference, yet they do not get the love they deserve. The reason? I believe is because of the their style of play. They're not very fun to watch. Under Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls are cloning themselves into his old team, the Boston Celtics, with a focus on defense and efficient half-court sets. The two things that have hurt this team are injuries to their big men and lack of offense from their shooting guards. Carlos Boozer missed the first month and he's now starting to get comfortable with his new team. Taj Gibson is coming back from a concussion, and Joakim Noah is now out until late March, early April with his finger injury. To fix the off-guard issue, the Bulls are looking for trades. Despite the injuries and lack of solid 2-guard play, the Bulls are still playing very well because of the hometown stud, Derrick Rose. He has been killing it this season averaging a career best 24 ppg, 8 apg, & 4.5 rpg. Luol Deng has been Luol Deng this year and that is all that is needed of him, and whoever is healthy enough to play the pivot next to Booz, yes Kurt Thomas, has been solid. Defense and team basketball win championships. They have the superstar and sidekick to carry them and they're progressing with the right formula towards that championship level.

4) Monta & His Cronies: The hot start to the Warriors' season at 6-2 seems so long ago. Since then the Warriors have only won 5 games. In that stretch they've had two losing streaks of 5 games and 7 games. They're currently 12th in the West and they really haven't gotten much better from last year. Their chemistry is better, their defense is better, but they're offense is not as good as last year and they're still injury-plagued (at one point they had 6 power forwards on the depth chart and only two healthy enough to play). The only positive for this team so far has been the fourth-leading scorer in the league, the Mississippi Missile, or simply  Monta Ellis. Whoever follows knows I dislike Monta a lot, but he has really changed the way he plays this year. He is still very selfish (never passes on a 2 on 1 fast break), but he has become a much better teammate and he gives his all at 40 mpg. Is he an all-star? Well he's deserving, he averages 26 a game and his three point shooting is much-improved, but he plays on a losing team so I doubt he makes it. The one thing that really bothers me is the Warrior fans. I was at the game on Christmas and the fans were chanting "MVP!" for Monta while he was shooting free throws. Really? Really Warrior fans? I bleed blue and yellow and take pride in being a part of one of the most loyal fan bases for a terrible team, but come on fans! Monta is nowhere close to deserving of an MVP chant (only 3 are deserving: Kobe, LBJ, KD) and the fans should know better. As for the rest of the team and its record, they are exactly where I thought they would be. I just wish David Lee could hold onto a basketball when going up on a drive, and Steph's ankle will avoid another sprain or twist. The Playoffs are still possible and once again it's all about being healthy to get there.

3) Marvelous Mavs: When I did the season preview for the West, it was a coin flip for either putting the Mavs as the second best team or the Jazz and I was convinced it was the Jazz. However I don't know why because of that decision I left the Mavericks outside of the top 5. The Mavericks are certainly top 5 in the West and top 5 in the NBA. They currently own the second-best record in the league at 23-5 and they've beaten all the top teams in the league (Celtics, Spurs, Heat, Magic, Jazz, & Thunder) besides the Lakers, only because they have not played them yet. Like the Spurs and Celtics, I believe the Mavericks window of opportunity closes after this season or next. They're one of the oldest teams in the league and their core players are all 30 or older except for 28-year old Tyson Chandler. The individual stats for their core have also all declined besides Tyson Chandler's. With age comes great experience however, and this team seems to have the best composure and poise in the NBA. Jason Kidd can still run a team at a high-level and the German isn't slowing down anytime soon. Tough Juice is no longer playing like an all-star but he still contributes and Jet seems to hit every clutch three pointer when they need it. This team has a very deep roster and maybe they can be a force to be reckon with come the Playoffs. Then again the Mavericks have always been great in the regular season but a bust when it counts.

2) Lackadaisical Lakers: After giving high praises to the "Lake Show" for their amazing start to the season, they've once again come upon that annual month of careless basketball. It really is no big deal because Kobe will wake his teammates up, but it's always news and something to talk about. As a basketball fan, I hate it. The Lakers have a roster that is so much more superior than the rest of the league. They can win 70 games in the season (not anymore) and three-peat with relative ease if they just play to their potential and talent. However they are too arrogant and too confident. They know they're great so they take nights off because they just don't feel like playing and think they can turn on the switch when they want to. That's not how it works when you're the champs, when you're the hunted. The Heat are not the biggest concern to the Lakers yet. It's the Spurs being back, it's the Mavericks being a year older and a year better, and it's the Celtics being better with Shaq and with redemption on their minds. I know they'll pick themselves up eventually and Kobe won't let this team slip, but Pau Gasol needs to start playing like he did when the season started and so does Lamar Odom. Andrew Bynum needs to get healthy and they just need to wake up and dominate the league again. Did I mention Chauncey Billups would be excellent on this team? 

1) Heating Up: Two months into the season, and the Heat are starting to click. I was pretty critical on this team when the season first started because they seemed to really not care and that cocky attitude did not sit well with me. Too much talent and too much star power to be playing so poorly. After destroying some pretty bad teams, they're starting to get it. Erik Spoelstra won't be fired, the Big 3 are starting to play the way they should, and besides Udonis Haslem, they're healthy now (Mike Miller & Mario Chalmers). The Heat were expected to be an offensive juggernaut, but it's actually their defense that is making them an excellent team. The team defense that these guys play is incredible (90.8 points allowed per game). They're pick and roll defense is tops in the league and the overall defense they play is the type that teams need years of playing together to develop. Once they play offense the way they're capable of playing, the Heat will begin to look like the beast they should be. The Celtics are still the team to beat in the East and the Lakers are still the team to beat in the NBA. The Christmas day victory was just another win in the season for the Heat, but trust me, to LeBron, DWade, and Bosh, it was much more than another win. It was a message to the Lakers: Come June no more fun and games, they'll be ready.