 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Tickets
Buy or Sell
To buy or sell tickets to
any Basketball game
make sure to use
Legalball.com where all
transactions are
guaranteed!
For L.A. Lakers, New
York Knicks, Houston
Rockets, Boston
Celtics, Chicago Bulls,
Denver Nuggets,
Philadelphia 76ers,
Miami Heat, Detroit
Pistons, Cleveland
Cavaliers,
or any other NBA TEAM
By: Keith Dobkowski, NBA News Writer
December 10, 2004
As the first quarter the NBA season comes to a close it is easy to
point out the worst the NBA has to offer. A quick look at the
bottom-five sees Latrell Sprewell and Ron Artest taking up four
of the five slots. The Throw-down in the Motown and Artest’s
desire for time off to recover from his hip-hop responsibilities
rank number one and number four. Sprewell takes number two
with his verbal assault on a female fan and his inability to feed a
family on over $14 million per. Rounding out the top five is
Carmelo Anthony’s cameo in a drug snitch film.
But today we look past the brawl and the negativity to find the
best the NBA has to offer through 20 games. As is popular this
time of year is to work in list form. So why fight the forces as we
bring the top ten of the first quarter of our NBA season…
10. Earl Boykins: Boykins is one of the only NBA players who
the public can see eye-to-eye. At only 5 feet, 5 inches tall,
Boykins became the shortest player to ever drop 30 in an NBA
game. He managed to tie his own record later that week by
dropping 32.
9. Charlotte Bobcats: The expansion Bobcats went young.
They signed one old guy in Steve Smith. Further, the Cats used
about half their salary cap this year. Sounds like a disaster
waiting to happen. However, 20 games into the season and the
Cats are headed towards 20 wins, a better pace than the
Chicago Bulls, the Atlanta Hawks and the New Orleans Hornets.
8. Los Angeles Clippers: A quarter into the season the best
team in L.A. is not the Kobe Bryant led Lakers. No. It is the
Clippers. The butt of most NBA jokes is actually winning. A
combination of defense and good shooting has the Clippers as
the fifth best team in the Western Conference. Led by
underrated Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, and out of nowhere
Bobby Simmons, the Clippers are shocking L.A. and most of the
league.
7. Trade Rumors: Several months away from the trading
deadline big names are already being pushed around. Jason
Kidd is said to have eight suitors including the Minnesota
Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks. Vince Carter may be
headed to the New York Knicks or Miami Heat. And Shareef
Abdur-Rahim will go to the first taker. It appears that the trade
heavy off-season will continue right on through the regular
season keeping NBA fans on the edge of their seats.
6. David Stern: While Stern’s mention is related to the Throw-
down in Motown, a negative, Stern’s immediate action following
the Throw-down was nothing but positive. Stern immediately
suspended everyone involved for an indefinite time period. He
then reviewed tape and handed out appropriate suspensions.
Stern clearly understood that the game is bigger than any player
and that the NBA does not exists without fans.
5. The Rookies: With Melo’, Dwayne Wade and Lebron James
leading last years rookie class, this years class had a tough act
to follow. Guess it wasn’t that tough as number one Dwight
Howard and number two Emeka Okafor are both averaging
double-doubles. Big rookies recently have taken years to
develop if they develop at all. While the Bulls are still waiting on
Tyson Chandler and Eddie Curry and the Washington Wizards on
Kwame Brown, looks like the Bobcats with Okafor and the Magic
with Howard won’t have to.
4. Seattle Supersonics & Phoenix Suns: The run and gun
offenses of years ago look to be back with the Sonics and Suns
leading the way. The Sonics are taking over 20 threes a night
and making 40 percent of them. The Suns are running like
‘Showtime’ in the 1980s led by a rejuvenated Steve Nash and
averaging 108 points a night. Hopefully the Suns and Sonics are
ushering a new wave of high scoring games back into the NBA.
After a decade of missed shots and teams scoring 70 points a
night, the Suns and Sonics are upping the tempo.
3. Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki & Kevin Garnett: The big fours of
the Western Conference are only getting better. Watch any one
of these three on any given night are you are sure to see
something special. Whether it is Duncan banking shots from all
over the court, Nowitzki pulling up for a three on fast break or
Garnett sliding over to play point guard, these three seven
footers are playing like big men never have. For the stats nut,
Duncan hung 26 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocks last night
against Yao Ming and Houston. Nowitzki has the NBA season
high of 52 points. And Garnett has been within two assist of a
triple double 6 times this season.
2. LeBron James: James came to the league with more hype
than any player before and is actually living up to it. At 19 years
old James is dominating the league. He is a two-guard in a
power forwards body. James appears to have it all including the
second best record in the Eastern Conference. At this pace,
James will contend with the three seven-footers above for the
Most Valuable Player award.
1. Grant Hill: Without a doubt the top story of the year is Grant
Hill’s return. Hill was on his way to the Hall of Fame before an
ankle injury sidelined his career for four seasons. Hill’s return
has helped the Orlando Magic to the best record in the East,
after finishing dead last in the NBA a year ago. Hill is averaging
20 points, five rebounds and 4 assists a game. In a league that
is hurting for complete players, it is great to have one of the
most complete, Grant Hill, back.
CONCERT
TICKETS
Or Sell
Your Extras
Using Legalball
Baseball Tickets
NFL Tickets
NBA Tickets
College Football
High Crime rates in the NBA...
Our Sports Law and Sports Business Experts know why
High turnover in Major League Baseball...
Our Sports Law and Sports Business Experts know why
Steroids in the NFL, MLB, and Olympics...
Our Sports Law and Sports Business Experts know why
Legalball.com will address both Sports Law and Sports Business issues and give
readers an inside understanding to both what happens in sports and why it
happens…
So For Sports Fans who desire to know WHY things happen…
Our Sports Law and Sports Business Experts know why
LegalBall.com - Sports News Covering Legal and Business Issues