Matt Krombach Staff Writer
November is here and so is the NBA and
we’re starting to get a possible outlook on how the season is going to turn
out. The New York Knicks have jumped out as possible championship contenders
and the LA Lakers experienced an unexpected start to the season. Injuries have taken a stand as a big impact
to the start of the season showing this year might be a roller coaster of
turnouts.
James
Harden and the Rockets
After coming off the bench last season Oklahoma
City, James Harden is now starting for the Houston Rockets. Harden has made an
impressive jump start to the season averaging 32 points per game. Another
addition to the Rockets this offseason is Jeremy Lin, who initially started his
career there. Lin has started off the season averaging almost 12 points per
game after totaling 14 points per game last season with the Knicks. The Rockets
are still in a rebuilding stage, but are 3-4 starting off the season.
Melo
and the Knicks
Currently in New York, Carmelo Anthony
and the Knicks are the only undefeated team in the NBA and are off to their
best start in 19 years. For fans who thought the Los Angeles Lakers would be,
they are sadly mistaken. Anthony has taken full reigns of his offense and even
with the absence of Ama’re Stoudemire, the team has proven their dominance. Imagine
how much better the Knicks could be doing with Stoudemire in the line up.
Injury
Bug- Danny Granger, Derrick Rose, and Ama’re Staudomire
Possibly one of the biggest impacts of
this season is whether or not Derrick Rose will be making his return with the Chicago
Bulls. Last season Rose was plastered with nagging injuries that lead up to the
tearing of his ACL, leaving him out of action indefinitely until the All-Star
break at the earliest. Luckily for the Bulls, they haven’t started off too
poorly, so if Rose returns, they might be headed far into the playoffs. The
Bulls aren’t the only team to contract a share of the injury bug.
Small forward Danny Granger of the
Indiana Pacers is expected to miss around 3 months with tendonitis in his left
knee. With Granger out, the Pacers are in a tough spot after finishing third in
the Eastern Conference last season. He averaged 18.7 points and five rebounds
per game and shot 38 percent from three-point line. It’s clear that Granger is
the soul of the Pacers and they are going to lose some fluidity and will be
more stagnant with his absence.
Ama’re Stoudemire of the Knicks has also
been hit with an injury. Although the Knicks have sustained an unbeaten record without
Stoudemire, the winning streak could be cut short. There’s no doubt he’s a big
part of the team, but with Anthony leading the Knicks, they aren’t in too much
danger. Hopefully, if Stoudemire does return, he doesn’t punch any fire
extinguishers and break his hand again.
LA
Losers?
With the Lakers starting off their
season not as well as predicted, there’s sight of optimism after Mike D’Antoni took
over the head coaching position. Currently the Lakers are 3-4 and are 2-0 since
firing former head coach Mike Brown. LA’s bumpy 0-8 preseason record and 1-4
start to their first five games were not what people were expecting. In the
midst of having Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Nash on a team, you would
think the Lakers would have started off with at least a winning season. Team
chemistry is the biggest issue, but D’Antoini is hoping to turn it around and
get them in championship contention.
