THROWING KNIVES: HELLO FRAUDS!

by BD, Staff Writer

(Been wondering who's for real during the first week of basketball? I've got my best guesses. I'd suggest DC and South Beach turn away.)

Hello Frauds!
I was sitting there last night watch Jason Terry hit from everywhere, but the catwalk down the stretch last night. While my boy T-Mac fired up one bad shot after another when a friend mentioned to me the Hawks victory over Dallas on Friday. A game he lost $80 on no less. And it got me thinking about what's transpired early this season. A glance at the standings can be a bit surprising to those who don't follow the league closely. Bobcats 2-0 and leading the Southeast? While Washington and Miami sit at 0-3. Projected doormat Indiana 3-0? Atlanta knocking off Dallas and falling at Detroit by just one point? Expected contender Chicago cellar dwelling at 0-3 with losses to Milwaukee and Philly? It's an amusing look to say the least. Even more amusing are the playoff standings to the right. I know, with 79-80 games remaining it means nothing, but it has me wondering in which spots the "experts" (and bloggers) were right on, as well as way off.

Atlanta Hawks
I, of course, have to start with the inspiration for the topic. The Hawks sit at 1-1, which isn't impressive at all, but they have the aforementioned tough loss to go along with a solid 101-94 victory over Dallas. A game they held a lead as big as 16 points. Having watched the Hawks-Pistons game the other night I'm comfortable saying two things: this is not the same Hawks team and they're still not a slam dunk playoff team.

The difference in the team is simple: Al Horford. He absolutely destroys people on the glass and is more than comfortable scoring around the rim. He gets a lot of help from the plethora of swing men who draw the defense and drop the ball off to the big man. On top of Horford presence you can see the growth in some of the young players. Josh Smith and Marvin Willaims most notably. Both however, still suffer from major mental hiccups. For example, Smith is still throwing up the 3 ball a little too often. If he's open he should shoot it, but he's often covered and if 'Sheed hadn't bailed him out the Hawks loss would have been by at least four on Sunday. When he goes to the basket though Smith is an absolute terror for defense's as the defense converges every time because they know if he elevates nothing short of a tackle will stop him. Williams is just insanely active and is shooting at a nice clip (78.6%) so far because he doesn't settle for a lot of jumpers and will go to the basket. He's a little too foul prone though, but I fully expect that to improve as the season continues.

If the Hawks want to make the playoffs they'll need to start Acie Law and move Tyron Lue to the bench. Lue took repeatedly bad shots and didn't get the ball to his open teammates. If that's how he's going to play Law might as well be getting the minutes. Their shot selection also leaves a lot to be desired. The settle for jumpers and horrendous threes a lot and those aren't going to drop all year. As you already should know Joe Johnson is a superstar and he almost beat Detroit late by himself (with a little help from Smith), but he can't do it alone as we've seen in past years. I hope this team can keep it up, but it's hardly a guarantee. Luckily for them they play in what's probably the league's worst division.

Wiz and Heat
Also from the Southeast are two of the leagues more disappointing teams. Depending on who you ask anyway. The Heat flat out suck and will miss the post season. I have little doubt about that, but will the Wiz join them watching from home?

It certainly looks like it. The Wiz couldn't stop a randomly selected group of us basement dwellers and to make matters worse Gilbert isn't playing so well. Shooting just 33% from the field.

The Wiz need more than a Gilbert revival though. It's going to take more than Caron Butler playing defense. They need an inside stopper, something their unlikely to get this season. This all adds up to one thing: the Wiz miss the playoffs. I'm not saying it will happen, but if I had to put money down, it wouldn't be on them.

Indiana Pacers
I actually like the Pacers. They return pretty much the entire team they had last year and despite hoping to get out of town Jermaine O'Neal is still playing well. O'Neal though, isn't the story at all. The story is everyone else. Danny Granger is becoming the superstar many of us thought he could be, but his lack of flash is keeping him under the radar. On top of Granger you've got Mike Dunleavy playing well and Jamaal Tinsley returning to form.

It looks like the Pacers are for real, but two of their wins are not very impressive (Miami & Washington). While their 3rd win was very impressive (@ Memphis) and the Grizz are a dark horse playoff team that's looked good so far.

Back to Granger though, he has me thinking O'Neal should stay in town for the long haul and hope this kid turns into what he looks like. A back-pain free Tracy McGrady. Granger certainly has the shot, but he's also long and tough to keep from getting his shot off. He also plays defense, very well. He's by far the top perimeter defender Indiana has as draws the toughest match up night in and night out. Lucky for Indiana though, he's making those guys work at the other end as well. I'll buy Granger and Indiana and I have no doubt they can reach the playoffs. Though given the personality of the team it's hard not to expect a nosedive if things start going south like they did late last season.

Chicago Bulls
They've got a lot going on with failed contract extensions for Deng and Gordon as well as the whole Kobe situation. Toss in nagging injuries for Ben Wallace and Joakim Noah (who will debut tonight) and it's not really surprising to see Chicago struggling. But losing to Philly should immediately raise a red flag. After all the 76ers start 3 guys that couldn't make the rotation at UCLA.

The hobbled Ben and lack of Noah inside have put the defensive pressure on Tyrus Thomas on the block. Something Tyrus isn't ready for just yet. It's lead to an opponent average of 95 PPG while the Bulls offense looks like a bunch of virgins missing the hole. They're shooting just 37% from the field a trend I'd unlikely to continue.

I expect the Kobe rumors to blow over and Gordon will get over the contract issues. This team will get back to defense and start hitting some shots and remains one of the East's best teams. But, they'll be a bit up and down for the foreseeable future so I'd leave your $ away from them.

These were the five that really stuck out at me. Though it's more four than anything as Miami's struggles aren't much of a surprise. Overall it's the East with all of the surprises so far. Though you could argue that the way the Lakers have been playing is a bit of a surprise out west. Anyhow, I'd call whats happening in Miami, Washington and Indiana reality. While the Bulls woes are a complete aberration and Atlanta will be one of the more unpredictable teams in the league.

Yesterday In Sports...
Jet Continued To Look Like the Best 6th Man
Dropping 31 off the bench including a personal 10-0 run down the stretch.

Memphis Kicked Off the NCAA Season
Running Tenn-Martin out of the gym 102-71

What Monday Night Game?
Steelers slap 35 first half points up on the way to a 38-7 win at home.

Weekend Box Office Top 5
1. American Gangster - Could have seen this, but didn't have time.
2. Bee Movie - The ads annoy the shit out of me.
3. Saw 4 - Is this one even worse than three was?
4. Dan in Real Life - I'll definitely wait on this.
5. The Game Plan - Still?

(Image: Yahoo/Getty)