Start of Week 4: The Fuck?

Naturally it's too early to make definitive judgement calls. I mean, this shit's just too weird:

In the East; it's not Cleveland, it's not Boston, it's not even Miami. Oh no. Number one in the Eastern Conference as of close of business 11/15/09 is . . . the Atlanta Hawks. 8-2 and have won their last four.

Huh?

In the West, it's even crazier. The Phoenix Suns, pegged by just about everybody to quietly slide out of contention this year, lead the conference at 9-2. And wherefore art the regal Lakers? In a three-way tie for third, sharing a 7-3 record with Dallas and Denver. For that matter, where's San Antonio? Not even in the picture (!) as their 4-4 puts them in ninth, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder (!!!).

No situation is static and those numbers will change as things settle down. The Spurs in particular will improve as the season goes on; they always do. What's going to happen in LA is up in air. I don't know if that Organization's got what it takes to make the three-ring circus atmosphere work to their advantage. They've done it before, true . . . but they didn't have Crazy Pills Artest to cope with then.

As to the Mavericks, I think our standing is going to drop quite a bit by midseason. Josh Howard's ankle's paining him and the Organization's taken him out indefinetely. My guess (and that's all that it is) is we'll see him again at the All-Star Break. Why? Because by then most of the back-to-back games will be out of the way. I counted 21 total, and 15 of those are before the break.
-BJ