NBA Round-Up; Match-ups for Tonight
Duncan and the Spurs are off to a hot start
The storylines for the 2012-2013 NBA season are already in full swing and will more than likely only get hotter as the season moves into winter. The Lakers are 1-3 so does that mean Mike Brown is on the chopping block already? The New York Knicks are 3-0 and are actually playing some defense. What gives? The Spurs are 4-0 for the first time in their history but how long can the old-timers sustain it? Who’s the worst team right now? Detroit? Denver? And we haven’t even mentioned the Heat are the Heat and are cruising along at 3-1. So many issues to discuss, but let’s get to the action coming up tonight in the Association.
Phoenix at Charlotte – The Suns travel East to play the Bobcats who are 1-1 on the season. Team Jordan if you will is led by point guard Kemba Walker is averaging 20 points through two games. Phoenix has stumbled out of the gate at just 1-3 with their victory coming over win-less Detroit. Luis Scola is currently leading the Suns with 16.8 points per game. If Walker can get a little more help from the bigs I like the Bobcats in this one.
Brooklyn at Miami – The Nets are 1-1 on the young season and are led by seven-footer Brook Lopez’s 20 points per game average. Remember too that the Nets did not play their home-opener. The defending-champion Heat lead the league with 118 points per game with superstar LeBron James averaging 23 himself. The only blemish so far is a loss to the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony. Brooklyn is an up-and-coming team but they’ll be no match for the Heat tonight on South Beach.
LA Lakers at Utah – The ‘Lake’ Show heads to Salt Lake with their 1-3 record and less than 100% squad as Steve Nash is out with a stress fracture. The Jazz are also 1-3 so something is going to give. Point Guard Mo Williams leads the team in points, assists and steals but like Kemba Walker in Charlotte, the bigs need to help out. Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard are averaging 26 and 23 points per game respectively and Pau Gasol is chipping in around 15. The problem has been defense where the team is giving up just under 100 points a game good enough for 19th in the league. I like the Lakers to start turning things around and it’ll start tonight in Utah.
Prince will need to get more help if the Pistons are going to get a win this season.
Detroit at Sacramento – The Kings are coming off their first win of the season and now stadn at 1-3. The two-point win over Golden State could be an aberration or a sign of better things to come. For Detroit, the early West Coast swing probably isn’t the best thing for such a young team but it is what it is. The Kings are led currently by guard Marcus Thornton who is knocking in 18 points a game so far. The Pistons will be coming into Sac-Town from a game last night in Denver so they may be a bit sluggish to start. When your leading scorer, Tayshaun Prince, is averaging 13 points per game, then you know you have problems. Rookie big-man Andre Drummond at times looks great and others looks completely lost on the court. Look for Sacramento to take care of business at home.
San Antonio at LA Clippers – This one should be a really good match-up in the Staples Center tonight as the unbeaten Spurs play Blake Griffin and the Clippers. LAC is 2-2 on the season and is getting great point production from guard Jamal Crawford who is banging home 23 points per game right now. The biggest issue for the Clips is defense where they rank 25th in the NBA allowing 102 points per game. The Spurs have seemingly found the fountain of youth as Tim Duncan is leading the team with an average of about 19 points per game but he isn’t doing this alone. Point Guard Tony Parker is delivering just under 17 points per game as well. The big thing for San Antonio is defense and they are getting it done limiting opponents to just 89.5 points per game. I like the Spurs here for that reason.
