The (Bleepin') Dime: Dwight Howard's Beastliness, Trail Blazing, and More

Welcome to the Dime, boys and girls!

I know the first one was quite long, with the review of all 15 Western teams. The East will be done at the end of the week; for now, we'll use my usual format.

Dime No. 1

OK, we all knew Dwight Howard was a man among men. A giant. A beast. It's no secret that the Orlando Magic's chances of taking down its first-ever NBA championship rest squarely on those enormous shoulders.

Still, anyone that not only puts up a 20-20 performance, but does it consistently and in such dominating fashion, deserves a mention from everybody. Oh, by the way: he's just 23. *cue the shivers*

Dime No.2

Listening to the scuttlebutt of the last year or so, I gathered that the Portland Trail Blazers needed a point guard. Sure, they have Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, a rapidly improving Greg Oden (seven NBA double doubles from any 20-year-old is impressive, at least to me), and a great bench, but people were saying, "Who's playing point guard?"

Steve Blake is the unsung hero of this group. He's averaging career highs in three-point percentage, overall threes made, and points. Blake also hit a game-winning three at Toronto...with coach Nate McMillian screaming for a timeout.

The Blazers don't need a star guard. They're just fine and dandy with Steve Blake, thank you.

Dime No. 3

Quick question: who lit a fire under the britches of the Indiana Pacers? They may be just 7-13, but they've been playing at a whole other level lately. Jim O'Brien's squad hasn't thrown in the towel, to their utmost credit.  Some NBA players are notoriously egocentric and quit on the team when things get rocky. Not these guys.

The Pacers have been brutalized by a massively difficult schedule, including a game against Detroit, two apiece against Orlando and Cleveland, that Lakers game that provided perhaps the play of the year, and three—yes, three—games against the Boston Celtics. Here's hoping the easier schedule ahead produces a better record.

Dime No. 4

When the New Jersey Nets traded away Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd, the impression was that this was the start of a blowing-up process, and that the Nets brass would start rebuilding around Devin Harris. Apparently, they didn't get the memo.

Harris is making the Mavericks kick themselves for trading him. He's had games where he looked like one of the five best points in the league—a bit premature, but he'll get there if he continues playing like this.

He leads the Nets with 24.4 PPG and 6.1 APG, and he will get better when Jersey starts surrounding him with more talent. More importantly, the Nets are 11-8 and in solid position through the early part of the season.

Dime No. 5

Rejoice, Timberwolves fans: Kevin McHale looks to be on his way out of the organization. It was reported today that Minnesota made Randy Whitman the fourth head coaching casualty of the 2008-09 season, and owner Glen Taylor asked McHale to step in and coach the roster he haphazardly assembled...while asking him to surrender his VP of personnel powers.

Sensing perhaps that this was the only shot he had left in Minny, McHale accepted. If the team performs like the doormat they appear to be, McHale looks to be out of a job by the end of the year.

Dime No. 6

Speaking of coaching jobs, there seems to be a disturbing trend developing not just in the NBA, but in all sports: the firing of a coach or manager in midseason. Though I don't agree with some firings (Sam Mitchell, Eddie Jordan, and Ned Yost spring to my mind), I find that other firings are justified whenever the interest of the team is lost, or if they're not sufficiently prepared.

While I will forever be of the opinion that firings should be strictly end-of-season affairs, I totally understand whenever an owner or GM decides to drop the hammer on the coach—after all, he's the easiest guy to get rid of.

Dime No. 7

It really warms the cockles of my heart to see Dwayne Wade do well, especially after the hellish year he had last year. The injuries and losses were mounting, Shaquille O'Neal had been dealt, and people were starting to doubt Wade a little. As Flash has proved time and again this season, it's wise to place your doubt elsewhere, chaps and lasses.

D-Wade has averaged 33 points per for the last five games, including a 41-point explosion against the Charlotte Bobcats. His 29.5 PPG for the season is tops by a healthy three point margin over the King himself, LeBron James. Wade will obviously do whatever he can to redeem both himself and the Miami Heat this season.

Dime 8

The Eastern Conference is vastly improved compared to seasons past. While there were an about equal number of NBA champs from East and West in the 2000s, the Eastern finalists routinely had much weaker competition than their Western counterparts. Last year, Atlanta, winners of 37 games, earned the eighth playoff spot—by comparison, Portland had an even 41-41 record...good for 10th in the Western Conference.

The feeling is that we won't see an under-.500 team in either conference this year. The West is the usual cutthroat dogfight, with nine teams above .500 and the other six at least seven games below the average. The East is more spread-out, with 11 teams at least three games under .500, and in striking distance this early in the season.

It's looking like the quality of basketball out East is finally catching up to the West...which is great news for basketball in general, as the national media will unceasingly bleat.

Dimes No. 9 and 10 will need to be skipped: I've got work tomorrow.

Join us next time as we take a long look East.

Until then, may the Celtics not trample your team when they play.