NBA First Quarter Progress Report: Western Conference

Pleasure Having In Class: Los Angeles Lakers

Barring a cosmic joke, the Lakers are on a collision course with the Celtics again. The Lakers’ offense is significantly more balanced than it was last season, and Andrew Bynum is a difference maker on the glass.

But besides the obvious return of Bynum, I feel like this team is beginning to find a lot more of an identity. Lamar Odom now leads the bench, whose roles have become a lot more defined. Trevor Ariza has turned into a miniature substitute Kobe, while Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic present two serious long range threats off the bench.

Chemistry is the difference between this and last year’s Lakers team. And their total lack of complacency, even after an unbelievable start, certainly helps their cause.

Enthusiastic and Eager To Learn: Denver Nuggets

I will not rush to judgment and say that the Nuggets got the better of the Billups for A.I. trade. This is what I will say: The Nuggets haven’t had a legitimate floor general for as long as I have been alive, and they went out and got one.

What is the most fascinating thing about this team is how fast the Nuggets went from frantic on both sides of the ball to a completely controlled offensive attack. And their record since the trade indicates it.

The bench does not offer a ton of scoring, aside from occasional spark plug J.R. Smith, but there are a number of great athletes and defenders coming off the bench. And with the production of this starting five, bench scoring may not even be relevant.

Shows Promise In The Classroom: San Antonio Spurs

It has now been three presidencies and the Spurs can’t stop winning. But this year it’s a little different, and the man who deserves all of the credit is Gregg Popovich. This team has been battling an insane amount of injuries, and has lost two of its all-stars for large portions of time thus far. Yet, they are still winning…often.

I have no idea what will happen when this whole team is healthy again, but the end result could easily be Lakers vs. Spurs for a spot in the finals.

Needs Encouragement: Portland Trailblazers

The talent is there. There is no question about it. But as much as I hate to say it, this team will go in the direction that Greg Oden goes.

There is no question that this team can put the points up. But in recent games, it has looked like the Blazers have gone through a miniature identity crisis every time Oden hits the floor. They are either awkwardly playing a fast paced game around Oden, or unnaturally slowing it down with Oden.

The Blazers are a lock to make the playoffs, but the length of their run will rely exclusively on Oden’s comfort level with this offense.

Needs Improvement: Phoenix Suns

If the Suns do anything but succeed for the remainder of this season, I’m pretty sure that Steve Kerr will be crucified. And after the trigger was pulled to get the Suns yet another scorer, I can’t blame an agitated Suns fan base. For you college kids out there, I’d compare it to an overwhelmingly bad case of blue balls.

Mike D’Antoni literally gave you a taste of how good this group of players can be. And now you are watching them potentially combust. Porter has taken the hint that the Suns are better when they are running everywhere, and he has agreed to take the leash off of the unusually docile Suns.

The great thing about J-Rich is that he gives Nash the best pure scoring option on the wing that he has had since Joe Johnson. Everyone knows that this team can be great. The question is: will they be great?

Needs Divine Intervention: Oklahoma City Thunder

In theory, this began three years ago when people started talking about moving the Seattle Sonics to Oklahoma City. But both Seattle and Oklahoma deserve better than this. Oklahoma City’s one-year reception of the Hornets was absolutely bone-chilling. The crowds were rowdy and supportive, and the NBA instantly saw a hotbed.

Unfortunately, the city’s unbelievable support was rewarded with the biggest work in progress in all of basketball, which had just gotten rid of its two stars. Combine that with the team’s youth and inexperience, a lack of a competent coach and a half-assed nickname that was drawn on the back of a napkin, and you have the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It’s rare that you find a sports story that makes you feel bad for two cities. This is one of them.

Other Students worth mentioning:

New Orleans and Utah are locks to make the postseason. New Orleans has an incredible starting lineup and continues to look like the team of the future, to me. But Utah is a very close second; especialy when you consider that Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams have missed huge chunks of playing time and the Jazz are only two games back of Denver in the Northwest. They are both incredibly young teams with incredible upsides.

The Houston Rockets are puzzling me right now. Even though they find themselves better than the middle of the pack, they are underachieving. Now, the Rockets didn't explode until the second half of last season, so there is plenty of time to fix things, but I genuinely believe Rick Adelman can do better than this. There are no more excuses for the Houston Rockets.