10 things we learned this week

Mike Kahn / FOXSports.com



Maybe the perception of Golden State Warriors general manager Chris Mullin that the athletic group he put together was the perfect fit for his own former coach on the Warriors Don Nelson was mere folly.

After all, Nelson is 66, was retired in Hawaii and had been fired twice since he coached his star Mullin and the Warriors to the playoffs for the last time some 13 seasons ago. But 10 games into the season Mullin isn't looking so crazy.

1. Item: Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal had surgery over the weekend to repair a torn cartilage in his knee and will be out 4-6 weeks.

What this really means: The Heat entered the week 4-5, and the likelihood is O'Neal will miss more than 20 games. This is comparable to last season when O'Neal went out early with a sprained ankle and Miami went 10-23 without him. This will again test what kind of stamina and skill Alonzo Mourning has left, while pushing an already mentally (and perhaps physically) tired Dwyane Wade.

The general perspective is the Heat will have plenty of time to piece things back together if only because the East is so mediocre with only three teams above .500 entering this week. But the Heat didn't add any youth and this aging team will have a tougher time playing out a season well into June again. Besides, O'Neal is 34, still far too much tonnage over 300 pounds and proved last season he is no longer capable of dominating regularly. Getting Jason Williams back this week from knee surgery helps their backcourt, but they need more shooting and athleticism if O'Neal continues his downhill slide.

2. Item: The Warriors are off to a 7-3 start, with young players and veterans buying into the smallball that Nellie loves to play and is, in fact, the vogue style of the NBA these days anyway.


What this really means: Right now, it's all about mercurial point guard Baron Davis buying what Nellie is selling, and so far, so good. Davis had the game of the week in their win over Sacramento with 36 points, 18 assists and eight rebounds. But it's more than him. Jason Richardson is getting stronger and recovering from knee surgery with a more controlled, mature game as he regains his strength and athleticism. And then there is the new sensation — 20-year-old guard Monta Ellis — in his second season straight out of high school in Mississippi. With Davis straining his rib cage Saturday night against Seattle, Ellis had 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to pace the 12-point Warriors victory — capping a 3-0 week during which he averaged better than 20 points.

What we don't know is how the solid start of 6-foot-11 Andris Biedrins, 20, will hold up, nor the body overall of talented but injury-prone Troy Murphy, whom Nelson expected to be the primary power player. In other words, there are still plenty of issues with this young team off to its best start in 12 years. Davis doesn't always look beyond himself and also is injury-prone — plus the ages of Ellis, Biedrins and Mickael Pietrus, whom they opted not to sign beyond this season. But for now, they're fun, playing at a high level and exactly what Mullin hoped to see.

3. Item: Over the past week, Peja Stojakovic has had a 42-point game and a game-winning shot to lead the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets to a pair of victories to stay close in the Southwest Division race.

What this really means: Stojakovic still has plenty of artillery, becoming the first player in NBA history to score his team's first 20 points in that 42-point effort against Charlotte. But the Hornets, a very impressive 7-3 under Byron Scott, still are only as good as second-year point guard Chris Paul allows them to be. He had 35 points Saturday night when they nipped Minnesota and will challenge for the NBA assist title.

Nonetheless, for the Hornets to be serious contenders, Stojakovic has to prove he still has the physical tools and mental toughness to sustain his former All-Star capability throughout the regular season and into the playoffs. A lot of people were aghast by the $60 million-plus contract the Hornets gave him in the off-season, if only because he has backslid so dramatically in consistency the past two seasons in Sacramento and then Indiana. Three teams in two seasons speaks volumes, and this year is vital for the one-time "best international player" in the NBA to regain his previous status and help give Oklahoma City something special for playing host to this franchise for two seasons.

4. Item: Emeka Okafor became one of only a handful of players in NBA history to average at least 20 points and 15 rebounds during a four-game losing streak, then had 19 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and five steals as the Charlotte Bobcats beat the San Antonio Spurs for the first time in franchise history.

What this really means: At 2-7, the Bobcats are still struggling on the floor and at the gate, but prevailing wisdom around the league believes this team has a lot of young talent that will eventually start winning. Okafor was out virtually all of last season after winning the 2005 rookie of the year and people forgot what a dominant player he is inside at both ends of the floor. With versatile Gerald Wallace and young guard Raymond Felton, they have great athleticism at both ends of the floor.

But the big transition came last week with the win at San Antonio. Rookie forward Adam Morrison had an epiphany of sorts last week — going to the basket to help set up his rhythm from the perimeter with 27 and 21 points in succession. He was 21 of 41 from the field in the two games following a previous run of 10-for-43 — so the Bobcats have another potential rookie of the year on their hands. And yet, most of it will come from the play and leadership of Okafor, averaging 19.1 points, 12 rebounds and 4.1 blocks for Bernie Bickerstaff. Now if the fans will only buy into them in this second go-round in Charlotte, something special may happen — whether minority owner and president Michael Jordan actually participates or not.

5. Item: Portland Trail Blazers forward Darius Miles is out for the year due to microfracture surgery to his debilitated knee and Zach Randolph is back averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds. For some reason, nobody thinks these two circumstances are mutually exclusive.

What this really means: The Blazers are better off without Miles for more reasons than are logical. No one player — particularly an underachieving and mediocre player — should affect a team that much. But that's what Miles has done, undermining and running coach Maurice Cheeks out of town — while dragging down the attitude of Randolph and any other mentally vulnerable player into the muck with him. Now his career is in jeopardy and they're better off for it.

Meanwhile, Randolph has lost at least 15 pounds, and has regained the bounce and excitement to his game before he had microfracture surgery. Struggling last year with his weight and his game under the scrutiny of aggressive new coach Nate McMillan while recovering from surgery — Miles pulled Randolph into his cloud of negativity. The Blazers now must learn from that, not just because of Miles, but because Randolph is an extraordinary young talent prone to fall into the lowest common denominator crowd. Surround him with good young guys like rookies Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge; Martell Webster, Joel Przybilla, Jarrett Jack and Juan Dixon — and that gives Randolph a chance to blossom and McMillan to dig this team out of the Northwest Division cellar.

6. Item: The Dallas Mavericks have rebounded from their 0-4 start to win their fourth in a row Saturday night and one of the key reasons is the surprise start of Erick Dampier, who had 24 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks in the 12-point win over Memphis.

What this really means: Coach Avery Johnson is ecstatic about the play of Dampier, who hadn't established any consistent production for the Mavericks but appears to have hit his stride. In the incredibly tough Southwest Division with the Spurs, Rockets and Hornets battling it out with them, it is necessary to be strong in the pivot as opposed to the rest of the league going mostly small. Between Dampier and DeSagana Diop, Johnson has a nice duo to work with.

But at the heart of the streak is still All-NBA forward Dirk Nowitzki, who averaged nearly 27 points and 11 rebounds during those four wins. Nowitzki drew a lot of MVP votes a year ago and rightfully so considering he led the Mavericks to the Western Conference crown. Still, his virtual shrinkage from a 7-footer to 6-2 in the Finals collapse against the Heat is still lingering in everyone's mind. Was it an aberration under the weight of a first trip to the Finals or a sign of weakness? This is the season we'll find out.

7. Item: The Chicago Bulls lost their fourth in a row Sunday night to the Los Angeles Lakers, and fell to 3-7 on the season — perhaps the biggest disappointment of this young season.


What this really means: The Bulls early schedule, as always, is devastating — with seven of those first 10 on the road. And because of the way Scott Skiles has them defend night-in and night-out, they always regain their composure and finish strongly. The addition of Ben Wallace and P.J. Brown in the off-season, along with rookies Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha, only helps that propensity.

However, they really didn't address their primary need — an offensive post presence. Most of their offense is generated from the perimeter by point guard Kirk Hinrich and explosive scorer Ben Gordon. Luol Deng has shown he can score too, and Andres Nocioni had a superb game with 30 points in Sunday night's loss at the Staples Center to the Lakers. But unless they find somebody who can get them points and/or to the free throw line consistently down the stretch, they can't possibly meet the great expectations to challenge for the East title.

8. Item: The San Antonio Spurs are off to an 8-2 start and set a franchise record by winning their first five road games.

What this really means: While too many people are making a big deal about whether or not defensive star Bruce Bowen intentionally sticks a foot under jump-shooters, this team is off and running again to lead the Southwest Division. To address Bowen — he is one of the league's good guys and has made his living as one of the top perimeter defenders in the league the past 10 years. If his foot gets underneath a shooter once in a while stepping out, so be it. He's not trying to hurt players. That's ludicrous.

Meanwhile, despite a horrible start from Manu Ginobili, the Spurs are doing just fine behind Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, their new big guys up front, and the veteran bench led by Michael Finley and Brent Barry. It has become almost cliché to say the Spurs will be there in the end because of their consistency and defense. But it wouldn't be said and written so often were it not true. Nobody has a more consistent approach and focus to the game than coach Gregg Popovich, which is why his team is the same way. As long as Duncan is healthy, the Western Conference champion must go through San Antonio.

9. Item: Philadelphia 76ers point guard Allen Iverson always talks about being real and this past week dealt with a real dose of reality when 22-year-old Kevin Johnson was taken off life support and died. Johnson was shot in the back of the neck three years ago when he was surrounded by teens demanding the Iverson jersey he was wearing.

What this really means: This was devastating when it happened, and just as it gradually slipped from the minds of the folks who first heard about it — this ugly scenario returned raw and unnerving. Young Robert Ferguson received a 15-30 year sentence for shooting Johnson and Iverson called Johnson's mother last week, offering to pay for the funeral. He talked about how horrible the situation is in Philadelphia with guys causing so many unnecessary deaths, and how he'd like to help.

Gun violence has reached epidemic proportions in this country and no other high-profile professional workplace is more representative of that than the NBA. People can talk about rap and the hip-hop era being about inherent music and expression. It is. But it's also about guns and violence, and has created a false impression of acceptable violence in America. If Iverson is serious about helping, then now is the time he should lead his teammates in the most important step of his life — drop their weapons and become a spokesman. It is a constitutional right to carry arms, but it's a human privilege for children to grow up in a society without having to pack heat and the adults to teach them why. Come on A.I. ... the kids love you and this one move could erase all the negative perception of your past. Start the "Drop your weapons" campaign now.

10. Item: It is now official ... not only have the Utah Jazz jumped out to the NBA's best start at 9-1, but they lead the league in scoring during the first 10 games at 108.3.

What this really means: Expectations were high for Utah entering the season, and there were a lot of ways people could have anticipated the Jazz getting off to such a great start. At least on the surface, a Jerry Sloan-coached team leading the league in scoring was not one of them. But the way they are averaging so many points makes perfect sense.

Even with perpetually injured star Andrei Kirilenko already sidelined with an ankle sprain after whining about not enough shots, they have been dominating the boards and getting continuous easy baskets off fast breaks. Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur are a great scoring/rebounding threat together up front, with rookie Paul Millsap a big surprise. And that's just up front. Now healthy, swingman Matt Harpring has been exceptional off the bench, as has the subtle addition of Derek Fisher for perimeter shooting. Add in youngsters Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles and Dee Brown leading the sprint up and down the floor, and they have athleticism and young depth like never before.

But none of it works without the growth of second-year point guard Deron Williams. Do the Jazz have staying power? We won't know for quite some time because this group has been so injury-prone. Nonetheless, but this is the most exciting Jazz team since the end of the Stockton/Malone Era and appears to be the most likely year for Sloan to earn the richly-deserved coach of the year award that has wrongly eluded him for 18-plus seasons.

Veteran NBA writer Mike Kahn is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.

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