Le Basketbawl

Your Old Pal New York Vinnie has always looked at an NBA regular season much like I look at an NBA game. Just like an NBA game is broken down into four quarters the regular season can also be broken down into four quarters at about every 21 games. Now the NBA  has actually passed the first quarter grading period about a week ago so New York Vinnie  is a little tardy in handing these grades out. All teams are being graded from the beginning of the season through games that took place Sunday night December 13. Let’s find out how your favorite team did in this  first quarter of the 2009-2010 NBA season.

Eastern Conference

ATLANTIC

Boston: Grade- A+: New York Vinnie wrote on these pages the day that Boston held the press conference introducing Rasheed Wallace to the Boston media that the Celtics would win the NBA Title this June. Being in the midst of a ten game winning streak with the best record in the NBA only reinforces New York Vinnie’s beliefs. This team is playing this well without two key reserves who they will have back in the second half. Glen Davis and Marquis Daniels will only make this club stronger for the stretch run.   

Toronto: Grade- C: Take a good look at the Toronto Raptors roster and you will see a whole lot of talented players. However it is a not a roster that really has any direction to it. It is like buying a house with 12 rooms and buying one piece of furniture for each room; instead of taking care of one room and then when you complete that move on to the next room. The sum of the whole is less than the sum of the individual parts which is always a recipe for disaster.

New York: Grade-C: New York Vinnie’s Boys are on a roll having won their last four games. This is a team that can score however they can not play defense to save their lives. “Mr. Malarkey” Knicks Team President Donnie Walsh is liked by the New York City media for what ever reason. The second quarter of the regular season will show us whether New York does have the horses to stay in the Playoff chase.

Philadelphia: Grade- D: New York Vinnie may be a little too kind with this grade. The Sixers have lost 12 straight games and many of them they have barely showed up for. Veteran Allen Iverson who came back to his original team as a Free Agent earlier this month has his hands  full with the prospect of cleaning this team up and turning it around.

New Jersey: Grade- F: They are not only a terrible team they are turning into a dysfunctional family as well. The finger-pointing and the blame game began last week first from the mouth of veteran Rafer Alston and then Devin Harris. They are a team without a lot of talent and with an interim head coach who has never coached at any level. This could be the team that breaks the record for worst season in the history of the NBA. That mark is currently held by the Sixers team of 1972-1973 with just 9 wins and 73 losses.

CENTRAL

Cleveland: Grade- A-: At times the Cavaliers look totally unstoppable; however they have lost to some inferior teams as well. You have arguably one of the two best players in basketball as your star in LeBron James and Mo Williams has taken his game to the next level so far this season. Still there are worries in the back-court with Delonte West and the team has to have age concerns regarding their center spot with Shaq and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Milwaukee: Grade- B: This team has come a long way in a rather short time. Scott Skiles is once again showing that he can coach in the NBA and General Manager John Hammond has provided him with some improved players. Brandon Jennings name will be mentioned prominently when Rookie Of The Year conversations take place. 

Detroit: Grade- C: Any comparisons that are to be made between this team and the club that won the title a few years ago can probably stop at the team’s name. The Pistons through age, and some pretty bad personnel moves are a shadow of the once Proud and Mighty Pistons.

Indiana: Grade- C-: Injuries have been the main problem with the Pacers this year; however that excuse can only take them so far. Is Jim O’Brien the right coach to take them to the next level? That remains to be seen. There is talent on this roster it just needs  to be properly used.

Chicago: Grade- D: Poor Frickin Vinny Del Negro is getting all the blame for this team’s collapse but he is not the problem. New York Vinnie told you last summer the Bulls were making a huge mistake in allowing shooting guard Ben Gordon to leave via Free Agency and the proof is in their record.

SOUTHEAST

Orlando: Grade- A: New York Vinnie has to admit that I thought the Magic would miss Hedo Turkoglu a lot more that they have. Vince Carter has brought back Vinsanity quite a few times already this season. And when it comes to the man in the middle there is “Superman” and then there is everybody else. 

Atlanta: Grade- A: One of the true “Feel Good” stories in the NBA this season. The Hawks turned it around in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs in 2008 when it took the Celtics everything they had to beat them in a seven game series. For the first time since the days of D-Wilkins the NBA is important in Atlanta again!

Miami: Grade-  C-: Yes New York Vinnie is being tough on the Heat because with the players on that team there is no way they should be at a .500 record. This is a team that should be challenging the Magic for the Division Title. They are no where near that so far this season.

Charlotte: Grade- C-: This was going to be the year that the Bobcats finally grew up. Then Raja Bell got hurt and then they traded him to Golden State for one of the biggest PUDS in the NBA Stephen Jackson. Larry Brown may have taken on a player that even He can’t coach in Jackson.

Washington: Grade- D: Gilbert Arenas back healthy and a very well respected coach in Flip Saunders was going to get this team back to  the Post Season this year. Well Arenas has stayed healthy however few of his teammates have. And once again the Washington Wizards will be known as the “Greatest Team That Almost Was.”

Western Conference

NORTHWEST

Denver: Grade- A: Chauncey Billups had plenty of reasons to become a bitter angry young man early in his NBA career. He was selected with the third pick in the NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics then was traded in his rookie year. For the next few seasons he became a Frickin vagabond; going from team to team never finding a home. That ended when he landed with the Detroit Pistons as Billups was a big reason they won an NBA Title. Last season he was traded to the Denver  Nuggets and turned that team around taking them too the Western Conference Finals. Denver and Billups are right back where they left off last season kicking butts and taking names.

Utah: Grade- B+: My Man Barkley said that  Carlos Boozer was a problem for Utah. All NBA teams should have such problems. Boozer has been the Frickin consummate pro; he knows he will be playing elsewhere next season yet still gives it his all every game. Deron Williams is the best NBA point guard not named Chris Paul and Mehmet Okur continues to surprise. 

Portland: Grade- B-: Another NBA season and another season ending injury for “MR.RICKETS” aka Blazers center Greg Oden whose body is a Frickin time bomb. Why is Steve Blake starting over Andre Miller; just because Brandon Roy wants it that way? This should be a year this team takes the leap to the next level; that means you put your five best men on the floor.

Oklahoma City: Grade- B+: Yes New York Vinnie is well aware I have given the Thunder a higher grade than Portland. That is because OKC is playing above expectations; if you tell New York Vinnie you expected this team to be above .500 then you either have a relative on the team or you are a Frickin liar. Another “Feel Good” story for this season in the NBA.  

Minnesota: Grade- F: They fired Kevin McHale for this? Again there is some talent on this team in Jefferson, Gomes, Love and Flynn. They threw away their first pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and this is going to be a bad team for a lot of years to come. 

PACIFIC

LA Lakers: Grade- A+: Even without Pau Gasol this team played nearly flawless ball in the first quarter of the season. However “Black Mamba” did not look comfortable playing with that splint on his fractured right index finger. This  next quarter could be a very telling one for this team.

Phoenix: Grade- A: They have started too come back to earth over the last couple of weeks however Nobody expected the Suns to get off to the start they did. The big question is can they keep it going?

Sacramento: Grade- C+: The Kings have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games and lost their last 2 in a row. However the numbers that truly standout out to New York Vinnie are Points For and Points Allowed. The Kings do give up more than they score but the margin is tiny; 105.3/105.1. That tells you that they are in every game right down to the end. Now all you have to do is some tweaking.

LA Clippers: Grade- D: Once again take a look at the names on the roster and you know this team is not playing up to it’s capabilities. Mike Dunleavy is by far the Luckiest Man on the Planet.

Golden State: Grade- D-: It may be time for Nellie to say Aloha and retire to his home in Paradise. He should have walked away after the 2008 season when they upset the Mavericks in the Playoffs.

SOUTHWEST

Dallas: Grade- A: New York Vinnie has told you to watch out for these guys since the summer. If the Mavericks are going to make a run this year they have the horses to do it. Marion and Gooden are excellent additions to the front-court and J-Kidd is showing he still has some miles left on him.

San Antonio: Grade- B: Has the sun set  for Duncan, Parker and Manu or do they have one more run left in them? So far Richard Jefferson has not played extremely well with this team though he has shown some flashes as of late. 

Houston: Grade- B+: Will somebody tell these Frickin guys they are not this good? Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza has taken this team without Yao or T-Mac and made them look for real! 

New Orleans: Grade- D: Talk about going from the Frickin penthouse to the Frickin outhouse overnight! This club was poised to play with the “Big Boys” in 2008 as they won the Division Title and Byron Scott was named NBA Coach Of The Year. Fast forward to today and Scott has been fired and the team is dead in the water. Rumors have it every player on the team except for Chris Paul are available.

Memphis: Grade- C: This team had it’s controversy early on with the Iverson drama but the “L-Train” coach Lionel Hollins has them playing pretty effectively right now. Rudy Gay can be a Frickin stud and Marc Gasol is a lot tougher than older brother Pau. Watch out for these guys as the season goes on.