Surprise and Disappointments in the NBA
Anthony O'Hagan
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Sports
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Going into last year's first round matchup with the Celtics, NBA experts and fans did not think the Hawks would stand a chance. Everyone was predicting the 8th seeded Hawks would get swept by the heavily favored Boston Celtics. The young Hawks eventually fell to the Celtics, but not without a fight. They beat Boston all three times in Atlanta. Despite the strong effort, Atlanta couldn't pull off a victory in either of the four games and Boston ended up losing the best of 7 series in the deciding Game 7.
Despite the loss, people were stunned that the series took so long. Experts thought that Boston was flat. However, this year the Hawks are proving people wrong and are showing that last year's competitive series wasn't a fluke. The Hawks started the season 5-0 and are currently 6-3. They are a young team that has the best defense in the NBA. They are a dangerous team and could be a huge threat in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks are another surprise team in the NBA. The Knicks have been the NBA's laughing stock for the past several years. Now that Isaiah Thomas is gone and Mike D'Antoni is coaching the team under President Donnie Walsh, the Knicks are showing more fire and intensity as they are currently 6-4. There's more passing, less one-on-ones and more scoring. Even the effort on the defense has been better for the Knickerbockers.
Though the Mavericks and Spurs are turning it around, they got off to slow starts. Tony Parker has been out with an injury for the Spurs and the Mavericks haven't clicked yet. This could be the year in which the shape of each conference changes. New teams are stepping up and traditional powers are slipping further down the standings. Then again, it's a long season. There is still much more basketball left to be played!
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