Out of the four major sporting leagues, I would say the NBA is the most predictable. Each year you know that the Utah Jazz will make the playoffs, LeBron James will be in the top three in scoring average and Ron Artest will do something stupid. Fortunately enough, the NBA does have its share of surprises as well. Here are four surprising things I have noticed about this young season:
Brandon Jennings
Who saw this coming? I had a friend tell me before the season that Jennings was going to win rookie of the year, but he really doesn’t know much about the NBA so it went it through one ear and out the other; I should have listened to him. Through 15 games, Jennings is averaging 22.3 points and 5.5 assists a game. I’ve caught a couple of Jennings’ games on TV and he looks like a left-handed Tony Parker except with a better jump shot.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns are leading the Western Conference with a 14-3 record as of Nov. 29 and they didn’t even make the playoffs last year. The main difference in this year’s team comes at the center position. Channing Frye is manning the middle for Phoenix this season after they traded four time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers this past offseason. Frye, 25, is averaging six points less per game for the Suns than Shaq did last season, but his agility and perimeter shooting (46 made three point shots) have allowed Phoenix to revert back to their old fast break style they were so successful with just a few years ago.
Andre Bargnani
To put it bluntly, I thought this guy was a bust, but he is proving everybody wrong with his impressive play so far this year for the 7-11 Toronto Raptors. Bargnani, 24, is averaging 17.2 points and 6.4 rebounds a game, far acceding his career averages of 12.7 points and 4.5 rebounds. Maybe the Raptors trading for Jermaine O’Neal last season sparked something in this guy or perhaps this is just the natural progression of a young foreign born player who is still somewhat new to the American style of basketball.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are currently holding the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 6-8 record, which is basically where I projected them to be. But, the thing that has surprised me about Chicago is how much they have been on TV. Between ESPN, TNT and NBATV the Bulls have gotten televised an estimated 6 times already. I don’t have anything against the Bulls, but they are a very boring team to watch, especially with Derrick Rose still recovering from an ankle injury that has him playing less than 100 percent.