Week Two in Review

First off, I would like to apologize for my lack of posts this past week. I took some time off to regroup, and while I certainly had my fingers on the pulse of Dubs action, I was not able to devote myself the way I normally do.

That being said, week two of the NBA season and for the Dubs was a sucess. As predicted, the Dubs came home from their 3 game rodie and promply split the home and home series with the Hornets, by making all the crucial free throws and hitting big shots down the stretch to seperate from the NO/OKC. It was an imperative win, and also, got the franchise long home stand off to a good start. The game featured the battle of former and current star Hornet point guards Baron Davis and Chris Paul. Baron won the battle and the game, but Paul showed why he is generally regarded as the most promising point guard prospect since Jason Kidd.

Saturday saw the Dubs dismantle the once formidable Pistons with amazing ease. Perhaps benefitting from the 'Stons weary legs from their own dismantling of the Lake Show the night before at Staples. The Dubs were firing on all cylinders Saturday, and raced to an early double digit lead, which at one point reached 33 points.

I made the mistake of thinking my alma mater still had a chance in the Race to Roses and chose (wrongly) to devote myself to a game played by amatures. A mistake no doubt. At one point I asked the bartender if he could switch one of the four TV's over the the Dubs so I could at least check the score of this early season measuring stick of a game. He looked a me with a sneer, and then promptly moved on to the next customer. I was left without even a two dollar Olympia.

But as the beat writers pointed out, Coach Nellie's 6th starting line up in 6 games might have been his best. DailyDub favorite and rising super star Monta Ellis received his first start of the year, and along with Diddy, JRich, TMurph and AB, the Dubs ran a layup line not often seen in DEE-troit basketball games.

Yet the injury bug has yet to fly away from the Dubshack, as JRich, injured his ankle again in practice on Monday. He managed suit it up last night against eastern confernce perennial doormat Toronto Raptors, but Troy Murphy was then mysteriously out with a bruised heel. That meant the 7th starting line up in 7 games for coach Nelson. Last night's line up was the epitome of small ball, with Diddy, Ellis, Richardson, Pietrus (at the 4) along with our NEW STARTING CENTER Andres Biedrins.

DailyDub correspondant Big Bear had this to say about the Dubs action last night:

"Boom Dizzle had some serious sizzle. He still has a really nasty tendency to hoist up too many 3 balls and fadeaways. His shot is so much different when he has his legs under him and he is going straight up and down or towards to basket.

The crowd was super hard on Dunleavy. He sucks. But he put up good numbers last night, hit a good percentage from the field, and got booed for any mistake or missed shot he had."

Big Bear goes on to say:

" The Warriors in the first quarter and a half were up by as many as nine. Then Biedrans and Monta got into foul trouble and had to ride the pine. At one point we had BD, JR, Roberson, MP, and Dun all on the floor at once. With Dun guarding the middle, many Raptors just cruised through the paint to lay it in. They also started really cycling the ball at the same time the Dubs got lazy in their rotations, so they had a ton of open looks. What was a nine point Warriors lead with momentum and a chance to get to double digits and demoralize the visiting team by half-time turned into a six point (I believe) half time lead for the Raptors.

The other highlight of the night was the near standing ovation that our junior senator Foyle got when he entered the game. He then proceeded to bobble away the ball for most of his time, but he did get a nice little finish around the rim for a couple of points and showed some great hustle getting up and down the court."

So there you have it. The Dubs start strong on the homestand going 3-0. This is encouraging, but still, they have some more winnable game. Kawakami is predicting a split between the Sacramento and Seattle games. I will go one step further and predict that the Dubs will win them both. It will not be easy, as Ron-Ron, KMart (new and improved), and (Warrior Killer) Shareef Abdur-Rahim are playing decent ball. However, I'm feeling the Oracle crowd will be the difference, and Monta and BD will continue to play stong down the stretch. The Dubs will need it though, because it is impossible to take Ron Artest off the dribble. He is leading the league in thefts this season (wonder if he learned that in the hood?) and basically shuts down whoever he is guarding. Kevin Martin (high top fade) is a top 15 scorer, averaging 23.5 per.

Seattle has proven to be better than the national media thought they would be. They continue to employ the World's best shooter in Ray Allen, and as long as he is held in relative check, the Dubs should also be able to pull this one out.

The DailyDub will have exclusive coverage from Section 124 tomorrow night. We are looking forward to seeing Ron Ron play in person, and rumor has it, he may be performing one of his tracks from his new album at half time.

Go Dubs