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Besides the aforementioned, Utah and New Orleans are playing very well. Neither is all that surprising. New Orleans played well last year, and they improved in free agency and through trades. Paul is great, a true floor general. They robbed Chicago by giving away dog-housed J.R. Smith and 37-year-old PJ Brown for Tyson Chandler. Chicago then trades Smith for some minor cap room and a couple second round picks. Chandler's impact on the game is similar to Ben Wallace. He has averaged nearly 10 boards a game the last two years playing less than 6th man minutes. Utah is finally healthy, and they are always well coached. Boozer has been beaten up in the media and the subject of a lot of trade rumors, but he is a double-double threat each night. Harpring is another Jazz player that missed a lot of time last year, but is tough nosed and a very efficient shooter from anywhere on the court.
Out of the east, Miami looks old, but they will still contend. My original hometown Hawks are a surprising 3-1, but I don’t expect the honeymoon to last. I was very disappointed when Marvin Williams broke his hand right before the opener; he killed in a summer league.
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