In the NBA’s second report card of the year, we’ve got people not getting along, others losing their tempers, and teams that are both excelling and struggling. Here are the marks for this past week:

Charles Barkley has brought good insight and some comic relief to the NBA on TNT.

A – Charles Barkley’s Comments on LeBron James - Since Sir Charles Barkley retired and joined the commentating crew for Turner Sports, he has been one of the better commentators and funniest. His thoughts and opinions are often not far from the truth, unlike sensationalist Stephen A. Smith for ESPN. Last week Barkley stirred the LeBron James 2010 free agency signing with the New York Knicks talks with some sharp comments. Barkley said that LeBron needs to “shut the hell up.” LeBron has gone as far as to say that with so many all-stars’ contracts expiring, the first day of free agency in 2010 will be one of the biggest days in the NBA’s recent history. Barkley also said that LeBron talking about what he’s going to do in two years is “disrespectful to the game . . . and the Cavaliers.” Barkley knows all about disrespect, in 1997 he threw a bar patron through a window for throwing a cup of ice at him.

B – Trailblazers Getting More Mature, Better – The Portland Trailblazers have been one of those teams that took a big chance a few years ago and started from scratch.  From trading away their veterans for draft picks and signing less-expensive free agents with potential, the Blazers have assembled a strong team. Recent draft picks Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden all have signs of greatness and it was said that the Blazers would get better as those three players do. It is yet to be seen how many fans in Washington will jump on the Blazers bandwagon or stay loyal to no team. Sports fans in Seattle have it tough now, no NBA team and the Mariners, Huskies, and Seahawks are awful, they might as well jump on.

C – The Suns’ Tempo - The Phoenix Suns had a window of opportunity to win a championship, it was wide open in ’05 and ’06, started closing in ’07, and is barely cracked this year. New Suns head coach Terry Porter has come in and changed the tempo of the Phoenix Suns from the run n’ gun style under Mike D’Antoni. Under D’Antoni, the Suns almost always scored over 100, but the further away the got from magic #100, the more likely they were to lose. New head coach Terry Porter has emphasized defense but so far this season, the Suns have a better record in high-scoring games. If you think about it that hard you’ll go crazy, it doesn’t make much sense. Shaquille O’Neal not being able to shoot better from the free-throw line after 15+ years in the NBA is equally as flabbergasting. 

Kenyon Martin has been the center of the Nuggets implosive instincts more often than not.

D - Denver Still Kings of Implosion - If you look up “implosion” in an English dictionary it will read, “a process in which objects are destroyed by collapsing on themselves.” If you look up the same word in a NBA dictionary there will be a picture of the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are very much a team that plays on emotion, things have not changed with Allen Iverson gone. While Denver is still playing much better than expected so far this season, they have also showed signs of their troubled past. So many times in the past few years, the Nuggets have been in close games and just lost their composure. In most games they would overreact to a bad call and get a couple of technical fouls. In a big game against the New Orleans Hornets on Thanksgiving, the Nuggets were in position to win. WIth under 2 minutes left they were up by 3, they then gave up two straight three-point jumpers and Kenyon Martin got a technical foul. As opposed to only being down three, they found themselves down four and were never able to catch up. 

F – LeBron James’ Comments on Charles Barkley - In light of Charles Barkley’s comments mentioned above, here is what LeBron James had to say, “He’s stupid. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.” Too bad Barkley wasn’t there to say, “ooh, good comeback.” Then I’m sure they would have started arguing over who’s dad has a better job in classic elementary school fashion. While the media has been the main perpetrator of all the rumors, LeBron has done nothing to dispel them.

Tags: NBA

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