Six Weeks Into The Season...

[garnett_21]

It is now about six weeks since the 2009-10 season began, and I'm just curious about a few things.

• What team has been the biggest surprise (better record than expected)?
• What team has been the biggest letdown (worse record than expected)?
• What player has been the biggest surprise (better all-around game/numbers than expected)?
• What player has been the biggest letdown (worse all-around game/numbers than expected)?

Looking forward to lots of replies!

[nadeau01_johnson48]

• What team has been the biggest surprise (better record than expected)? OKC Thunder
• What team has been the biggest letdown (worse record than expected)? New Orleans Hornets
• What player has been the biggest surprise (better all-around game/numbers than expected)? Trevor Ariza
• What player has been the biggest letdown (worse all-around game/numbers than expected)? Shaq

[avstars]

1) OKC
2) Philly
3) Brandon Jennings
4) Agent 0

[WilyWestbrook0]

I've been most surprised by Phoenix. I thought they'd be struggling around .500 in the West. The biggest letdown has been Chicago - easy conference, but they are playing horribly after showing so much promise against Boston last year in the playoffs.

For players, Kevin Durant has really embraced a leadership role more and earlier than I was expecting. I can't think of any real player letdowns at the moment, though; I was expecting Arenas to take time coming back from his injuries, and I knew Shaq's factor would continue to decrease as he pushes 40. When I went through a list of players and what they've been doing, none really jumped out at me as being especially disappointing in a surprising way.

[tarheelsnipe]

• What team has been the biggest surprise (better record than expected)? Atlanta at 3rd place in the East
  
• What team has been the biggest letdown (worse record than expected)? New Jersey - I didn't expect them to be contenders, but I didn't expect them to be 2-21 either.
  
• What player has been the biggest surprise (better all-around game/numbers than expected)? Carmelo's resurgence surprised me.
  
• What player has been the biggest letdown (worse all-around game/numbers than expected)? Not counting injured players Paul, Oden, and Griffin, Shaq is a bust so far. The Cavs are only 3 games out of 1st place though. I see the Cleveland fans gasping every time he goes for a loose ball.
  

[CandyMan23]

how is Shaq the biggest letdown? the guy is a 37 year old center! wth do you expect him to give you at that age? 30 and 10?

[whalechaser]

• What team has been the biggest surprise (better record than expected)?

Milwaukee - They're 11 and 11 even with Michael Redd injured. Jennings is probably the reason for this with his impressive play. Also Ilyasova has been playing very well! =)

• What team has been the biggest letdown (worse record than expected)?

Chicago Bulls -

• What player has been the biggest surprise (better all-around game/numbers than expected)?

Marc Gasol - he played like a beast in the first few weeks now he's cooling down.

Trevor Ariza also - completely did not expect him to put up huge numbers

• What player has been the biggest letdown (worse all-around game/numbers than expected)?

Derrick Rose - He has started slow out of the gate and averaging really poor numbers after a stellar rookie season. Hopefully he continues to improve over the season.

Jeff Green is a close second... he has been way too inconsistent and has had only a handful of good games so far.

[nadeau01_johnson48]

how is Shaq the biggest letdown? the guy is a 37 year old center! wth do you expect him to give you at that age? 30 and 10?

Umm....we'd expect more than 10/7/<50&#37; FG percentage, considering he doesn't shoot further than 4 feet from the basket....

[beishuizen91]

• What team has been the biggest surprise (better record than expected)?

The Thunder. Amazing group of young guys.

• What team has been the biggest letdown (worse record than expected)?

The Bulls. I was expecting a lot from them this year, but it seems as though D-Rose has lost something.

• What player has been the biggest surprise (better all-around game/numbers than expected)?

Jason Kidd. I honestly thought he was going on a fast track down hill but his resurgence has been amazing.

• What player has been the biggest letdown (worse all-around game/numbers than expected)?

Shaq. I was expecting more out of the big man with Cleveland.

[garnett_21]

• What team has been the biggest surprise (better record than expected)? Three teams - the Suns at 17-8, the Hawks at 17-6, and the Bucks at 11-11. I could say the Thunder, but I figured they'd improve.
• What team has been the biggest letdown (worse record than expected)? The Timberwolves. I was pretty sure they'd have more than 4 wins in their first 25 games...I was thinking they'd be around 13-12 or so.
• What player has been the biggest surprise (better all-around game/numbers than expected)? Brook Lopez - although it was more out of necessity than anything else.
• What player has been the biggest letdown (worse all-around game/numbers than expected)? Derrick Rose - after last year's playoff's against the Celtics, I figured he'd drastically improve, but he's kinda in a "Sophmore Slump"