First Impressions...

So here we are early into the NBA season, and there are a few thoughts that first come to mind...

* The Lakers look to be in mid season form already, with an unblemished early record
* The Heat look like they are going to need some time to gel together
* The Utah Jazz are gonna be better than everyone thought
* The Thunder look like they are struggling to duplicate last seasons successes
* The Celtics are old, but still dangerous every night.

The Lakers: Even with Andrew Bynum out of the lineup, the Lake Show keeps on rollin. Pau is playing at a high level, and Lamar Odom is playing just about as good. Kobe has been able to rest his assorted injuries and keep his minutes down early. The additions of Matt Barnes and Steve Blake have paid dividends already and they will only get better with more time spent in the triangle offense. Ron Artest and Shannon Brown appear to have put the summer to good use and both look sharp early as well. When Bynum comes back, and LO returns to the "bench mob" this Laker squad will be deep and talented at every position; heck even Theo Ratliff has given them quality minutes and knows his role. At this point, in the Western Conference, there's LA...and then there's everybody else.

The Heat: Their opening day thumping at the hands of the Cs notwithstanding, the Heat (while possessing a wealth of talent at multiple positions) suffer from a lack to time spent playing with each other. D Wade's absence in the preseason games has obviously hurt the Heat's chemistry and while this will improve with time, expectations are high. And what is the Lakers strength is the Heat's weakness - size and depth. Wade, LeBron, and Bosh are all stars...but who else on the roster can contribute? Big Z is not mobile, Udonis Haslem is undersized, and the rest of the bench & starters are wings or guards that can't really help in the middle. Even teams in their own conference like Orlando and Boston were able to get bigger, athletic players to help them match up for a presumed match up against LA. While everyone was crowing the Heat the "beasts of the East" early on, I don't think anyone really looked at how this roster was put together. Because its going to take a LOT more for Miami to get to the Conference Finals, much less the NBA Finals.

The Jazz: How does Jerry Sloan do it? He is really the ageless wonder. His teams are prepared, compete, and find a way to make the pick and roll a success year after year after year. Deron Williams is still an all star, losing Boozer but getting al Jefferson appears to have not slowed them at all, and Paul Millsap is showing why the Jazz gave him all that money last year. Even guys like Kirilenko and Gordon Heyward are playing well and fitting in around the core pieces. And Memo Okur isn't back from injury yet, which will add another big who can stretch the floor with his shooting. They will be a team to be reckoned with come playoff time.

The Thunder: it pains my heart to say it, but OKC isn't really playing up to their lofty expectations so far this season. KD hasn't shot well, the team looks a little disjointed on offense, and has been very lazy and slow to rotate on defense. The emergence of Serge Ibaka and addition of Cole Aldrich was supposed to improve their interior defense and rebounding but so far it has been very poor. They are one of the worst 3 point shooting teams in the league, and that combined with a lack of anything resembling a post game has led teams to pack it in on them and force them to shoot jumpers (which isn't anyone else but KDs forte). Westbrook is a terror in the open court, and may be in the talk soon as one of the best young point guards in the league, but Harden appears to have taken a step back and has struggled early on. Thabo is a defensive specialist, and is showing it with his anemic offense. Green (who is injured as we speak) is in a contract year but knows he isn't the focus on offense or defense. All in all, the showing the Thunder have put up so far this year is a far cry from the team that took LA to a scary 6 games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs last season. Its early yet, so look for them to improve, but maybe not improve upon last years win totals.

The Celtics: some of you know I have a soft spot in my heart for Ray Allen, who was a Sonic for a few years before leaving for Boston. He's a class act, and a helluva shooter, and since Paul Pierce went to Kansas (my college fav) I actually catch quite a few Boston games. And while folks (including me) have been looking to write them off ever since they won the 2008 championship, they appear to be as dangerous defensively as ever. They absolutely broke the will of the Miami Heat opening night, and have rolled ever, ever onward since. Rondo has blossomed into an all star point guard and supreme distributor, which is exactly what this team constructed around the Big 3 needs. Allen can still shoot, Pierce is a threat from distance and the midrange, and KG is an intense a player as ever. Glen Davis has played extremely well in the preseason and this has carried over into the early regular season. If Doc Rivers can limit the amount of minutes the Big 3 plays, and they stay healthy, Boston poses the biggest threat of any team out East to make it back to the Finals. (sorry Orlando, but you gotta show and prove that 2 years ago wasn't a fluke)

So there you have it...my first impressions on the season. Once I get a few more games under the belt, I will check in on a few other teams making some noise (but don't really have a shot at the 'chip) like New Orleans, Atlanta, Orlando, and Denver. Have an opinion on this season so far? Hit me back with some comments!