NBA Notebook: Balanced Magic, Jazz - NBA Basketball News And Picks

NBA Notebook: Balanced Magic, Jazz
By Marty Gitlin
Posted 4:00 am PDT 2006-11-27

It doesn't take a genius to figure out the primary reason surprising Orlando and Utah boast the best records in their respective conferences.

One word: Balance.

Yeah, yeah, Dwight Howard has been a man among boys for the Magic, particularly on the boards. The same can be said for finally healthy Jazz power forward Carlos Boozer. But both teams feature five players with double-figure scoring averages and tremendous help beyond that.

Boozer (21.9) must be considered an early favorite for NBA Most Valuable Player. But he's been far from a one-man gang. The Jazz, who "fell" to 12-2 with a loss at Golden State Saturday night, are receiving strong offensive production from Deron Williams (17.7), Mehmet Okur (15.9), Matt Harpring (12.5), Derek Fisher (10.5), Gordan Giricek (7.9), Andrei Kirilenko (7.4) and Paul Millsap (7.1).

Not bad considering Kirilenko is arguably their premier player and just returned from injury Friday night.

The Magic? Just like Boozer, Grant Hill is again healthy (cross your fingers) and leads the team at 16.6 points a game. But Howard (16.4), Jameer Nelson (14.7), Hedo Turkoglu (10.6), Carlos Arroyo (10.4), Keyon Dooling (8.8) and Darko Milicic (7.7) are contributing greatly.

Team statistics also tell a story. The Jazz are outrebounding opponents by an average of 45.9-35.1 a game, which represents a whopping difference of 10.8. Orlando is shooting 48.8 percent from the field and holding foes to 42.6.

STRUGGLING TEAM, LOUSY DIVISION: The New Jersey Nets were supposed to run away and hide in the weak Atlantic Division.

They still might, but perhaps out of default.

The Nets are playing horribly these days, losing four consecutive games to fall to 5-7, yet they remain atop the division, a half-game ahead of Boston. And it's not as if they are losing to the NBA elite. They fell twice to Portland and once each to Seattle and Phoenix. All three teams were under-.500 when those games began.

New Jersey plays at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night. WagerWeb.com lists the Nets as 4.5-point underdogs.

BATTERED FRYE: Many New York Knicks fans hoped to see more of sixth man David Lee.

They will now get their chance.

Lee will move into the starting lineup now that disappointing Channing Frye has been sidelined for three to six weeks with a sprained left ankle. He injured the ankle in a home loss to Chicago on Saturday night.

Frye was an All-Rookie first-teamer a year ago, but had just recently emerged from an early-season slump.

NOT TO BE OUTDONE: Last year, it was LeBron James' turn to emerge as a Most Valuable Player candidate. In fact, many felt he deserved it over Phoenix point guard Steve Nash.

Now Carmelo Anthony appears to have taken that next step. He leads the NBA at 30.9 points a game, which represents a 10-point jump over the last two seasons. Anthony is shooting 52 percent from the field and 86 percent from the line. He is the primary reason the Nuggets have bounced back from a slow start to win four in a row.

They can make it five consecutive victories tonight at home against the Los Angeles Clippers. Denver is a 4.5-point favorite according to WagerWeb.com

CARIN' ABOUT BARON: One reason the Nuggets were able to knock off Golden State on Friday night was that Warriors leading scorer Baron Davis was sidelined with a strained muscle in his ribs.

Warriors coach Don Nelson is taking no chances with his talented guard, who is averaging 20.7 points and 7.9 assists a game. Davis will miss at least a couple games.

Golden State showed its mettle Saturday night by bumping off sizzling Utah without Davis.

CRISIS IN THE CAPITAL: What is wrong with Washington?

After qualifying for the playoffs a year ago, the Wizards have opened this season at 4-9 and have lost four straight.

One reason for their failures has been a distinct lack of depth. But team leader Gilbert Arenas has also been inconsistent. He's scoring 26 points a game, but shooting only 38 percent from the field. In fact, the team is hitting fewer than 43 percent of its shots, including just 31 percent from 3-point range.

DRIBBLES: Clippers center Chris Kaman, whose scoring has dropped considerably this season, is listed day-to-day with a sprained left ankle. He missed the team's loss in Minnesota on Saturday night. He also missed much of the preseason with a hamstring injury.... The Detroit Pistons have emerged from an early-season funk with six consecutive victories and are now tied atop the Central Division with Cleveland at 9-5.... Since LaMarcus Aldridge took over as Portland's starting center, backup Jamaal Magliore has played his best basketball of the season. The Blazers, who many experts considered a preseason bet to finish with the worst record in the NBA, reached .500 at 6-6 before falling at Sacramento on Saturday night.

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