I won’t say anything about Kobe’s knee because I’m afraid he’s watching, but it is hardly a concern if Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom continue to play the way they have in the first week.  Odom is playing arguably the best ball of his career, and Gasol is cementing his status as one of the best bigs in the game.  Black Mamba?  Well he lies in the grass, and he’ll be ready to bite when needed.

Miami spent no time sulking after losing the season opener before quickly dismantling their next four opponents.  The squad is obviously starting to come together as a team and growing more comfortable with each other every day.  Thinking about where this team could be in a few months is a scary thought.

The defending Eastern Conference champions started the season with a bang by knocking off the Heat, but after getting so “up” for Miami, it was not surprising to see them drop one to Cleveland the next night.  I imagine that will happen often for this Boston squad on back-to-backs, but they demonstrated that they still have the roster to compete with anyone when needed.

No Boozer, no problem thus far for the Bulls.  All they need is Derrick Rose, who has decided this is the season to ascend to the top of the Mt. Rushmore of point guards in the NBA.  He has improved his jump shot, and continues to attack the basket fearlessly.  And Deng is dropping 40?  Geeze, this team could be tough to beat when they get full-strength.

Portland once again has jumped out as one of the more difficult teams to match up with in the Western Conference.  Kobe says that Brandon Roy is the hardest player to guard 365 days of the year, and LaMarcus Aldridge has wasted no time jumping back into last season’s form.

The Hawks have had one of the best starts of any team in the league, though it has been against one of the weakest schedules.  Head coach Larry Drew’s new offense appears to be working out for the Hawks, but it is a long season for a core that has a tendency to drop the ball sometimes.

New Orleans Hornets

Probably one of the three biggest surprises of the first week has been the play of the New Orleans Hornets.  Chris Paul is healthy and has led this hungry squad to an undefeated start with wins over Milwaukee, Denver, and San Antonio.

The media may have been a little hasty in tagging the Thunder as Western Conference contenders.  Last week I mentioned that the Thunder would get different looks from their opponents, and no longer be able to surprise people.  Their 21-point loss to Utah is a perfect example.

Chauncey Billups has been off to a great start for this Nuggets team that continues to move ahead blindly into the future.  The Melo rumors have calmed since the season’s tip, but it would not take much to disrupt this locker room with more MELODRAMA.

What is this San Antonio team doing putting up so many points?  The sample size has been far too small to make any snap judgements about the Spurs, so we’ll leave them near the top, but they still need to show more of a commitment on the defensive end.  But that will come as the season, and this team, warms up.

One of the biggest improvements in Memphis has been a new focus on defense.  Much of that has been credited to the attitude of Rudy Gay, who appears to be carrying his experience this summer into the season.  That contract they gave Conley though? Sheesh.

The Mavericks are far too talented to be dropping home games to the Grizzlies.  The Mavericks have done very little to appear incredibly impressive, but a slow start may be expected for a team with so many veterans.

The Suns do, in fact, miss Stoudamire.  A lot.  Hakim Warrick has done his best to have an impact stepping into the lineup, but Nash can only do so much with the Suns lineup as it looks right now.

Hammering the Thunder was a good turnaround after dropping their first two games, but the Jazz still have some questions to answer before being labeled Western Conference contenders.  Defensively they have looked a little weak, but we won’t really know until we get a larger sample size to analyze.

Hopefully Curry’s ankle won’t become an issue for the entire season, because the Warriors have been playing especially inspired basketball.  Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry can once again be the most dynamic scoring backcourt in basketball at times, they just need both guards on the floor to compete in the West.

Indiana Pacers

Darren Collison, Danny Granger, and Roy Hibbert aren’t exactly “The Big Three,” but they have all stepped up their game to change the tune in Indianapolis.  Head coach Jim O’Brien has decided to run much of the offense through Hibbert, and it has been paying off well.

The Kings have come into the season firing on all cylinders, jumping out to an early 3-1 record.  Evans looks completely healthy and comfortable leading the team with Beno Udrih and Omri Casspi looking seasoned and contributing more each night.  They are a fun team to watch, and hopefully will continue their success.

I figured the Bucks would build on last year’s strong finish and enter 2010-2011 as one of the teams to beat in the division.  But bad losses to Minnesota and New Orleans draw some concern for a squad that should be moving at full steam right now.

A difficult schedule has left the Rockets winless after a week of play, but they are far from being down and out.  They still have a roster that could/should carry them to the playoffs, and they gave the defending champs a heck of a battle in the season opener.

Brook Lopez is looking like this could be a breakout year, and Avery Johnson has found a way to get this team above .500 a week into the season.  The Nets never reached that point last year, so I guess you could say the culture is changing in New Jersey.

The Knicks are certainly a better team with Stoudamire and Felton.  But coach D’Antoni thinks that Amar’e may be trying to do too much.  They still need some time in order for the new pieces to feel each other out, but they should see an improvement from last year’s 29 win season.

The Raptors are not as lost without Chris Bosh as I imagined, in fact they look like they once again could be a long shot for one of the last playoff seeds.  They are athletic and love to crash the boards, which are crucial components for a team lacking star power.

Cleveland Cavaliers

After shocking the NBA by knocking off the Celtics in their season opener, the Cavs have returned to the reality that is life without LeBron.  They had a difficult (and busy) first week, but perhaps are asking a little too much out of J.J. Hickson and Boobie Gibson.

It took overtime to pull off the win against the 76ers, which is not a good sign for the win total in Washington.  John Wall has shown flashes of brilliance already (including those heralded dance moves), but the Wizards obviously lack the right combination of experience and talent to operate in-game scenarios against tougher teams.

The Bobcats have lacked the intensity and creativity that was able to carry the offense just enough to get them to the playoffs.  Their defense hasn’t even been fantastic thus far this year, and they rank near the bottom of all major offensive categories.  With the Nets and Pistons on the horizon, we should learn soon how bad things have gotten in Charlotte.

Hard to put the Timberwolves in the basement after a victory over the Bucks.  Though the Bucks haven’t exactly been the “division contenders” I was expecting to see this season.  If Kevin Love and Rambis can play nice, they should be able to string together 20 wins. Right?

Vinny Del Negro recently lambasted his team’s lack of effort.  Blake Griffin looks visibly frustrated with the team’s inability to win.  These are not good emotions to show after just one week of the regular season.  There is a culture in the other half of the Staples Center, and it is not a winning one.

No one said that Evan Turner would bring about change in Philadelphia, but there has been much less excitement about his presence on the court than on draft day.  Andre Iguodala is back to forcing offense awkwardly, and it is only a matter of time before Brand starts to disappoint again.

All that money on the bench, and absolutely nothing that appears to be a cohesive unit.  The Pistons have slipped right back into the dismal dump they existed in for most of last season.  Hard to believe this is the same franchise that was so competitive for the better part of the last decade.