Life As Usual in the NBA

75-68. 73-56. 71-60. Unfortunately for NBA fans, those aren't college scores.

With the exception of the Dallas Mavericks dropping 127 points on the hapless Utah Jazz and the Seattle Supersonics' Rashard Lewis scoring 50 points on the clueless LA Clippers, the first week of the NBA season has been marked by poor shooting, sloppy passing, and stagnant offense.

As teams get more in sync and find their rhythms again, expect those bricks to turn into swishes and those confused is-this-where-I'm-supposed-to-be picks to turn into efficient pick and rolls.

But the early part of the NBA season doesn't exactly offer a plethora of offense for fans to get excited about, so fans have turned to other antics for entertainment.

First and foremost among these shenanigans was Kevin Garnett getting ejected from the first quarter of a game and then punting the ball into the stands, the first time that has been done since Mav's coach Don Nelson did it last season.

In preseason, the Portland Trailblazers did a lot of talking about how they were a different team this year, a team that had a code of conduct, a team that would respect each other, their opponents, the fans, and the law, while focusing on winning. But inside, one couldn't help but doubt the unlikeliness of this scenario - it just seemed too farfetched to be believable.

Well surprise, less than one week into the season, the Portland team is back to its old ways.

Bonzi Wells was fined by the Blazers on Tuesday for making an obscene gesture to fans after Monday night's 94-83 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Wells (who is a team leader and captain) also threw a water bottle and towel onto the court.

Of course, compared to last year, when Wells spit on Danny Ferry in a game, this was mere child's play.

Wells managed to excuse his act with a line straight from the pro athlete's denial handbook: "If I did it, it was probably wrong, but I don't remember," Wells said. "I'm not going to be 100% perfect. I'm going to have a 10% lapse sometimes."

In addition to Wells' ridiculousness, Portland also showed extreme selfishness on the floor, often declining to make the extra pass and not giving sufficient help in the defense.

Monday's game was also noteworthy because it showed what the 76ers can do when they put it all together.

Much had been made of Philadelphia's shoddy 1-2 record going into the Portland game, as their only win was against the Miami Heat, who, um, aren't exactly hot.

But there are a couple of reasons not to write off the 76ers. First of all, the season is 1/20 of the way over. The 76ers lost only to the Sacramento Kings (whom a lot of people will lose to this year) and to the Golden State Warriors, when Mike Dunleavy shot 11-15 from the field and had 32 points and 11 rebounds, a freak occurrence of nature if ever there was one. Dunleavy is not about to accomplish this feat every night -- this is the NBA, not Duke. In Dunleavy's other two games, he shot a combined 10-36.

So chalk that loss up to an aberration. Granted, the game does raise some questions about Philly's defense, but that's nothing that practice can't solve.

Additionally, the 76ers were missing Glenn Robinson during this time span as he served a three game suspension. He returned for the Portland game, and the Philadelphia offense looked smooth and, dare it be said, at times dangerous.

One team that has consistently looked good is the Los Angeles Lakers. No, actually, they look like world beaters. The Lakers are 4-0, and that is really no surprise. The only thing that could sidetrack them is Kobe Bryant's trial and at this point that doesn't seem likely. LA's starting lineup includes Shaquille O'Neal, Bryant, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton -- all arguably among the top two players at their position over the last ten years.

The Lakers' fifth starter is Devean George, who is poised to have a breakout year because he will be the one left open when everyone else is double teaming Bryant or boxing out Malone and O'Neal. So far, George is averaging 12.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, and 2.2 spg, while shooting nearly 62% from the field.

The lesson: when you're playing alongside four Hall of Famers, everything is easier, and your team is good.