By Raffy Ledesma

With nearly 14 games into the young National Basketball Association (NBA) season, there are already several storylines developing that can be considered unusual and to some, even downright surprising.  For instance, who would have thought that the Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns would be lording it over the league? As of this writing, they have the best records in the NBA and they have won some big games against “contenders.” The Hawks are making a strong statement that Orlando, Cleveland and Boston no longer have the monopoly in the East while the Suns are surprising everyone despite their “weak” lineup.
Here are the other early season surprises:

1. MOVE OVER BLAKE—Young power forward Blake Griffin was the preseason favorite to dominate this year’s rookie class.  His skill set and basketball IQ made him this year’s No. 1 draft pick.  However, he is out until mid-December because of an injury.  Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings has come out of nowhere to fill the void and is amazing even the most cynical NBA pundits.  Jennings is averaging a scorching 24.8 points, 5.8 assists and 4.7 rebounds—not bad for a kid who opted to play pro ball in Europe after high school.  Jennings even dropped 55 points in a game against the Golden State Warriors last week.  More importantly, his team is winning even without All-Star Michael Redd—who is out with a minor injury.

2. STILL NO ANSWER—Less than three games into the season, former All-Star Allen “The Answer” Iverson started fighting with his new coach in Memphis and a week after that, the Grizzlies waived the vitriolic point guard off the team.  The Answer’s discontent stemmed from his apparent lack of playing time and his exile to the bench—the two main reasons why he was very unhappy in Detroit last season.  There are rumors that the New York Knicks, who are off to one of their worst starts in franchise history, are interested in signing Iverson for this season without sacrificing their cap space for next year’s free agent market.  While he is still a force on the court, Iverson must realize that he can no longer be the franchise player he once was.

3. WINLESS IN JERSEY—The New Jersey Nets were expected to be among the league’s whipping boys this season but no one expected them to be this bad.  They are still winless in 12 games with roughly seven players out with various injuries.  Guard Devin Harris is expected to play soon and he should bring some much needed help to this ailing team.  They are nearing the NBA-worst record to start the season, which was posted by the 1988-89 Miami Heat (0-17) and the 1998-99 Los Angeles Clippers.  

4. NOT SO CAVALIER—LeBron James must be having a bad case of déjà-vu.  After finishing with the best record in the NBA last season, his Cleveland Cavaliers are struggling to break out from its early funk.  The Cavaliers are obviously still trying to work out some chemistry issues and trying to fit Shaquille O’Neal into the system.  The Cavs also made a play for Stephen Jackson a few days ago to play alongside the King but failed.  Management must realize that for this team to get over the top, James need another All-Star as his running mate—and that wouldn’t be Shaq. 

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SIDELINES. In his senior year of high school, Jennings averaged 32.7 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game and set the school record for points in a season. This performance earned him some of high school basketball’s most prestigious awards: the 2008 Naismith High School Basketball Player of the Year Naismith High School Basketball Player of the Year; 2007 to 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year (Virginia); 2008 Parade Magazine Player of the Year Parade Magazine Player of the Year; and 2008 EA Sports Player of the Year EA Sports Player of the Year.