WizardsBullets 3 - 15

This weekend I was fortunate enough to catch a Cartoon Network presentation of The Smurfs, one of the finer cartoons of my youth.  I must say that Gargamel continues to be as scathingly evil as always, and Smurfette continues to be the delicious dish she always was. But if there is anything I remember from my youth, it's that no g-news, is good g-news, without Gary Gnu.

And despite that, the Cleveland Cavaliers are simply tearing through the East, due to a tougher approach to defense, a more balanced starting five, and solid bench play. Certainly, the Celtics were expected to pick up where they left off, people assumed Ron Jeremy's twin brother would have the Magic on a continued upward trajectory, but few were quite sure what to make of the Cavs after GM Danny Ferry spent the past year remaking LeBron James' supporting cast.

Mo Williams has been a tremendous addition, bringing a solid 15.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 4.2 APG. The coaching staff gave up on having Delonte West pretend to be a point guard and he is now playing in his natural position at the two. When not distracting his teammates by contemplating his his future, LeBron is one of the best two players in the league. And Coolidge from the White Shadow has learned to play alongside Zydrunas Ilgauskas whose foot woes appear to be a thing of the past.

Off the pine, Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao, Sasha Pavlovic, and Wally Szczerbiak - who is kind of creepy looking - are playing well.

Bits & Pieces

• After a 4 - 15 start, the T-Wolves, which looked promising last season and have flopped this year, are putting Coach Randy Wittman out to stud.  Maybe Kevin McHale - who will replace Wittman himself - should look around the league and see how other teams that have fired coaches are doing. The Bullets and Thunder remain atrocious, and never forget what former Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause used to preach, "Organizations win championships." Not that MJ ever agreed with him.


• The mustached Mike D'Antoni is doing one of the best coaching jobs in the history of dwarf juggling. If the Knicks win 35 games, D'Antoni should get to make-out with Kim Kardashian while Reggie Bush watches.


• I'm going to continue to push to have the Super Bowl moved to Saturday.


• That Allen Iverson trade doesn't seem to be working so well for Detroit, which fell to 7 - 8 with him, while Chauncey Billups has the Nuggets fighting for first place in the Northwest.


• Greatest sports movie scene ever.


• If you are looking for a high quality Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Hanukkah, Christmas, or Boxing Day gift - especially if you hate Dave Navarro - check these out.

Carry on.