Taking stock

Time to reflect on first half's surprises and disappointments

The All-Star break is approaching, so it's a good time to look back on the first half of the season and single out a few storylines for the playoff stretch.

New Jersey Nets

Looking back at the preseason, the way the Nets have played has been a major surprise. And even though he's a great player, no one expected Jason Kidd to be an MVP candidate this season. In support of Kidd, Kenyon Martin has been playing well, as has Todd McCullough and rookie Richard Jefferson, and the return of Kerry Kittles has really helped. Rod Thorn has put together a legitimate team.

Michael Jordan and the Wizards

When Jordan decided to come back, it certainly looked as if the Wizards would make the playoffs. But in preseason play, it didn't seem like they had a chance. So at two games over .500, they are a major surprise. In fact, if Washington gets to the playoffs, Jordan has to get tremendous consideration for MVP.

Los Angeles Lakers

Phil Jackson said he likes this team better than last year's, because the players are more athletic. He said it's taking a little longer for them to hit their peak because last year's team had Ron Harper and Horace Grant, who were familiar with the triangle offense after playing it in Chicago. So as soon as the new players, namely Lindsey Hunter and Samaki Walker, pick up the intricacies of the triangle, Jackson thinks this will be a better team than last season's.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs have lost seven out of 10 at home, including four in a row, and are struggling more than anyone expected. They've become very stagnant on offense, and David Robinson hasn't been a factor. In fact, in many of the games he sits down the stretch. He may be injured, or head coach Gregg Popovich may have lost confidence in him.

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Utah Jazz

Utah has been hurt by the rules changes more than any other team. The Jazz are second in the league in turnovers, and they used to be the best executing team in the NBA. The use of zone defenses has really caused their pick-and-roll offense a lot of trouble.

Rules changes

Early in the season, the Jazz (negatively) and the Timberwolves (positively) were the teams most affected by the changes. But in the past two weeks, more teams have started to utilize different types of zones. The surprising part is that it's taken this long to implement them. If coaches came up with one or two different zones to change the pace of a game, it would be very effective.

Parity

The league is getting very close to parity; even the Lakers have lost a few games recently. Parity isn't necessarily good for a sport; you're much better off having three or four great teams that can be promoted to national TV audiences.

Injury bug

Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami have all been hurt by injuries. Sacramento is the only team that was able to withstand the loss of its star, as it's gone 17-7 without Chris Webber in the lineup.

Second-half storylines