Same-old, same-old In The West.

The NBA season starts tomorrow and while it seems to be shaping up as an exciting season, there really isn't anything new out West.

The power players are still the same and the cellar-dwellers, well, there doesn't seem to be any breakout teams among the West's few truly mediocre teams.

In fact, the top two teams in the West remain the same, but I have a surprise pick for the third. Without further ado, the three teams to watch out for in the Wstern Conference.

Golden State Warriors - Whaaaaaaat? You mean after a second championship, they're still the favorites? The loss of the likes of Javale McGee and David West has been totally negated by the signing of DeMarcus Cousins. Yes, he's still injured but the Warriors without a traditional center is actually more dangerous than the Warriors with one.

So the Warriors will hum along, with the same Fab Four outgunning everyone else. And when Cousins finally joins them, the Warriors may just be the most unbeatable team in the NBA's history.

Rockets Fall Back To Earth, Warriors March On

We always knew that Rockets needed to be near perfect to beat the Warriors. And when Chris Paul went down with that hamstring injury near the end of Game 5, that window for perfection just went from small to infinitesimal.

Add to that a flurry of unexpected areas of momentary incompetence that helped sink that (Rocket) ship, including:

Rockets Hang Tough, Proves Point.

Until Game 4, the Rockets haven't really proven that they can win against the Warriors when the going gets tough.

But why is that so important?

It goes to that great intangible mental toughness. It speaks to the ability to shut out the screaming crowd, the score, the fatigue, the person guarding you and make that shot you'd make 10 times out of 10 during practice.

Four Is Still Better Than Two.

When your soon-to-be-MVP star scores 41 points on 14-24 shooting and above 50% in 3 pointers, you should win.

When your soon-to-be-HOFer All Star guard scores 23 points and grabs 11 rebounds, you should win.

Except the Houston Rockets didn't.

The Business of Disrespect: The Melo-JLin Number Situation

The Houston Rockets had the opportunity to make a pitch to Carmelo Anthony, one of the most sought-after free agents this year. So naturally, they wanted Melo to visualize how he'd look like in a Rockets #7 uniform.

NBA 2009 OPENING DAY!

Four games were played today and all four were entertaining.

Celtics win over Cavs, 95-89!

It was the Big Three against the King and Shaq Fu. Paul Pierce started out on fire, Ray Allen and new recruit Rasheed Wallace kept the fire going and Kevin Garnett finished the Cavs off with a solid all around game. The Cavs kept the game close by virtue of a brilliant performance by the King but Lebron needed more support from Shaq, Mo Williams and Big Z.

STUDS. Paul Pierce (23pts, 11 rebs), Ray Allen (16pts, 3 assists, 3 steals) and Kevin Garnett (13pts, 10rebs, 3 blocks) seem to be in mid-season form already. Lebron James (38pts, 4 rebounds, 8 assist, 4bloclks, 2 steals) seemed to be the only Cavs player in similar form. 

DUDS. Kendrick Perkins had 9 points and ONE rebound in 25minutes of play. He's 7 feet tall, He should be able to get 2 rebounds by simply showing up. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 6points and 5 rebounds. Wasn't he a starter on a team playing for a championship just a couple of years ago? 

Wizards upend Mavs, 102-91

Agent Zero is back! The Wiz barely missed All-Star Antawn Jamison as Gilbert Arenas was hot in his first NBA game back from his most recent knee surgery. Caron Butler, Randy Foye and Andray Blatche also had good games. The Mavs were fueled by Dirk Nowitzki (and his hair) and Shawm Marion but couldn't get Jason Terry going.  

STUDS. Gilbert Arenas (29pts, 9 assists), Randy Foye (19pts, 2steals) and Andray Blatche (20pts, 7rebounds, 2 blocks) were the difference-makers. Dirk Nowitzki (34points, 9rebs, 2 blocks) was also in vintage form.

DUDS. Mike Miller (6pts, 8 rebs) was supposed to be a deadeye shooter. What gives? Jason Terry (12pts, 4 rebs, 4 assists) was also horrendous, hitting at a 4-15 clip.

Blazers top Rockets, 96-87!

The big question heading into this match up was, with T-Mac and Yao still sidelined, who was going to score for the Rockets? Aaron Brooks tried his best and so did Trevor Ariza but it simply wasn't enough. For the Blazers, it was old

 reliable Brandon Roy who went to town as well as designated gunner Travis Outlaw.

STUDS. Brandon Roy (20pts, 5 rebs, 5 assists) and Travis Outlaw (23pts, 4 rebs, 2 assists) were simply unstoppable. On the defensive side of things, Greg Oden (2pts, 12 rebounds 5 blocks) and Joel Przybilla (2pts, 10rebs, 2 blocks) were insurmountable.

DUDS. Luis Scola (3pts, 4 rebs) and Shane Battier (8pts, 4 rebs) need to step it up.

Lakers dump Clippers, 99-92!

The Lakers got their rings then tried to run rings around the Clippers.  Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum managed to build a lead, only to see their teammates almost lose it, so they went back in to make sure of the win. Clips showed amazing resiliency and drive to keep the game competitive throughout, led by standout supersoph Eric Gordon and veteran Chris Kaman.

STUDS. Kobe Bryant (33 pts, 8rebs) and Andrew Bynum (26pts, 13rebs) more than offset the loss of All Star Pau Gasol. Eric Gordon (21pts, 4 assists) and Chris Kaman (18pts, 16rebs) were the main men for the Clippers.

DUDS. Baron Davis (2pts, 4rebs, 8assists) bombed miserably in this first game, shooting a miserable 1-10 from the field.

IM CONFUSED!

I'm pretty sure it's just the 3rd week of the season and yet...why are tempers flaring, tension running high and fights breaking out?

Take this Rockets-Suns game. I know they have a history but come on! It's the third week!

SOME OBSERVATIONS...

After day 2 of the NBA season:

HOW DID THEY DO IT? We saw how the new and improved Dwayne Wade made the Olympics his own personal playground. We've read how Michael Beasely has about a 40% chance of winning Rookie of the Year. We know Shawn Marion is one of the most versatile defenders in the league. We also know that the Knicks are dysfunctional, over paid, overhyped and have a new coach and a new GM. Their starting center and point guard from last year aren't even in the rotation.  So how in the hell did the Knicks beat the Heat?

THERE'S A NEW BIG THREE IN TOWN and they are from the Rockets. Yes, I saw how good the troika of Yao Ming, T-Mac and Artest can be and they are going to go deep in the playoffs, maybe even reach the Conference Finals. What scares me even more is that once they get Battier back, they can lock down the best SG's and SF's in the league from minute 1.

THE LAKERS ARE FOR REAL. That's two blowout games for you. Kobe hasn't even heated up yet. Pau, Bynum, Fisher and the rest of the gang have stepped up early. Trevor Ariza looks like he's going to be a monster this year and Chris Mihm looked good, making other teams even more wary of the surprisingly deep Lakers.