Golden Nuggets: Nuggets' coming - best recognize

Royce sells the Nugs because they are allegedly the same team that got pounded in the playoffs, but then he “buys” the Blazers (who beat the Thunder) in part because of of Ray Felton.

Now if that was the old white horse on ’em.. i am in.. where can i get ’em !

are Steiny Mo, which is the opposite of Hollinger.

Welcome back to the NBA, Minnesota. We missed you.

Although the Timberwolves lost a tight one to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, one of the takeaways from these opening days of the season is that Minnesota once again has a legitimate professional basketball team. Kevin Love has come back in better shape and looks like a bona fide superstar, nailing step-back 3s and ranking fourth in the NBA in PER. Rookie Derrick Williams looks like a long-term keeper, too; in fact, he has outplayed starter Michael Beasley and could get his job at some point.

And then there’s Ricky. Point guard Ricky Rubio has given new meaning to the term “Rickrolled,” wowing fans and critics alike with his supernatural passing skills. He’s averaging 10.1 dimes per 40 minutes and assisting on more than 40 percent of the possessions he uses; he’s also playing solid defense and is helping on the boards.

None of that comes as a big surprise, but this last, most important item is: He’s making shots. Rubio is at 52.6 percent from the field with a 63.4 TS%, nearly double what his translated European stats led us to expect from him. And this is the part that bears watching. Two years ago, a rookie with poor shooting numbers in Europe took the NBA by storm, raining a torrent of 3s on unsuspecting opponents. His name was Brandon Jennings, and he regressed to his previous baseline pretty quickly.

So let’s not proclaim Ricky’s shooting woes over based on 38 field goal attempts. But he doesn’t have to shoot like this to be a star; he just has to be non-awful. The rest of his game is that good. So far, the signs in that department are really encouraging.

As they are for the Wolves. Minnesota won only 17 games a year ago, but, if the Wolves ever stop playing Draft Failure Roulette at shooting guard, they might be a playoff team. They are a shocking 11th in defensive efficiency against a fairly difficult early schedule, and they have a positive scoring margin to boot.

In fact, don’t let that 2-4 record fool you; between their strong schedule and solid scoring margin, the Wolves rank 10th in my yet-be-released Power Rankings. I don’t think they’ll hold such a lofty perch all season, but just the fact they aren’t in the bottom five has to have Wolves fans singing hallelujah (and New Orleans Hornets fans crying into their chicory coffee).

As a result, Minnesota tops my list of early-season surprises — teams with results we might not take fully at face value just yet but that have strong starts that deserve more scrutiny going forward.

Here are six more:

Philadelphia 76ers:
Hint: When we launch the Power Rankings next week, don’t be surprised if the Sixers are a lot higher than you might expect. They might be only 3-2, but the Sixers have the league’s third-best scoring margin even though they have yet to play a home game.

Moreover, Philly is hearing positive answers to most of it preseason questions. Can Evan Turner take a step forward in Year 2? Apparently so, after he carved up the Hornets for 21 off the bench Wednesday night. Can the Sixers establish a perimeter game? They are shooting 40 percent on 3s even though their best shooter, Jodie Meeks, can’t buy a bucket right now. OK, it’s only 85 attempts as a team, but thus far Andre Iguodala and Louis Williams are flashing much better long-range games.

And finally, there’s the big question: Can Spencer Hawes be stopped? Actually, that wasn’t a preseason question many had, but Hawes seems intent on getting a big payday after signing for the qualifying offer this past summer. The 7-footer has been the Sixers’ best player thus far, averaging 13.0 points and filling his line with 11.4 boards, 3.6 dimes and 2.2 blocks.

Atlanta Hawks :
It appears I should have been more bullish on Atlanta entering this season. The Hawks are 4-2 with a road win in Miami already, and they were a free throw gag away from pulling off a near-impossible back-to-back road sweep of the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. The schedule has been friendly, we should note — opening stretches don’t get any easier than the Hawks’ New Jersey Nets-Washington Wizards-New Jersey slate, and the gods are throwing them another bone tonight because it appears LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will be out.

Nonetheless, several aspects seem legit. Marvin Williams looks a thousand percent better at both ends; Jeff Teague has answered any lingering questions about his ability to be a full-time starter; and Atlanta’s piecemeal bench is unexpectedly killing it. Meanwhile, the Hawks are fourth in the NBA in defensive efficiency and have yet to surrender 100 points to an opponent; in particular, their increased use of zones left Miami befuddled.

Does this add up to a legit contender in the East? Not ready to go there yet; we’ve seen this group’s shortcomings before, and many of them came to the fore in the late collapse in Chicago. But Atlanta remains more relevant to the discussion than it seemed before the season.

Portland Trail Blazers:
I sung the Blazers’ praises a few days ago, and certainly their impressive 103-93 win in Oklahoma City did nothing to diminish their luster. As I mentioned, Portland has managed to up its tempo and improve its defense without sacrificing much offensively. Gerald Wallace has been a two-way force; Nic Batum appears to be adjusting to life as a sixth man; and LaMarcus Aldridge continues to play at an All-Star level.

There are warning sings lurking beneath the surface — Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas can’t possibly play this well all year, especially under this brutal schedule, and their guards need to make some more shots — but the Blazers have shown that, even without Brandon Roy and Greg Oden, they have a pretty potent squad. With expected contenders such as Dallas and Memphis looking a bit down, the door is open for Portland to snag a top-four seed.

Denver Nuggets:
The Nuggies showed off their depth Wednesday night, blowing away Sacramento even with Nene sitting out. As expected, the Mozgov-Koufos frontcourt proved unstoppable.

All kidding aside, the truly impressive part of Denver’s season has been its ability to play elite defense despite a frenetic pace. The Nuggets lead the league in pace factor and defensive efficiency, a combination that seems virtually impossible. But their depth and speed have left opponents flustered, and they’ve owned the glass, as well.

I’ve already spoken at length about the Nuggies, so I’ll keep this one brief, as well, but suffice it to say they’ve done nothing to diminish my expectation that they’ll be among the West’s top seeds.

Orlando Magic:
I’m not quite as bullish about Orlando as about the teams above, but it must be mentioned that the Dwight Howard distraction doesn’t seem to be affecting Howard’s play much, nor that of his team. Orlando is quietly 5-2, even though the Glen Davis trade looks disastrous and the Jason Richardson contract not much better.

Ready for the punch line? Howard doesn’t lead the team in PER. Newly instated power forward Ryan Anderson does; in fact he’s also the team’s leading scorer at 19.7 per game even though he plays only 31.1 minutes. Anderson is winging nearly eight 3-point attempts a game and converting 45.5 percent of them, making him a perfect frontcourt complement to Howard’s brute force on the interior.

One caveat is that Orlando’s defense is not where it’s been in past seasons, at least not yet. Despite a soft early slate, the Magic are tied for ninth in defensive efficiency. They’ve been a top-5 defense throughout the Dwight Howard-Stan Van Gundy era and aren’t well-equipped to win with just offense, especially if the guards keep firing blanks. Nonetheless, the solid start and Anderson’s breakout have to have the Magic a bit more encouraged about keeping their franchise center beyond this season. A bit.

Toronto Raptors:
Unlike the five previous teams on this list, Toronto will not be in the playoffs. Nonetheless, the Raptors’ reign as the league’s most permissive defense appears to be over. Operating with basically the same players who finished last in defensive efficiency a season ago, new coach Dwane Casey has them in the middle of the pack at 15th. Yes, the early schedule has been soft, but for the Raptors to show any spine at all on D is hugely newsworthy — and obviously speaks well for Casey.

The Raps have one other big surprise for us: the 3-point shooting of DeMar DeRozan. He made five triples all last season; he matched that total Wednesday night alone. For the season, he’s 10-of-16 from long range, after going an abysmal 5-for-52 in 2010-11. Using the 3 to add some efficiency to his high-volume game increases his value dramatically; we’ll be watching to see whether this is a fluke or something longer lived.

As with Minnesota, there is a giant chink in the armor — the fact Rasual Butler has started six games at small forward says all you need to know about that position in Toronto. Nonetheless, the Jose Calderon-Andrea Bargnani pick-and-roll combo is clicking and the Raps are a surprising 3-3 with a positive scoring margin. Consider this the first baby step on the road back to respectability.