Week 3 Observations...

• Montreal is a well constructed team. 2 monsters (D12 and Jefferson) in the middle. He has AK47 turning back the clock. And Kyrie is playing like an All-Star. Don't look now but they still have Amare waiting in the wings. He could add some more scoring punch down the road.
• Maui is in last place but there is something about this roster that gives me hope. When healthy the Guards in Maui could be - Wade, Nash, Lou Williams, and Ben Gordon. The Forwards could read: Nowitzki, Carmelo, Pierce, Unibrow, Parsons and World Peace with Varejao and Haywood manning the middle. They need to get healthy though as they have played 20+ games less than the leaders. 
• The first big trade of the year went down this week. Josh Smith for Russell Westbrook. Why did Golden make this move? It was mostly after watching 3 ATL games. I'm not convinced Josh can be 'the man' and hate his love of his jump shot. The other reason for the move was the need for a 20+ PPG scorer. Golden didn't have one. Other top scoring teams like the Wack, the Kok, and Idaho have multiple guys who can drop 20 on any given night. Golden didn't have any so the hope is Westy (who was 5th in the NBA in scoring last year) can help out. Of course, this has left Golden with too many guards and is now trying to move Mo Williams for some forward depth. Despite Mo's 16ppg and 7ast averages - he's proving difficult to move.
• Minnesota is getting killed by injuries. Love, Rubio, Pekovic, Busdinger, Roy, Barea, and others have all missed time this season already. It has allowed the young Russian Alexey Shved to show his stuff. Besides some awful shooting %'s he could earn more minutes down the road. Golden likes his long term potential at the 2-spot in Minny.
• The Jae Crowder experiment almost came to an end tonight. 
• The Royce White and Terrence Jones experiments can't be far behind.
• Steph Curry looks healthy in GS. 
• The Wizards are this year's Bobcats. Man they look awful
• Kenneth Faried is awesome. 14ppg. 11reb. A steal and a block per game. 55% shooting. I think I'm in love.
• Bangkok is living off of the 3 headed monster known as Kobe, Bosh and Holiday. After that, things get muddy in Kokland. JJ Hickson has done a nice job in PDX but somehow is losing time to the young Meyers Leonard. And Harrison Barnes is emerging as a strong rookie candidate. Of course he is because the Kok knows his rookies.
• Nickolas Batum has to be this years breakout star so far. He is a 7 category player right now and Brussels has to be loving it. The Muscles squad is off to a great start after last season's year long debacle. 
• How good is OJ Mayo playing right now? 21PPG while shooting 59% from downtown? Crazy hot start. What happens when Dirk comes back? 
• Which coach will get fired first? Randy Wittman in Washington or Keith Smart in Sacramento? I can see Wittman's excuse - he has no talent. He's missing John Wall and Nene. Keith Smart has plenty of talent to work with - he's just not a good coach. I think Smart is the next coach to go. 
• I was wrong about Dion Waiters. The kid can play. 
• James Harden, despite his 27-5-5 averages, is actually not ranked that high in Fantasy rankings. Could be the 44/25 shooting %'s. Plus, when you're shooting 25% from downtown and taking over 6 per game - that's gonna hurt. Still, 27-5-5 is pretty darn good.
• The Beach Ballers are still kickin' around with Lebron, Paul, Lopez, Jamal Crawford and Carl Landry holding things together. Kevin Love will certainly help this rebound starved (13th) team upon his return.
• Philly Woo's team is still in the hunt despite some unknowns still in his lineup. Can you believe Seoul is still trotting out Sefolosha, E'Twaun Moore, and Amir Johnson these days. Whatever, it's working because of the big horses he has up front. And MKG is proving to be a nice rookie pick at #3. 
• Yuma is using a very balanced approach for his squad. The Thurmans are led by Jennings and Collison in the backcourt and David Lee, Pau Gasol, and DeAndre Jordan up front. I also was impressed with Yuma picking up Marcus Morris and Dante Cunningham tonight off the free agent wire. That tells me Chubby is paying attention to who's hot on the wire. Well done.
• My patience is running thin with Ersan. He did have a biggish game tonight (current standards) with 10pts and 5rebs. If he doesn't turn it around I may regret trading away Josh Smith. I need Ilyasova to find his groove and get back to his 14-8-1-1 ways from last season. I think he can do it - it's just frustrating trotting him out there 3 weeks in a row and getting next to nothing from him. He really could be the key to a successful Golden season. I need him to turn it around. Is that enough positive thoughts Ersan? Come on man. 
• Timmy and I are off to see the Blazers play the Kings on December 8th. We're booked into the club seats in section 213. This is of course the all you can eat food section. Me, Hildy, and Tuna made this journey last year and the food is actually really really good. Looking forward to a roadie with Brussels - should be a lot of fun. And of course, we will do our best to make a deal. And yes, I'm working on acquiring a Blazer (or King) to root for that night. Stay tuned.

Well, that's it for tonight...enjoy your Sunday. Go Lions.