Expect Winds of Change to Take Place in 2011-12 NBA Season

NBA fans that waited an eternity for this year's lockout to end and pro hoops to get underway, already know that the 'winds of change' are taking place in the early going of the shortened 2011-12 season.

With several eye-opening events already taking place in the very first week of the regular season, many of which I have written about in my no-holds-barred blog, Eye on Sports with Eric Williams, clearly, this season is going to be one of the stranger seasons in recent memory - and possibly one that could dictate the direction that several franchises take over the course of the next few seasons.

For casual hoops fans that don't know - and avid NBA lifers - let's take a brief look back at what has transpired over the course of the last half-dozen days since the start of the regular season on Christmas day.

Let's get started with the most surprisingly pleasant starts in the league.

Sure, they've only beat mediocre Detroit and Toronto, but the Indiana Pacers are looking good so far - and I love their energetic head coach Frank Vogel.

The athletic Atlanta Hawks have gotten a pair of blowout wins over New Jersey and Washington - and as everyone knows, the Miami Heat moved to 3-0 thanks to Dwyane Wade's game-saving theatrics.

Out west, the Oklahoma City Thunder are looking like the title contenders everyone expects them to be with a perfect 3-0 record so far while the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers have gotten off to very nice 2-0 starts after a pair of games.

Another trio of teams have also looked really good in the early going with Mark Jackson already changing the culture in the Golden State Warriors' locker room (2-1) while the New Orleans Hornets (2-0) are adjusting to life without Chris Paul very well despite moving their incomparable floor leader just prior to the start of the regular season.

Last but not least, the San Antonio Spurs are looking like they're going to be a legitimate title contender after two blowout wins over Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers. San Antonio has quality depth at every position and could challenge if their young players prove their worth come playoff time.

At the other end of the spectrum, the winless Boston Celtics (0-3) have been one of the biggest surprises in the league and look nothing like the title-contending team they've been for the better part of the last four seasons. The foolish trade of Kendrick Perkins last season - and rapid decline of Kevin Garnett in particular, have robbed the Celtics of their once-vaunted interior defense.

Next up on the disappointment list are the defending champion Dallas Mavericks (0-2) who also look nothing like the team that won it all just last season. Memphis, Phoenix, Utah and Minnesota are all 0-2 out west, as is Detroit and Washington in the Eastern Conference.

Of course hoops fans, all of this should probably be taken with a grain of salt, seeing as how every team in the league is still trying to find its new personality after the seriously truncated training camp period.