Harden's Tear, Lakers Winless and Carmelo wins one for NYC

     If MVP voting was today, James Harden and his beard would win. As if his 37-12 debut wasn't enough, he followed it up with a a career-high 45 points in a win over the Hawks. Harden didn't need much time to do damage in OKC. In Houston, he's getting all the minutes, but he is not taking a ton of shots. Harden plays efficient basketball and he's been the best player in this very young season. 

     

     The 0-3 Lakers have Kobe panicking and news got worse today when Steve Nash got ruled out one week with a small fracture in his leg. Against the in-city rival Clippers, Howard and Gasol played poorly and the bench failed to show up for a third straight game. It starts with defense. The Lakers have allowed opponents to shoot over 50%. Mike Brown teams are prided on defense and he needs to find a system that works with a less than perfect Howard. World Peace has looked awful this year, and the Lakers may need to bring in outside talent. But if nothing else, Kobe looks destined to make another run at a scoring title. 

     Carmelo began with a speech to an emotional Garden crowd and seconded that act with a 16-point first quarter. He finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds on the way to a blowout win over the Heat. He was helped by 19 made three-pointers. The Knicks jumped ahead via Carmelo's huge first quarter and coasted from there on the strength of three balls from Kidd, Felton and Novak. The Heat aren't panicking. New York needed this one more for their city and to set a tone for their season.