LET THE GAMES BEGIN! Finally the 2004-2005 season is here, and what pleasant surprises it's already bestowed upon us loyal fans. The Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, and Cleveland Cavaliers were all winless after their first week of play, yet the Toronto Raptors start off the season 3-0, go figure. Dwyane Wade is second in the league in scoring, Andrei Kirilenko is averaging seven blocks a game, Manu Ginobili dunked on seven Lakers at once, and Mo Williams is averaging ten assists a game. You just can't beat the beginning of the NBA season. The only people that can ruin this excitement for me are the ones who keep saying, "If the season ended today, the Bobcats would be in the playoffs!". To which I respond, "Apologize to me for wasting my time!" Now, without further delay, I give you my breakdown of the first week of the NBA season. This week I will break up the column into three categories: 1) MAGIC RECAP, 2) NBA RECAP, and 3) YOU SERIOUS CLARK? The first two are self-explanatory, but the last category will be a virtual potpourri of NBA related categories stemming from that magical question Cousin Eddy asks of Clark Griswold.

MAGIC RECAP
What an exciting opening week for the Orlando Magic ESPECIALLY Steve Francis. The "Franchise" had the winning bucket in each of the first two games (Milwaukee and New Orleans), with under :03 on the clock. The Magic already have a 2-1 record whereas last year they didn't win their second game until December 8th....but we won't talk about that. In those first two games Francis has already shown the ability to do something Tracy McGrady struggled with mightily, hitting the big shot. He layed in the game winner on opening night with 0.2 seconds left, THEN went right back to work the next game, as he rebounded Pat Garrity's miss and layed it in with 2.7 remaining. That's just awful on New Orleans' part, how do you not put a body on Steve Francis? I don't care about the turnovers, I don't care about the shot selection, the guy has that killer instinct and when the game is on the line I want the ball in Francis' hands. Unfortunately there are no 12-point shots, so the Magic couldn't beat Charlotte at the buzzer.

You have to be impressed with the up-tempo style of this Magic team. Watching Mobley, Francis and Hill run the floor is a thing of beauty. Hedo Turkoglu has been shooting it well, and what got into Cato the beginning of that New Orleans game? He was playing like a man possessed. Also, you can feel Magic fans breathing a collective sigh of relief after every game that Grant plays. The first few preseason games we were all glued to his every move, "Uh oh, did you see him land funny? Is he limping?", then "OH NO he slipped on that wet spot, is he okay?" Yes, folks, he is okay and he's working through that rust that tends to pile on you when you haven't played in four years.

All in all an impressive opening week for the Orlando Magic, let's just pretend the Charlotte game never happened.

NBA RECAP
Are the Sacramento Kings really 0-3 to start the season? Has the loss of Vlade Divac hurt them THAT much? Talk about someone that struggles to hit the big shot, Chris Webber, much like T-Mac, will get you those 35 points to keep you in the game, it's that 36th and 37th point to win the game, that they can't get. So it's hard to find fault with a guy that scores that much, however, if they can't hit it when it counts....what good is it? And as much as I want to it's not fair to pin all the blame for the Kings bad start on Greg Ostertag.

Ostertag's old coach Jerry Sloan is smiling as his Jazz are 3-0. I really think someone told Kirilenko that if the opponent scores he won't get paid. He is putting on a defensive clinic, swatting away 21 shots in the first three games. Carlos Boozer is out to prove he's worth the immense sum of money paid to him, however Mehmet Okur is in NO rush to prove that very same thing.

Is anyone rooting for the Lakers? I really think deep down we all hoped Kobe would go 0-82. This is ridiculous for a team to lose every game, but I think we all hoped he would. It's like when we buy that lottery ticket and we're genuinely upset when we don't win, well when the Lakers won that first game, I was crushed.

It only took Paul Silas three games to realize that Drew Gooden is an absolute liability on the floor as he played Drew only 17 minutes in their 102-88 loss to Milwaukee. Drew has been adamant about playing 30 minutes or more in a game, saying he'll provide a double-double every time. Well, in order to be on the floor for 30 minutes you have to make an attempt at stopping your man. Just an attempt! At least be near your guy when he dunks. I know it's early and I really do hope Drew turns it around, because he has all the tools to be the best power forward in the game.

How impressive are the Phoenix Suns? They have youth, speed, and talent. Amare Stoudemire is poised for a breakout season. Steve Nash is one of, if not THE best point guard in the NBA. Shawn Marion is always around the basketball and Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson can flat out score. They are going to be an absolute force to reckon with in the NBA, and now they've signed Bo Outlaw. There is not a better teammate on this planet than Bo. He gives his all every night, he hardly ever makes a mistake and he absolutely loves the game. He was released by Memphis and all of 11 minutes later he was signed by someone else.

YOU SERIOUS CLARK?
Bobby Simmons scored 30 points on opening night for the Los Angeles Clippers, apparently he's all done making "Sweatin' to the Oldies" videos.................oh wait....... that's RICHARD Simmons, WHO IS BOBBY SIMMONS?

Comparing Chris Mihm to Shaquille O'Neal? I understand what they were trying to do, in showing how impressive Mihm's 23 points and 12 rebounds were in his Laker debut. However the only sentence EVER that should have those two names in it should read like this: "It's the Lakers and Heat, Shaquille O'Neal is ready for the jump ball.....has anyone seen Chris Mihm?"

The Toronto Raptors are undefeated? It's the first time in franchise history that they've started the season winning their first three games. I really don't know how to respond to this. I'll keep with the Christmas Vacation theme and say, "If I woke up with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be any more suprised than I am right now".

Finally, did you see the dunk Manu Ginobili had against the L.A. Lakers? He crossed over Jumaine Jones, which some argue I could do, and then picked the ball up in the lane and dunked on the remaining four Lakers, Chris Mihm being the most visible on my wall size poster of the dunk. Manu is fired up after his gold medal in this summer's Olympics and he will emerge as a more than adequate number two option behind Tim Duncan.

Dante welcomes your comments, questions and alternative opinions. E-mail him here.

Dante’s Speak is solely the opinion of Dante Marchitelli and does not reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA. Marchitelli has served as radio producer in the Orlando Magic's Broadcast department for six seasons.