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It�s been a bloodbath for coaches here in the opening weeks of the NBA season, with one-fifth of the league�s men in suits getting pink slips thus far, a bizarre display of panic, impatience and paranoia on the part of front offices across the league.

That�s not to say all of the firings were unjust. Philadelphia�s ex, Maurice Cheeks, didn�t do a good job of melding his new star, Elton Brand, into his old defense-and-transition system. Toronto�s Sam Mitchell�who had been on thin ice anyway�also failed to adapt to a new player, Jermaine O�Neal.

But what is the justification for firing Randy Wittman in Minnesota and P.J. Carlesimo in Oklahoma City? They were handed bad teams, and management knew that they were bad teams. They were too young, and the expectation was that they�d take their lumps, keep building through the draft and improve down the road. That�s what rebuilding teams do. Once the season got going, however, that opinion changed�the Wolves and Thunder were apparently supposed to be playoff contenders. They weren�t, so the remedy was simple. Fire the coach.

In Washington, of course, Eddie Jordan fought through injuries to give the franchise four straight playoff appearances, and he was rewarded with a hearty firing once the injuries (to Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood) were too much to overcome. Now, it�s Reggie Theus, who was given a roster on which half the players were 25 or younger, with the added bonus of having two of his top players, Francisco Garcia and Kevin Martin, out for big chunks of the year�Garcia and Martin have played in one game together. But the Kings were losing, so, fire the coach.

The fact that these firings have all come in rapid succession is, in part, coincidence. But there�s a little more to it than that. Around the league, patience is at an all-time low, which could very well be the fault of the league�s best team�Boston. Don�t forget that, at this time two years ago, the Celtics were a miserable bunch, with Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers on the way out and Paul Pierce angling for the door, too. Now they�re the best team in the league and defending champs.

�It�s ludicrous, but I do think that�s a factor,� said one general manager. �The Celtics turned things around so fast that everyone is feeling the pressure to do the same. So you get good people fired. But what do you expect? Not everyone can go and trade for Kevin Garnett. I mean, what was Sacramento expecting? Reggie Theus was learning on the job. You have to give it time. But no one wants to give it time.�

One interesting aspect of all the coaching mayhem has been�stay with me on this tangent here�the economy. There�s been fear about what the nation�s economic troubles will mean for sports, but so far, what we�ve seen on the court has been unaffected. Except when you look at the coaching ranks. It�s still very early in the season, and qualified ex-coaches like Flip Saunders and Avery Johnson (as well as interesting would-be coaches like Mark Jackson) are out there. But every team that has fired its coach has so far said it would stick with its interim coach for the year. Which is a wise thing to do if you�re trying to save a buck.

OK, enough of that. We have a poll to do

1. Boston Celtics (last week�s ranking: 1). Could be on a 19-game winning streak when they go to L.A. on Christmas.

2. Los Angeles Lakers (2). A Kobe slump? He�s shooting just 39.7 percent in his last six games.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (3). Is anyone else a little worried about that bench?

4. Orlando Magic (5). Four wins in five games on their Western swing stamp this team as legit.

5. San Antonio Spurs (9). Fabricio Oberto has played just 31 minutes in the Spurs� last four games.

6. Denver Nuggets (8). Dikembe Mutombo, a Nugget again? Interesting.

7. New Orleans Hornets (6). One steal tonight gives Chris Paul 105 straight games with a steal, which would tie a record.

8. Atlanta Hawks (11). Huge win over Cleveland to start a very important home stretch.

9. Houston Rockets (10). Get the ball to Yao Ming! He�s averaging just 12.7 shots.

10. Portland Trail Blazers (4). Got to keep in mind that this is a young team, and bad stretches are to be expected.

11. Phoenix Suns (14). Mike D�Antoni returned. Then left. Kind of anticlimactic.

12. Dallas Mavericks (7). Last seven games at home show Mavs are good (5-2). Losses to Denver and San Antonio show they�re not that good.

13. Detroit Pistons (13). The real problem: They rank a ho-hum 12th in points allowed, at 96.6 per game.

14. Utah Jazz (15). Andrei Kirilenko, sixth man of the year?

15. Chicago Bulls (17). Tyrus Thomas is awake. They�ve just got to keep him awake.

16. New Jersey Nets (12). Don�t make Vince Carter angry. You won�t like him when he�s angry.

17. Miami Heat (16). Three straight losses, and the last two have been against sub-.500 teams.

18. New York Knicks (21). Allowing 47.7 percent shooting, third-worst in the league. Also allowing 31.7 percent on 3s, third-best in the league.

19. Milwaukee Bucks (20). Aha! A road win. Now that�s a good start.

20. Memphis Grizzlies (23). They�ll miss Antoine Walker. Wait. They have Antoine Walker?

21. Los Angeles Clippers (26). Plop Zach Randolph onto this team and suddenly, it�s dangerous.

22. Philadelphia 76ers (19). Tony DiLeo could retire undefeated.

23. Indiana Pacers (18). The Roy Hibbert Era begins.

24. Toronto Raptors (22). Jay Triano is 2-5 with Dallas at home Wednesday, followed by a six-game road trip.

25. Golden State Warriors (25). Lost in this miserable year has been Andris Biedrins, with 15.4 points and 12.0 rebounds.

26. Charlotte Bobcats (24). The offense is averaging 89.2 points. Yes, that�s for all four quarters.

27. Sacramento Kings (27). If they could have played Minnesota every night, Reggie Theus wouldn�t have been fired.

28. Washington Wizards (28). Allowed 114.7 points per game over their last three, which is especially bad because they scored just 91.7 points per game.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (29). An 0-5 start for Kevin McHale, with Cleveland, Houston and San Antonio up next.

30. Oklahoma City Thunder (30). Got a couple of moral victories in near-upsets at Dallas and San Antonio.

Blog By Sean Deveney - SportingNews

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