Until Nov. 25, Blake Griffin had scored at least 10 points in every home game he'd ever played for the Los Angeles Clippers. But against the New Orleans Hornets, he couldn't do anything right. Other than one fast-break dunk, he missed all eight of his shots in 35 minutes of action and fouled out with four points, six rebounds, three assists and four turnovers in a 105-98 loss.

Anderson Varejao has always been known for his defense, hustle and hair. But he's also put up big numbers this season, including a 35-point, 18-rebound line in Cleveland's 114-101 win in Brooklyn on Nov. 13. The performance, which included 16-of-21 shooting, beats out James Harden's first two games for the Houston Rockets, when he totaled 82 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists.

The Charlotte Bobcats came to Oklahoma City as proud owners of a 7-5 record, as many wins as they totalled all of last season. They left with a whimper after one of the worst beatdowns in NBA history. The score was 64-24 at the half and 79-25 early in the third quarter. The Thunder called off the dogs the rest of the way in a 114-69 win, but the 'Cats still suffered their franchise's most lopsided loss.

It easily could have been the biggest mismatch of the season when San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich decided to rest four starters, including stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, for the nationally-televised Nov. 29 game in Miami against the defending champs. (NBA commissioner David Stern was so mad he fined the Spurs $250K.) What transpired, however, was compelling David-vs.-Goliath basketball as San Antonio's backups outhustled the Heat's stars and took a five-point lead into the final two minutes. It took some heroics by LeBron James and Ray Allen for the defending champs to prevail, giving the TNT audience all the drama it could ask for.

When teams assemble great talent, it's reasonable to expect a period of transition while the players learn to mesh. But the Los Angeles Lakers, after adding Dwight Howard and Steve Nash over the summer, have alarmed their fans by starting 8-8 despite an easy early schedule with 11 home games. Kobe Bryant's excellence has been offset by Pau Gasol's struggles, Howard's free-throw nightmares and Nash's leg injury. Will they get it together in December?

The New York Knicks, a team of great dysfunction last year, could have been broken by the news that star forward Amar'e Stoudemire would miss the early part of the season with a knee injury. Instead, the Knicks surged out of the gate with six straight wins and took an 11-4 record into December. Carmelo Anthony is playing the best all-around basketball of his life, Tyson Chandler is anchoring a feisty defense and Rasheed Wallace is sparking a deep bench. Now the big question is how Stoudemire's return will impact New York's suddenly excellent team chemistry.

The Clippers hoped they were getting the Lamar Odom who helped the Lakers win two titles as a dynamic sixth man, not the Lamar Odom who sulked his way through a disastrous season in Dallas last year. What they've gotten so far is an abomination of a basketball player. Out of shape and seemingly out of interest, Odom, 33, is averaging 1.6 points (on 23.9 percent shooting), 3.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists. Unless he gets his act together, his NBA career could be over soon.
 

LeBron James had 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists during Miami's 97-88 win in Phoenix on Nov. 17 – and that was his worst performance of the season. That speaks to how consistently well LeBron has played as he begins a chase for a fourth MVP and second title. He's averaging 25.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists while shooting 53 percent from the field.  
 

The Washington Wizards thought they'd solved some of their problems by replacing knuckleheads Andray Blatche, JaVale McGee and Nick Young with solid professionals like Emeka Okafor, Nene and Trevor Ariza. Instead, the Wizards lost their first 12 games to start the season, a franchise record. Injuries to Nene and star point guard John Wall are the biggest reasons, but Washington's issues run deeper.

The Memphis Grizzlies have an elite scorer in Rudy Gay, suffocating perimeter defenders in Tony Allen and Mike Conley, and the league's best big-man tandem in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. They also have an underrated coach in Lionel Hollins and a surprisingly deep bench despite losing O.J. Mayo to Dallas. Their 12-2 record includes impressive wins over the Heat, Knicks, Thunder and Lakers.