Weather report: Clouds clearing, blue skies ahead.

We've weathered the schedule storm, and the forecast calls for bluer skies.

No, this is not another unfounded-optimism post. Check it out:

So far, we're 9-5 despite the fact that we've played the second highest % of road games in the entire league, after Portland. And 9 of our 14 games were against likely playoff teams. Not an easy schedule, and if it weren't for lapses on the road in Portland (fluke shot) and San Antonio (offensive narcolepsy), we could just as easily be sitting at 11-3 right now.

Not too shabby, considering the tough schedule.

Things even out a lot over the rest of NOV and DEC, with 10 out of 19 games at home and only of the 3 road games against playoff-caliber opponents. Barring a major you-know-what, we should finish out the year somewhere around 20-13 or 21-12. I'll take that.

January will be tough, with 7 out of 15 on the road and about half of the road games against quality opponents.

And THEN we'll see the benefit of this tough opening schedule, as over FEB and MAR we have 16 home games and only 10 on the road, with half of those road games coming against bad teams. Way too early to tell, but if we're playing better team ball at that point (like we were last year during the streak), taking 18-22 of those 26 games is a strong possibility.

April will be a b****, with 5 of 8 games on the road -- but it's a short b****.

All in all, it's been a tough start to the season, with the big three being inconsistent and Alston and Barry being non-existent. Still, not only is the sky not falling, we're actually in very good shape. This brutal opening schedule just made things look a lot worse than they actually are.<BR><BR>