Ira Winderman

One month in and already we've got plenty figured out … or so we thought.

We thought... The Lakers again would be a solid championship challenger, what with Pau Gasol with the team for a full season, Andrew Bynum back from his injury, and Kobe Bryant coming off a marvelous Olympic run.

But we didn't know... That Phil Jackson would inject even greater life and vitality into the process by radically shaking up his rotation, with Lamar Odom now the lifeblood of an energetic and active second unit.

And while the offense is best in the league, the defense is so stout that the average margin of victory has been a staggering 13 points per game.

Even with Tuesday's blip in Indiana, this is a team so solid, that Luke Walton has been reduced to spectator (see below).

We thought... The Celtics would exhale, revel in a championship so long in the making for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and that Paul Pierce would get caught up in his I'm-the-best tour.

But we didn’t know... Hunger apparently doesn't have a 12-month expiration date.

The league's best defensive team? Same as it ever was. Even without James Posey and P.J. Brown, opponents are struggling to reach 90 points.

And it's not exactly the same approach, either. Pierce has claimed the team from Garnett and shown a leadership we weren't sure was possible.

We thought... Age finally would exact a toll on San Antonio. And we felt pretty good about that prediction with Manu Ginobili starting the season on the injured list and Tony Parker joining him one week in.

But we didn’t know... That the Spurs are the NBA cockroaches. They'll never die.

With Ginobili and Parker back, Gregg Popovich's fossils aren't anywhere near extinction.

And thanks to T-Mac's balky knee and New Orleans' uneven start, what do you know? There are the Spurs — the aging, hobbled, vanilla Spurs — pushing for the division lead.

We thought... Rick Carlisle would be a tough fit with the Mavericks, what with his penchant for slowing offenses to crawls.

But we didn’t know... That Carlisle would be a tough fit because he couldn't get Dallas to play at the breakneck pace he desired upon his arrival.

The offense is coming around; Jason Kidd is closer to again being Jason Kidd.

But the notion that Princeton cuts could be woven into the Mavericks fabric? Didn't work. The Mavericks are back to mundane, Dirk-driven sets.

And the questions only continue to grow.

We thought... LeBron James would continue his ascent toward the legends.

But we didn’t know... That James would emerge as arguably the best shooting guard, small forward and — dare we say it, now at 260-pound plus? — power forward in the game.

Is there even an MVP race the rest of the way?

Yes, Cleveland upgraded in the offseason with the addition of Mo Williams. But the biggest upgrade for the Cavaliers? James' growth from man-child into man-man.

Special feature Free agent class of 2010 A look at the many superstars that will be hitting the free agent market. NBCSports.com

We thought... The Knicks might put together a few eight-seconds-or-less thrill shows under Mike D'Antoni, succeed at a greater rate than under Isiah Thomas or Larry Brown.

But we didn’t know... That just when a playoff push was gaining legitimacy, management essentially would pull the plug on '08-09, with a far greater interest in the Summer of '10.

Clearly the desperation by the Clippers to add the guiltless scoring of Zach Randolph and the push by the Warriors to unload Al Harrington left little option for Donnie Walsh but to pull those triggers.

With Randolph and Jamal Crawford, the Knicks stood a far better chance of returning to the playoffs.

Apparently, though, short-term goals don't count.

We thought... That Beijing would represent a revival by Dwyane Wade to something closer to what we saw his first three seasons.

But we didn’t know... That Wade wouldn't give the slightest thought to pacing himself.

For a player who has missed 31 games each of the past two seasons, the greatest challenge figured to be how much would be left in reserve for March and April.

Instead, Wade has pushed to the top of the scoring charts, ahead of LeBron and Kobe, thrusting his body into the paint with seemingly little regard for that surgical knee.

Sure it's brilliant November-December theater. But will there be anything left?