Since the NBA season is at about the one-quarter mark, it's time to assess what's gone on so far.

MVP
Jason Kidd, New Jersey Nets
Kidd's been the biggest factor in the transformation of the Nets. He's a one-man fast break whose first option is finding the open man. His teammates run hard in the open court and follow the game plan in the half-court offense, knowing that if they are open, Jason delivers the ball when and where they want it. The result is Kidd dishes an average of 10 assists per game, five Nets average double-figure scoring, and the team leads not only the Atlantic Division, but also the Eastern Conference with a 15-7 mark.

	Dr. Jack's All-NBA Team
	All five of these players make major contributions to teams that are among the top winners in the league:
	Center Shaquille O'Neal, Lakers The most dominant big man in the game, averaging 27 points, 12 rebounds, and just under three blocks. He's the hub of the Lakers' half court game, and ranks, along with Vlade Divac, as the best passing center in the league.
	Small forward Peja Stojakovic, Kings Lethal shooter from anywhere on the court, averaging 23 points. Nails big shots in the clutch, and grabs about six boards a game.
	Big forward Tim Duncan, Spurs Scores 24 points a game, leads the league in rebounds (13 per game), is fourth in blocks, and is the focus of the Spurs' offense and defense.
	Point guard Jason Kidd, Nets The spark that ignites the Nets' attack on offense, and their first line of defense.
	Two-guard Kobe Bryant, Lakers The best at both ends of the floor at his position and has developed into the game's top clutch performer.

Top rookie
Jamaal Tinsley, Indiana Pacers
The 27th pick in the 2001 NBA draft (by the Grizzlies; traded to Atlanta, then to Indiana), Tinsley stepped into the Pacers' starting lineup as point guard and hasn't looked back. He plays with the poise of a veteran, has explosive quickness to go along with good decision making (nine assists per game), can defend, rebound and has a nose for the ball that enables him to come up with high-profit steals. He hasn't shot the ball well (10 points per game, 38 percent from the field), but will knock down a clutch 3-pointer when his team needs it. Coach Isiah Thomas says that Tinsley reminds him of himself -- a lofty comparison indeed. I give him the edge over Tony Parker (San Antonio), another surprising point guard, in the early running for Rookie of the Year.

Top coach
Rick Adelman, Sacramento Kings
Forced to start the season without injured All-Star Chris Webber, Adelman plugged Scot Pollard into Webber's spot, worked newly acquired Mike Bibby into his game plan, focused the offense on Peja Stojakovic, and got great help from his bench guys -- especially Hidayet Turkoglu, Bobby Jackson and Lawrence Funderburke. While CWebb was out, the Kings were 15-5. Now that he's back, Adelman starts him with the veteran Vlade Divac and Stojakovic up front and the smooth-functioning tandem of Bibby and Doug Christie in the backcourt. One hardly noticed a difference in the seamless transition. That's coaching, folks!

Most improved
Penny Hardway, Phoenix Suns
Last season, Hardaway played in only four games, and averaged just under 10 points a game. His knee injury was such that I thought he'd never play again. But, thanks to the miracles of modern medical science, Penny is back playing -- logs just under 40 minutes a game, scores over 18 points a game, gives five assists, pulls five rebounds, and ranks third in steals. He is again running freely, making the sharp cuts and direction changes with the ball that were characteristic of his early years in the league. He and Stephon Marbury combine to make the Suns backcourt one of the most feared in the league.

Top defenders
Tim Duncan (inside) and Kobe Bryant (perimeter)
Selecting best defenders is difficult because there are no statistics that indicate how top defenders shut down the players they are matched up against. I go on the assumption that the best individual defenders come from the best defensive teams; then observe closely those teams to find out their key stoppers.

The Lakers are the top defensive team in the league -- first in field goal percentage allowed (.408) and fourth in points allowed (91). All of the starters, as well as the first players off the bench, are good defenders. Bryant is the main stopper at the perimeter and O'Neal patrols the paint effectively. I rate Kobe as the top perimeter stopper because of his tenacity, his foot quickness, his wingspan, and his agility and balance. I've seen him shut down point guards, 2-guards and some small forwards. The closer the game, the greater his commitment to defense.

Duncan is extremely versatile. I've watched him defend players at all positions -- from point guards to centers. He leads the league in rebounds and is fourth in blocked shots. He and David Robinson protect the basket better than any pair of big men in the league, and are greatly responsible for the Spurs' defsne that has limited opponents to a .426 field goal percentage.

Surprise team: Detroit Pistons
The Nets lead the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference with a 15-7 record. Most NBA followers thought they would be improved over last season with the addition of Kidd, although most are surprised to see them in the top spot in both their division and conference. But nobody, I mean nobody, would have expected the Pistons to be where they are ... first place (14-7) in the Central at this point in the season.

New coach Rick Carlisle took over a team that was 32-50 last season. It added Cliff Robinson, Jon Barry and European veteran, Zeljko Rebraca, to its roster. The Pistons also lost Joe Smith, but retained Jerry Stackhouse, second in league scoring, but first in shots attempted; Corliss Williamson, a "tweener" big/small forward; strongman rebounder Ben Wallace, defender Michael Curry, and point guards Chucky Atkins and Dana Barros. It didn't look like the team was going anywhere special with those players.

But Carlisle got his players to become defensive minded and to play a better team game on offense. They play hard, together and accept the roles that have been defined. Stackhouse has led the way in this transformation. His shots per game have decreased from 24 to 17; and he's rebounding, assisting and defending at a much higher level.

Robinson has anchored the interior defense and averages more than 17 points per game; a trimmer Williamson has been high-percentage from the field (.573) and free throw line (81 percent) to get his 12 points per game; and Atkins has taken over the point spot and does a sound job of scoring (12 ppg) and assisting (about 5 per game). Wallace rebounds (11 boards) and leads the league in blocked shots; while Curry just defends hard every game. Williamson, Barry and the 7-foot Rebraca lead the bench corps.

The Pistons don't look like much on paper, but on hardwood, they're a fine-tuned engine.

Most disappointing team: Orlando Magic
A lot of teams don't like the view from where they are at the moment. Include Miami, Philadelphia, Utah, New York and Portland among them. For Miami and Philadelphia, injuries have been the main cause of their problems. The Jazz mainstays, John Stockton and Karl Malone, may be finally showing their ages a tad; the Blazers have had key players in and out of the lineup; and the Knicks missed Marcus Camby for a while, then lost coach Jeff Van Gundy for good.

But the most disappointing team to me has been Orlando -- a team that many picked to win the Eastern Conference. Even when they had all of their players, they never got it together. Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady couldn't find that elusive, seamless level of teamwork that great players must have -- and still hope for, if and when Hill gets back on the floor. Without Hill, TMac tries too hard to fill that void with one-on-one play.

The loss of Bo Outlaw to Phoenix in a questionable trade also hurt. Bo was one of the team's best hustlers and motivators. Then, the additions of veterans Patrick Ewing and Horace Grant haven't had the impact that GM John Gabriel had hoped for.

On the positive side, Mike Miller, who missed action early, has given the team a lift since his return. Pat Garrity joins Miller to provide a dangerous 3-point perimeter threat; and Darrell Armstrong works hard, long and effectively at the point. The team leads the league in scoring (about 104 ppg) and forced turnovers (17 per game).

But the Magic are too loose defensively, allowing an average of 97 points per game. On their current road trip, they have lost 5 of 6, allowing 100 or more points in each. Coach Doc Rivers remains optimistic, although conceding his disappointment in the team's record (12-14). He points to a difficult early-season schedule in which only 10 of the first 26 games have been at home. Playing at home will help, but the Magic must get down to playing consistently tougher defense and get Hill back playing at his best, if they hope to join the top teams in the East.

Hall of Fame coach Dr. Jack Ramsay is an NBA analyst for ESPN.