NBA Mid Season Report

“I don’t like NBA basketball.”

“The NBA is boring.”

“I love lamp.”

Over and over again I have heard these sentiments, and not without merit. A 48 minute professional game can’t compete with the intensity of a 40 minute college game, even if the talent is better. But over the last decade the problem with the NBA, which some may have mistaken as a permanent problem, was a decline in talent. Jordan’s last run with the Bulls may have covered up the decreasing number of championship caliber teams. In the last 9 NBA seasons only a handful of teams have contended: Spurs, Pistons, Lakers, Suns, and the Mavs (I guess). The heat had one good year but the other 8 titles were split by three teams who were either playing each other or handling someone who didn’t have a chance. There were still superstars, but they didn’t have anybody around them, which resulted with one on one games with 8 guys standing around.

That may all be changing this year. Some upstarts are coming out of the woodwork and challanging the established powerhouses. In the West, where perennials San Antonio, Dallas, and Phoenix reign supreme, half way through the season the first seed is the Hornets? I remember when the NBA reorganized and New Orleans was sacrificed to the West. Now some guy named David West has them hanging with the big boys. Also competing for the biggest surprise is the Blazers who, despite losing their franchise draft pick Greg Oden, are winning with a young nucleus of lottery pick talent: Roy, Jack, Aldridge, and Blake (not to mention Green and McRoberts).

For the first time since Shaq left tinsel town the Lakers look like more than Kobe and the guys from Semi-Pro (In theaters Feb. 29). Yes, Kobe’s an ass, but he’s still the best player in the league and I’d rather watch him play for a good team. The Jazz are solid, the Rockets have Yao and McGrittle, and The Nuggets have Melo, A.I, and Camby. Oh yeah, there’s still the Spurs, the best team this decade, the Suns who, born from a marriage of an Italian mustache and a bad Canadian haircut have created some sort of crack fueled perpetual fast break, and the Mavericks who, although I don’t think will ever win a title, are going to be in the mix.

While the West continues to be the deeper conference, the East has developed a few teams to compete against the juggernauts. Never doubt the heart of a champion, and the Pistons look like they found their heart again. They remembered they can play defense, and have a better offense than when they won the Championship.

The Magic have Dwight Howard, who proves both the center art form is still alive and is not obsolete. If anybody doesn’t want a guy that gives you 22 pints and 15 rebounds, please raise your hand, so I can come over and bitch smack you. Howard, who at age 22 is putting up numbers only Wilt Chamberlain has achieved, is a perfect complement to great guard play. Jameer Nelson is a good threat, Rashard Lewis is overpaid but still damn good, and sometime between 2003 (the last time I saw him) and now Hedo Turkoglu learned how to drive.
This season Lebron James has finally started living up to his hype. He was good before, and led his team to the Finals last year, but this year he’s doing it all and is having the closest thing to a triple-double season this side of Big O.

And then there’s the Celtics. In an era of World Series Red Sox and Undefeated Patriots it’s so hard not to hate the Celtics. But I don’t. They have 3 of the top 15-20 players in the league playing to win every night. They don’t care about stats or contract extensions, they just want to win. This hasn’t happened since kids started becoming millionaires on draft day. They play start to finish every game like, well, like a college team.

And that’s what makes basketball exciting: Good players on good teams playing great basketball. As recent as last season there were only 3 or 4 teams I was excited to watch. Now there are at least 10, and it’s only halfway through the season. I love this game!