Incoherent NBA Ramblings

Tweet The other night I went to bed at a particularly late time. When you chill with friends this tends to happen and even though it's worth it; you still feel like you will fall asleep as soon as you hit your pillow. Imagine my dismay when I closed my eyes only to be woken up by the vibration of my phone. Usually I would just leave it, but I'm glad I didn't. As my brain processed the words "lockout over", I forgot everything about being tired and was literally smiling for the next 30 hours. What better way to celebrate the end of the exam period than with the NBA? We even got a 66-game season, which is a much better number than 50 (like the 1999 season had) and a WAY better number than 0 (which I had come to peace with). The shorter schedule and less cross-conference games means that some teams (especially in the East) will make the playoffs even though they would not have under an 82-game slate. It also means that some good teams will probably miss out due to coming together too late to make a playoff push. This should make for an interesting season where getting hot at the right time might be enough to win a title. Right now I don't want to get too much into season previews and predictions (you will get a lot of that later). Instead, I will just gloss over some key story lines that everyone will be talking about (which they would have already done if it wasn't for the lockout).

Mike Brown as the Lakers coach - how will he fare? How will Kobe fare without Phil? The only time in his career that he has missed the playoffs was when Phil was not calling the shots on the sidelines. Will the Lakers be able to mount one more title push with this group or will they settle for getting Dwight Howard? This franchise is probably the luckiest out of any in North America. Let's move on.

Carlos Boozer - do the Bulls regret signing him already? They did make the Eastern Conference finals last year, but found out quickly that Boozer may not be a long term solution (too bad they paid him that kind of money). Rose needs more help than Chicago has given him because they are currently in the worst possible spot: pseudo-contenders. They will always be a high seed, but I don't believe they can beat anyone (I also believe that they could make me look like an idiot).

LeBron - did he add anything to his game? Does the sight of J.J. Barea guarding him in the post still give him nightmares? Does he still have all those "mental notes" he bragged about? Does he regret celebrating like he won the title when he won certain non-finals games? I can't wait to hate on the Heat again.

Memphis Rising? Last year, they were one triple-OT game away from setting up a series with Dallas in which both teams could not guard the others' superstar. This year they bring everyone back and add Rudy Gay (who missed out on the playoff run because of a shoulder injury). This team looks very, very scary.

Has Jose Calderon learned to play defense? Has Bargnani toughened up? Has Kleiza learned to play basketball?! Raptors fans want the answers (don't count on any of these). Also, only Raptors fans will be talking about this, but it had to be included.

Can Dallas repeat? I'm going to say that if they re-sign Chandler, then they absolutely can. If they don't, then they have no chance.

Is this San Antonio's last run? Sadly yes. At least the lockout gave their old legs a rest and they can use a shorter season to mount one last run.

That is all I have time for now. Patriots and Eagles reports will be posted tomorrow, along with some other stuff this week. Cheers.