NBA Action Is Fantastic!!!

Finally! I can stop occupying my weeknights with endless games of Madden and re-runs of Fresh Prince. The 2009-2010 NBA season begins tonight. Anticipation is so high for this season that you would think that MJ was coming back.



AGAIN. (Anything is possible)

As I countdown the hours till the first game of the season, there are a few storylines that will be interesting to follow throughout the season.


Back-to-Back in Tinseltown?


The Lakers enter this season as the reigning NBA champs and many have them destined to return to the NBA Finals. The addition of Ron Artest gives them the defensive intensity that many felt the Lakers lacked in previous seasons. With Kobe and Artest taking turns locking down teams top scorers, the only thing stopping this team from a repeat is a lack of focus. We all know that Kobe is like a robot when it comes to focusing on basketball, but I don’t know if the same can be said about the rest of the team. Lamar Odom has been in the pages of more gossip magazines than sports columns with his recent marriage to reality TV star Khloe Kardashian. Artest isn’t necessarily on the straight and narrow path either. He’s already seeing a physiologist and has yet to experience the pressure of Jack Nicholson yelling in his ear for choking under the bright lights of the Staples Center. The Zen master Phil Jackson certainly has his hands full keeping this group focused.

Is Stephen Curry the Real Deal?

I was going to write about rookie phenom Blake Griffin, but he has succumb to the ‘Clippers Curse’ after breaking his kneecap. The next best rookie in my eyes is Stephen Curry. Curry lit up the college scene with his lights out shooting for Davidson for the past two seasons. Now he looks to bring his three-point range to the NBA as a member of the Golden State Warriors. Coach Don Nelson has already awarded him a spot in the starting five. So far he hasn’t shown that he deserves it. He shot just 36% from the field and a dismal 22% from three-point range. Is this just a cold streak or is Stephen Curry the next three-point bust? (Can you say J.J. Redick?)

A Ring for the King

Cavs’ recently acquired Shaquille O’Neal has stated that he is destined to help LeBron James win his first NBA championship. With the Big Diesel holding down the paint and LeBron continuing to be one of the NBA’s elite, perimeter players like Mo Williams, Delonte West and Jamario Moon will be wide open to knock down clutch shots. Sure the highly talented Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic could provide a bump in the road for the Cavs, but the team’s youth should propel them past their Eastern Conference foes. I’m agreeing with Shaq’s prediction on this one. Besides, the city of Cleveland is due for a championship.

Side Notes

•Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas are renewing a beef that initiated over 15 years ago when Thomas spread the rumor that Magic contracted HIV because he was gay. I hope this doesn’t turn into one of those East Coast-West Coast things. LOL

•Good News: Allen Iverson needs 1,1017 points to becomes only the 19th player in NBA history to amass 20,000 points.

Bad News: Seeing as though he is no longer on the Memphis Grizzlies, no one is going to see it happen.

•Not only does my hometown Sixers suck this year, but they have resorted to wearing a hideous jersey. Oh well, at least the Phillies are in the World Series!!!

•Keep checking NBA Spark Notes for the latest news and commentary about the NBA Season.