NBA Halftime

We’re halfway through the most pointless regular season in all of sports so that means it’s none other than the NBA All-Star break.
Thanks god for this breather, because the regular season in the Assoc. is barely bearable. 82 regular season games and half the teams make it to the playoffs. At least with baseball’s marathon only one quarter of the teams play in the postseason. In the NBA, anyone worth caring about is qualified by the middle of March and the last month and half of the season is just a contest to see which wannabe can grab the last spot just to get waxed by the number one seed.
That last paragraph was geared toward to you David Stern.
Alright enough with this soapbox, let’s talk some basketball. First of all, in a dramatic change of fortunes, the two teams leading their respective conferences are, watch out, the Boston Celtics and the New Orleans. Now we kind of knew the Celtics would be pretty decent, but not this good. Good job Danny Aigne, way to bet the farm, that’s what we like to see, put the will to drink and be merry back in the hearts of those Gardeners. Boston is really a nice story though. Three old guys who have all the money and fame but no nothing to show for it finally say they’ve had enough and decide to put personal feelings aside to try to win a championship. Let this be a special thank you from “The Grandeur” to you Mr.’s Pierce, Garnett and Allen; way to be a shining light of teamwork in a dark world of sporting selfishness.
Now to those upstart Hornets. Anyone who can name more than three players on their roster, raise your hand. Its okay, I can’t either. We do know that Chris Paul guy is pretty good though. Some are even arguing the case for him to be MVP, but we’ll need to see more before we hand out that award. And while the Hornets have played great, the question is will they be able to stay there at the end and into the playoffs. After Paul, their best players include guys like David West, Jannero Pargo and Tyson Chandler. Not exactly the cast that causes you to think championship. But they’re young, maybe they just don’t know they aren’t supposed to be this good.
The latest and biggest news happened just this past week with the trade of Shaquielle O’Neal. The Diesel started out his career in Orlando, moved to LA and won some championships and played hissy-fit with Kobe Bryant, moved back to Florida to win another championship with the Heat, lost his motivation and now he’s returned to the west to make the Phoenix Suns instant title challengers. The Suns have always ran great but have suffered in the playoffs when teams slow it down and play physical down low. But the Daddy changes all that. He gives them that big, make that massive, presence in the post and will give them their best shot to win the title they have had.
The other biggest story this year is really the disaster in New York. This is not a job for basketball men but the Humane Society of America to stop the pain all of us are having to experience watching those guys try to be a pro basketball team. Isaiah Thomas is embarrassment to humanity and his players look like 10-year olds fighting over what was a foul or not.
Well, that was fun. Let’s all try to sludge through the last part of the regular season now so we can watch the really fun stuff in April. In the mean time, study up on the Hornets roster so you don’t look like an idiot around the water cooler and continue to participate in your favorite “Isaiah-drives-me-nuts” group.