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Today, the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators (PCTO) expressed concern over specific provisions of the Konektadong Pinoy bill. This priority... read more
Because of the lockout that once threatened to wipe out the entire season, the NBA has compromised to have 66 games for each of the 29 squads. That amounts to 1,914 reasons to say “I love this game” each and every day. However, before the hostilities start, here are a few more reasons to get hyped up about the battles that are forthcoming.
The “Big Three” of last year’s Eastern Conference champions Miami Heat, namely LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh are back and looks to be steadier, calmer and even more confident as they carry with them the painful lessons of their 2-4 loss to the eventual champions, Dallas Mavericks, into this season.
The Heat’s mettle will be tested early on as they open their season with a Finals rematch against the Mavericks. Though the offseason is a lot more low-key than last season’s grandiose presentation of the “Big Three” that talked of championships that proved to be premature and boastful at best, Miami still made several acquisitions that handily might put them over the top this year. These are the defensive specialist, Shane Battier, which gives the Heat even more flexibility on both ends of the floor; and center Eddy Curry, who is expected to shore up Miami’s thin frontcourt.
In contrast, the Mavericks’ offseason have been nothing short of unstable as they have lost several key components of their title-winning squad last year. Dallas watched as free agents, forward Caron Butler and defensive anchor Tyson Chandler, bolted for the Los Angeles Clippers and the New York Knicks, respectively. Spitfire guard JJ Barea has also left for greener pastures as he signed for a more lucrative deal over in Minnesota.
In addition, Dallas also traded away Corey Brewer and Rudy Fernandez. Fear not Dallas fans as the Mavericks quickly plugged all those leaks with the impressive acquisitions of last year’s Sixth Man of the Year, Lamar Odom from the LA Lakers, the high-flyer formerly known as “Vinsanity,” Vince Carter and back-up guard, Delonte West. And oh, have I mentioned that Dallas still boasts of the Finals MVP, Dirk Nowitzki, the ageless Jason Kidd, sharpshooter Jason Terry and Shawn Marion?
Still, there are more questions than there are answers in this offseason of the NBA. However, the biggest of them all is this: where will superstars Chris Paul and Dwight Howard end up? After publicly stating their desires to play somewhere else, the mad rush to land these two has significantly overshadowed all the other things in the NBA. Paul, for now of the New Orleans Hornets who is arguably the best point guard in the league not named Derrick Rose, was nearly traded to the Lakers several days ago, if not for the awkward intervention by the NBA commissioner himself, David Stern, who shot down the three-team deal involving the Lakers, the Hornets and the Houston Rockets because of “basketball reasons.”
Meanwhile, Howard or “Superman” if you will, of the Orlando Magic, arguably the NBA’s last great center, has shared his short list of squads that he would be willing to sign a long-term contract with. These include the Magic, the New Jersey Nets, the Lakers and the Mavericks. It remains to be seen where these two superstars will land, or if ever they do get traded. But one thing is for sure, the headlines each and every day make for drama worthy of Startalk and The Buzz.
Still, the start of the season offers every team an equal shot at glory, a shared goal of a championship in June. But the questions persist:
Will the New York Knicks finally break through with Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and the aforementioned Chandler, without a clear-cut point guard with the departure of the proven champion, Chauncey Billups?
Will the Boston Celtics defy time one more time with their aging superstars, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett?
Can Kobe “The Black Mamba” Bryant summon enough of his venom to carry his Lakers to the promised land even with a bench that was further weakened by the loss of Odom? Or will the Staples Center’s other tenants, the Clippers, finally come out of the Lakers’ shadows and establish themselves as a dominant squad in the NBA with the core of “The Blake Show” Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Butler and Mo Williams.
What will Rose, the reigning league MVP, and the rest of the Chicago Bulls do for an encore, especially after their 62-win season last year and their scintillating run to the Eastern Conference finals where they fell to the Heat?
Will this year’s number one pick, guard Kyrie Irving, make enough of an impact to make the Cleveland Cavaliers relevant again?
Can the San Antonio Spurs find the fountain of youth one more time and erase the memories of their flameout in the Playoffs last year, where they were ousted by the eighth-seed Memphis Grizzlies in the first round?
Will the arrival of much-hyped Spanish guard Ricky Rubio help the Timberwolves gain their place of prominence in the NBA again?
What does the league’s scoring champion, Kevin Durant, have up his sleeve for this season after getting eliminated in the Western Conference finals last year?
Will the Portland Trail Blazers’ luck ever change especially with the early retirement of Brandon Roy and the unsurprising injury suffered yet again by the oft-injured former top pick, center Greg Oden?
All these questions will be provided answers to when the NBA kicks off this December 26. So sit back and relax because this one is going to be a doozy.
By: Jonas Rey N. Panerio
Sports Columnist, iSTORYA.NET
Ed Note: Jonas is also a correspondent of Cebu Daily News for Life/Entertainment/Sports/Motoring
Photo Source: http://blog.eastbay.com/all/sneaker-...unlocked-pt-2/
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