Can you feel the electricity in the air? Are you ready? Have you
prepared for the long haul we call the National Basketball
Association season? Of course not. How could anyone be ready with
this madness we’re faced with?
But yes, sports fans, somewhere between LeBron mania, court
cases, suspensions, the Fab Four, the Big Five and, of course, the
Shaq v. Kobe feud of the century, this is going to be one hell of a
basketball season.
Remember when sports used to be simple? As kids, opening night
was pure, naive excitement: a refreshed energy, die-hard team
loyalty, the quiet whispers to your dad that this could be the
year.
Now, as wiser, more cynical adults, we’re bogged down by
the weight of contract extensions, inter-team bickering and the
constant game of coaching musical chairs.
But if we can get past all that junk, there’s still going
to be plenty of greatness to go around this season, and not only
centered around LeBron James and the mythical yet highly
combustible Lakers.
Sure, the latest case of diarrhea of the mouth between Kobe
Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal has been the greatest to date,
and who doesn’t love gossip as juicy as this? But,
unfortunately, when we get past the finger pointing, all
we’ll be left with is gossip (as for Kobe’s pending
trial, that’s a whole other column).
Then there’s LeBron James, or, I should say: LeBron!
LeBron! And LeBron! So far, all we’ve seen is a lot of cash
and a lot of talk. So the kid drove a Hummer in high school, and we
saw his games on ESPN. Who cares? I don’t. Let’s wait
and see what the kid’s got until we make him out to be the
second coming of Christ.
It’s hard to see past that nonsense, especially since it
has come to the forefront of any thoughts of this season. But if
you can do it, there’s an abundance of fun waiting to be
had.
The UCLA loyalist will certainly find sweet pleasure in the NBA
this season.
Jason Kapono, after all his hype as a Bruin, will be coming off
the bench for the Cavaliers, one of the most scrutinized teams in
the league. Can he successfully make the jump from the collegiate
level and expand his game beyond the spot-up three pointer?
And then there’s legendary coach Larry Brown, former coach
of the Bruins. What will he do with No. 2 draft pick Darko Milicic
and his new team in Detroit?
Even our little guy Earl Watson has been showing vast
improvement, and the Grizzlies could be a sleeper team.
You only need to think of the one-word names to get you
energized: McGrady, Carmelo, Amare, Garnett and Darko.
Giddy like a schoolgirl yet?
If not, there are plenty of great storylines just waiting to be
explored.
Can Alonzo Mourning make it back from liver disease and help the
Nets reach the ultimate glory? Just imagine the look on
‘Zo’s face as his name is announced in the starting
lineup after being sidelined for almost two years. We’ll
definitely watch that on SportsCenter a few hundred times.
Which team of the West’s superior Big Five ““
consisting of the Lakers, Mavericks, Spurs, T-Wolves and, of
course, my beloved Kings ““ will be the first to rise above?
More interestingly, which will be the first to fall behind? Just
the possibility of having five teams that could win over 60 games
makes my heart beat a little faster.
Will Dennis Rodman make a comeback tour, or will any team even
give him the shot? How else will Vince Carter further his
reputation as the most overrated player in the league? Will his
cousin Tracy McGrady finally find someone to help him score? And
when will Grant Hill just face the facts and retire?
Ordered your NBA package yet?
These are the parts of the game that make the next six to eight
months (depending on which team you’re rooting for) so
enticing, and none of it has anything to do with the momentous hype
surrounding the Lakers and LeBron.
Hope you programmed your TiVo, because I sure have.
Can’t go to the market because of a strike,
can’t take the bus because of another strike and everything
is on fire, don’t you love SoCal? E-mail her at
jbach@media.ucla.edu