Upon the NBA

With the approach of arguably the two biggest games of the year in terms of anticipation, its time to take the first look into the NBA season thus far. On December 25th, the Pistons and Pacers will get after it for the first time since the throwdown in D-town, and Shaq will return to the Staples Center when he and the Heat face Kobe and the Lakers. These two games should be blockbuster TV, and may give the league a good shot in the arm. The two most (over) hyped stories of the NBA this year will be played out in front of a huge national televison audience.

Don't expect a repeat in Indiana, as both teams will likely be under strict guidelines both from the front office, and the League. However, the Conseco Fieldhouse should be rocking, and players on both sides should be amped. I look for Detroit, who has struggled of late, to pick up the win here. There is a good chance that Indiana will come out fired up, hustling, crashing the boards, shooting the lights out from 3. They will certainly have the fan support that can turn a 5-0 run into a 15-0 run. However, I think that Detroit will have a much more intact team, and that the match-ups will still favor the Pistons. Larry Brown will have his boys ready to play, and I think the defending champs will pull out a close one.

Now onto the second game. Noone should be fooled into thinking that this is a game between the Lakers and the Heat. Sure, there will be players from both teams on the floor on Christmas. But, for all intents and purposes, the uniforms should read "Shaq's Team" , and "Kobe's Team", because that is what this tilt is about. Shaq is coming back to his old stomping grounds, and Kobe is looking to prove that it is his house now. I dont need to get into the history of the situation, as it has been played out endlessly since the end of the NBA Finals in June. This past week, Kobe was all over the television with his Karl Malone saga, his prime-time appearance on Shootaround, PTI...etc. He's trying to pull some emergency image repair, and it comes off as nothing less. Then Shaq was on Monday Night Football with his Corvette/Brick Wall analogy. This is going to be an ego-fest, and it should be faaaantastic to watch. Someone will go for 40+ points. Vlade, Chris Mihm, and Brian Cook are in huge trouble in the paint. Damon Jones better lace his kicks up tight, because he is going to get worked by Kobe. I think this game turns on Dwayne "Flash" Wade. He is a supreme talent in this league, and has high "posterize potential" with his quickness and hops from the guard position. I think he will benefit greatly from Shaq's agenda: 1)Win at all costs 1A) Win big 2) Outplay Kobe 3) Get a bigger ovation in LA than Kobe and 4) Prove to Kobe that Wade is a better wing-man. Look for the Heat to win this one, with both Shaq and Kobe going for ridiculous numbers. The whole country is waiting to see Kobe come off a screen and drive the lane as Shaq closes in to stop penetration. Corvette, meet Brick Wall.

I will speak on the Knicks, the surprising starts of the Sonics and Suns, and the rest of the NBA as I see it in future posts.