NBA Watch: Short Season, Big Men

He's the Dark Horse and you know it.

Last week I looked into the teams that are favourites to run away with the NBA title. This week I thought it best to look at the individual players who are tipped to shine during the current NBA season:

LeBron James: Miami's James is always a favourite to shine year after year. This year he's showing how he plays without Dwyane Wade, who many predict will also have a big year. James is averaging almost 30 points a game this season and with his presence on the court, more and more people are taking notice each day.

Kevin Durant: Let's be honest here, I don't know what to write about Durant. The 23 year old is in his fifth season and he's only getting better each day. Durant played a lot of basketball during the recent NBA lockout and it shows. He looks a lot tougher than ever before and has added a lot of moves to his arsenal. Durant has started every game of his NBA career and he's averaging 26.3 points this year; he's the best all-round player in the league after James.

Derrick Rose: The Chicago Bulls finally have a good team; their last championship winning side featured Michael Jordan. Rose looks to be the focal point of the Bulls' side and on his day, the reigning league MVP can destroy any defence in the league. Chicago will be looking to continue last year's exquisite run and I will not be surprised if Rose is battling it out for another MVP trophy.

Dwyane Wade: It's often been taken for granted that a great NBA team has three big-name players as their focal point. In Miami's case, part two of their 'big three' features Dwyane Wade. James and Wade can put on a show that you won't get to see elsewhere. Wade is averaging 20 points this season and Miami fans will be hoping he keeps this form.

Russell Westbrook: The Oklahoma City point guard is a player you'd love to hate. Westbrook is lighting up the league. He's averaging more points per game than Wade, and along with Durant, these two young athletes are the reason why Oklahoma City could be the team that challenges Miami right to the very end. His teammate Kendrick Perkins sees Westbrook as a scoring point guard and he's not selfish, though many fans deem him to be so.

LaMarcus Aldridge: Brandon Roy has retired. Greg Oden is out injured. It seemed to be a lot of gloom for the Portland Trailblazers. Aldridge was the only one standing from Portland's 'big three,' and he has stepped up to the plate. Aldridge is averaging 22.6 points per game, which is the highest he's managed in his career so far. Portland could be on its way to another playoff campaign, and Aldridge will have a huge part to play.

Kobe Bryant: The Los Angeles Lakers guard is another perennial favourite to have a big season. The one thing I have noticed is that he always seems to have an injured hand and yet he has 40 point nights. Bryant is averaging 30.2 points a night yet the Lakers sit eighth in their conference (at the time of writing). I had this huge discussion with a friend of mine who's a self proclaimed "NBA Guru" and he cites Bryant as "a very lucky player," because of the fact that many of Bryant's bad shots are still converted. Whatever happens, Bryant and his Lakers will be challenging once again.

Blake Griffin: Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers is my dark horse for this NBA season. He's got this mean swagger when he plays and his dunk on Kendrick Perkins, which went viral on YouTube, is an example that proves this statement. Griffin has the promise to be the next big star in the league. The Clippers have added Chris Paul to the roster and the man from Oklahoma is on his way to becoming a top NBA player.

It is hard to compile a definitive list of players to watch out for in the NBA every season. There are top players that I've left out that will have good seasons but personally I feel not as good as the players I've listed above.

Originally Written for the Interrobang: http://www.fsu.ca/interrobang_article.asp?storyID=8040&sectionID=4&issueID=195
Image Credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqByFK-wdOBAbW2jUeGtyRJqEcAlax75YrH5yBD4ExFykGdLz5GDyowuRsBg6P2utZ2C6N7r2WyIDjimTmSssGgbLVW9pIZxBGCOuXebSaUQO-zoXWnu7DCrbTYrZdbScju4GPvco9WZd/s1600/blake+griffin+car+dunk3.jpg
Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l10Bo-X0WNM

NBA Watch: Fleshing out the early NBA season

Nowitzki vs Wade, it all begins.

Hey guys, I hope this column will be part of a regular weekly NBA column. I'll give it my best shot and cover the NBA season to the best of my ability, both reviewing and previewing the biggest action from basketball's premier league.

It wasn't long ago that many of us thought that there would be no NBA season. With the lockout and the constant breakdown in negotiations, many basketball fans (including myself) almost came to the conclusion that there would be no season. You could sense the disappointment from many players as they expressed themselves on Twitter. Kobe Bryant was thought to be on his way to China and Italy. Virtus Bologna was an Italian club that was confident in their abilities to land the five-time Larry O'Brien trophy winner. (For those of you who are unaware, the Larry O'Brien trophy is what the NBA Champions get; it's the NBA's version of the Stanley Cup.)

Anyway, all said and done, there was good news for basketball fans as the lockout ended on December 8 and the NBA was to begin on Christmas Day. It wasn't any ordinary beginning; Christmas Day had some pretty big matchups, including a rematch from the last NBA finals, a series that featured Miami and Dallas. Dallas did not have the best of starts as they fell to 0-3 in the space of a few days, a woeful record despite having the likes of Dirk Nowitzki (who was named the Finals MVP at the culmination of the 2010/11 season).

If anyone asks me, and I've had quite the few discussions with several people, the unluckiest team prior to the start of the season as the Portland Trailblazers. The reason why basketball pundits agree is simple: while most teams were building and acquiring their own 'Big Three,' the Trailblazers lost their big three. Greg Oden is still out injured and LaMarcus Aldridge is back to playing, but the biggest blow came when Brandon Roy announced his retirement at the age of 27, due to a degenerative knee condition. It was indeed disheartening for basketball fans around the world, for while the NBA tweeted pictures of the star players in almost every franchise, there would be no such picture for the Trailblazers. Of course, the team has done its best to move on, and after beating both the Lakers and the Clippers, you can sense that there's a swagger going around in Rip City.

This article would not be complete without mentioning the Chris Paul saga. He was running out of contract in New Orleans, and the Hornets preferred to deal him out to teams and get someone in return rather than let him leave for free. Suitors came, suitors went. Trades were agreed to and then nullified by NBA Commissioner David Stern, until the Clippers and the Hornets agreed on a deal on December 14. The saga was over and Paul was on his way to pair up with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, among others.

Basketball isn't as huge as hockey is here in Canada, yet all Canadian eyes are on the Raptors, who haven't really been playing the best basketball. I'd say the exception is Andrea Bargnani, who averages 22.3 points per game at the time of writing. In their game against Indiana on January 13, the Pacers had Danny Granger ejected from the game and were still able to hold out for the win. I guess in the Raptors' defence, they didn't have Bargnani, who was out with a strained left calf.

Originally Written for the Interrobang: http://www.fsu.ca/interrobang_article.asp?storyID=7976&sectionID=4&issueID=193
Image Credit: http://www.sportsbully.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/031.jpg
Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4BOuX92KpY