NBA Watch: Justifying the NBA All-Stars

This is what greatness looks like. NBA All Star Starters 2012

Come the end of February, the NBA will host its 61st All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida. It's the first All-Star Game being held in the Eastern Conference since Atlanta in 2003, and fans and pundits are gearing up for the showpiece event. The starters have already been confirmed and I'm not too surprised by the votes that came in.

Eastern Conference

Derrick Rose: I've said it time and again; Rose looks to be the focal point of the Chicago Bulls. The 23-year-old Chicago native is in his third consecutive All-Star season and I see him maintaining that run for a number of years to come. I'd have been surprised if the reigning league MVP didn't make the NBA All-Star game.

Dwyane Wade: Shooting guard and eight-time NBA All-Star, Wade has been good this season so far, averaging 21 points a game. It's always nice to see players with potential perform. He's making a return from injury and I believe that the injury was a boost for team chemistry.

LeBron James: I'd have been surprised if James wasn't voted into the NBA All-Star game; this guy has been on fire this season. He's an eight-time All-Star, like his teammate Wade, and I'm sure he'll have plenty more. The only thing that bugs James right now is the fact that he's missing an NBA ring.

Carmelo Anthony: To be really honest with you, I haven't heard much about Anthony this season. True, he's averaging 22 points a game, which is great, but most of the news that I've seen out of New York has been concerning Amar'e Stoudemire, so this is great news for the former Denver man. This will be his fifth All-Star appearance and he is surely going to try to make the most of it.

Dwight Howard: Superman Howard is one of the most coveted players in the league. I know the Los Angeles Lakers were eyeing him during the off-season. This will be the sixth straight All-Star appearance for the player, who's won three NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards. Howard has started all but one game in his career, and that is something special. He's definite All-Star material and he proved it by getting the most votes at a little over 1.6 million.

Western Conference

Chris Paul: The transfer saga of the off-season, Paul is doing justice to the faith that the Clippers put in him. An All-Star appearance, his fifth in a row, is justified. Paul might not have the flashiest point per game stat, but at nearly nine assists a game and almost 19 points a game, he's impressive.

Kobe Bryant: Another perennial All-Star, Los Angeles Lakers' main man Bryant somehow always seems to find form every year. A 40-point night with an injured wrist seems to be the order of the day. Bryant is definitely up for a lot of praise once he eventually retires, but before that day comes, I expect more MVP-type performances from the Lakers' lynchpin.

Kevin Durant: What can I say about Durant? It's hard to criticize him because he's been great so far in his short career. You could say that Durant is the face of the Oklahoma City team and their success largely depends on his form. Remember, this is a guy who's started every game he's ever played and he's only 23. Having played in three All-Star games in a row, Durant definitely has many more to come in the future.

Blake Griffin: Big Griffin has been a beast. The Clippers have one of the best young players in the league. His recent monster dunk over Kendrick Perkins went viral, and is only one of the reasons why he is an All-Star. There is a mean swagger to his style of play and his dunking ability is one of the best I have seen in quite a while. One thing is certain; Griffin will have a successful career in basketball's big leagues.

Andrew Bynum: Bynum is another player whom I haven't heard much about this year, probably because most of the news from the Lakers concerns Bryant. Looking at his stats, Bynum is averaging 17.1 points per game, his best ever. He's polled in over a million votes, so basketball fans are noticing his efforts. This year marks Bynum's first All-Star appearance, so the 24 year old is definitely progressing in the correct direction.

The weekend of February 26 is definitely going to be a big one for basketball fans, given that the league is a truncated one because of the lockout. The rest of the All- Stars will be announced in due time. Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge are amongst my favourites. The NBA website reports that Canadian Steve Nash could make the cut at 38, and I know I would love to see that materialize.

Originally Written for the Interrobang: http://www.fsu.ca/interrobang_article.asp?storyID=8098&sectionID=4&issueID=196
Image Credit: http://www.nba.com/media/hoop/all-star_starters_670.jpg
Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IESl5n54n0A (West)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFt6QNs_6l0 (East)

NBA Watch: Gunning for Glory

Basketball's Biggest Prize?

The NBA season is just over a month old, and I feel it's about time we take a good look at the teams that are favourites to win the title at the end of the season.

Miami Heat: LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade – it doesn't get any bigger than this. The Heat came within inches of winning the title last season but came undone against a resurgent Dallas Mavericks team. James is showing how effective he can be without Wade. The Heat are favourites for another long playoff run and with Mario Chalmers, rookie Norris Cole and Udonis Haslem, chances are high that the Heat will storm their way to an NBA title this time around.

Los Angeles Lakers: Off the court, the Lakers' long-time Head Coach Phil Jackson retired following the end of the last season and he was replaced by former Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach Mike Brown. The Lakers boast two of the biggest men in the league, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, on their roster and they show that they can punish teams inside the paint. Metta World Peace and Matt Barnes have proved that they can shut down any five-star offences. Oh, and a certain Kobe Bryant averaged 43 points per game when the Lakers were up against worthy playoff opposition. After being blanked 4- 0 by Dallas last time around in the conference semi finals, this proud franchise will be out for revenge (and a title) this time around.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Two words: Kevin Durant. Durant had been playing an enormous amount of basketball during the NBA lockout, and it shows. He looks a lot tougher than ever before and has added a lot of moves to his arsenal. In my opinion, he's the best allaround player in the league after James. Also look out for Russell Westbrook, he's lighting up the league and he's a player you'd love to hate.

Chicago Bulls: The Chicago Bulls haven't won an NBA championship since 1998. It seems like a long time ago that Michael Jordan was on the roster of that championship winning team. Fourteen seasons later, the Bulls finally look like they have a title contender. With Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Derrick Rose, the Bulls are tough to beat at home; Rose can destroy any defence in the league, and Deng can shut down anyone from James to Bryant on a given night.

Portland Trailblazers: LaMarcus Aldridge is on quite the run. It's hard to catch him, and he makes scoring look easy. Given the fact that the Blazers lost key man Brandon Roy to premature retirement, this team looked beaten before the start of the season. Gerald Wallace will run, jump, punch and claw his way to productive nights and usually does so every time the Blazers play. Nicolas Batum and Raymond Felton are big-name spare parts, but in all, despite the loss of Brandon Roy, the Blazers look built for a long playoff run.

Outside chances: The Dallas Mavericks, defending champions of the NBA, the Boston Celtics and the Memphis Grizzlies will all make the playoffs comfortably, but I don't see them going on a very long run. The Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs too should make the playoffs. The Spurs lost key man Manu Ginobili to injury and his return is still not finalized.

The games are coming in thick and fast, and I, for one, know it's going to get exciting as the season goes on.

Originally Written for the Interrobang: http://www.fsu.ca/interrobang_article.asp?storyID=7997&sectionID=4&issueID=194
Image Credit:http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID24107/images/Laker-Parade-2010-Celebration-Kobe-82.jpg
Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UekSQkajhsU

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