Co-MVPs?

About a month and a half ago, with the much-hyped Miami Heat side struggling to live up to their expectations, I posed a question for the team's top two stars on my NBA-India article: Which one of LeBron and Wade was going to bite the bullet and become the sidekick? After an 8-7 start, I felt Miami needed a clear Jordan and a clear Pippen. Bosh was always going to be the third option - it was really between Batman and Batman to figure out which one of them was going to be Robin.

Oh, how things have changed since! Ever since a November 27th loss to the Mavericks, the Heat have gone on an incredible run, winning 21 of their last 22 games. Their only loss came, again, between this streak to the Mavericks again. Except for that one setback, the Heat have been on fire, not only winning but winning by large, double-digits margins, embarrassing opponents, becoming the greatest road-show in the league, and going as far as cornily naming themselves 'The Heatles'. Their last two wins, on the road to the Bucks and to the Blazers, showed a different side to their toughness, as Heat showed that they can hang tough in close games too, winning both the match-ups in overtime.

So what the hell happened? They say it was a magic post-game talk that took place after that Mavericks loss in November. But on court, there was no change in the roles shared by Wade and LeBron. Aptly nicknamed 'The Super-Twins', both of them continued to play at the highest level, neither budging away from the spotlight and neither hogging it. For the first time, two players with almost identical games, both who are arguably the top two players in the league, began playing equally well at the same time.

Simply said, there was no need for a Robin. Wade and LeBron have done the Batman and Batman act to perfection - both defending hard, both hounding the passing lanes, both creating shots for their teammates, both creating shots for themselves, both attacking the rim, both finding ways to win games for their team.

For the first time, the NBA named co-Eastern Conference Players of the Month from the same team when The Super-Twins led Miami to a 15-1 record in December. During this period, Wade averaged 27.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 4.1 apg, and LeBron averaged 25.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 6.8 apg. Their season averages at this point are ridiculously awesome, especially considering that both these numbers are players in the same squad: LeBron getting 25.3, 7.0, 7.2, Wade getting 25.0, 6.6, 4.2.

The arranged marriage of this awesome-twosome was always going to be scary for the rest of the league, but no one (except perhaps for Jeff Van Gundy) expected them to be this good this soon.

Which brings me to wonder... What are the chances that, for the first time ever, the NBA will hand out a co-MVP award. In the history of the NBA, no players have ever shared the MVP award. The only time any of the awards have been shared has been the Rookie of the Year award, won both by Grant Hill and Jason Kidd in 1995 and Elton Brand and Steve Francis in 2000.

A week ago, LeBron came out and said that sharing the spotlight in Miami will mean that neither him or Wade can win the MVP award this year, but I think that this message will only increase their chances. Other candidates like Amar'e Stoudemire, Derrick Rose, Dirk Nowitzki, and Dwight Howard are having nice seasons, but the only reason any of them have a chance to be MVP this year is because LeBron James decided to take his talents to South Beach.

Realistically, it is quite unlikely that this award is going to be split 50/50 between the two - the MVP award is voted for by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters in US and Canada, each of whom chooses their top five MVP options, and for each position, the player receives a certain amount of points. Given the complication of this process, it is improbable that two players will come out with the same score.

But improbably isn't impossible. And if there was ever going to be a chance for two players, from the same team, to win this award, it is going to be now. I guess there is space in the same Gotham City for two Batmen. We will see the true test of their superhero abilities once the playoffs begin.

2010: NBA Team of the Year

2010 is over, and I feel I missed an important window of listing year-end lists, New Year's resolutions, and 2010 best ofs. No worries. With the NBA All Star Game coming up in a little more than a month, I decided to create my own All-Star Team - a team featuring the best NBA players from 2010. It started with an idea of a starting five, and when I realised I was leaving many more important players out, I decided to make a 12-man roster.

Unlike what the NBA does with All-Star voting, I'm not going to divide the players too strictly on their natural position and then choose a team depending on the best fit. These players are chosen for their performance in the last 4 months of the 2009-10 regular season, the first two months of the 2010-11 regular season, but most importantly, on the basis of their performance during the 2010 Playoffs and Finals. The better a player performed at the big stage, the more respect I give him.

So, on to my 2010 Starting Five:

PG: Rajon Rondo: Rondo has been a beast all year and this selection has been indisputable for me. Not only did he dominate all last season, he has begun this year on fire, getting on pace for the highest assists average since the Stockton years. It doesn't hurt that he led an ageing Celtics squad to the NBA Finals and was perhaps one of the top two players in the Playoffs.

SG: Kobe Bryant: Again, no question here. The other best players of the playoffs, the Finals MVP, NBA champion again. Doubt on his regular season performances all you will, Kobe lit it up when necessary in 2010.

SF: LeBron James: Forget about the decision, the ego, Game 5 vs the Celtics, and the fact that he is sharing his success now with Dwyane Wade. LeBron James was once again the best basketball player in the world this year, winning another MVP award, quitting on his Cleveland team, joining the Heat, and helping them become one of the league's best.

PF: Kevin Garnett: Probably my most questionable pick, and I welcome the questions. I have left out a great big player from my starting five to make space for KG, but after his resurrection in the playoffs and his continued dominant play early this season (before the recent injury), he deserves to be a starter in my 2010 team. Forget the statistics, KG got results.

C: Pau Gasol: I could've easily slid Gasol to PF and put Dwight at C, but Gasol plays half his time as center anyways. And damn, he deserves to be starting! Gasol has established himself as the best big man in the league, dominating KG in the Finals, and continuing his good play this season. Coming to India didn't hurt his image, either.

These are the players who will be riding by '010 bench:

C: Dwight Howard: 6th man of the bench. Would've been a starter but I've been harsh on him since that epic conference finals meltdown.
F: Kevin Durant: Led the league in scoring, propelled himself into top-3-in-the-league status.
G: Dwyane Wade: Wade had another good but not great year. Heat failed to go beyond the first round but he played well. Early in the year, he won the All-Star game's MVP, helped the Heat go on a long streak to end the season, and this season has been the team's best player. There, I said it.
F: Amar'e Stoudemire: Amar'e was good in Phoenix, helping an unfavoured side surprise everyone and even get as far as the Western Conference Finals. And now, with the Knicks, Amar'e has been one of the best players this season, even vying for an MVP award.
G: Steve Nash: Another Suns player who had a great last season, although his stock has fallen considerably in the last two months. He dominated the playoffs, especially in the Spurs series.
G: Derrick Rose: Rose has grown into a bonafide superstar this past year, from featuring in the 2010 All Star team to becoming an early MVP candidate for the 2010-11 season.
F: Ron Artest: Yeah, Ron Artest. He's my 12th man. Based on his 2010, I will only be featuring him for occasional awesome defense, buzzer-beating put-backs, and the occasional big performance in the most important game of the year (check NBA Finals, Game 7 for reference).

Honorable Mentions: Paul Pierce, Deron Williams, Jameer Nelson, Lamar Odom, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony.

And my 2010 player of the year? Drumroll... Kobe Bryant. LeBron might have won the regular season MVP and the off-season limelight, but Kobe's consistent performances in the season, the playoffs, and the Finals, all the way up to the championship (despite that awful Game 7) make him the NBA's 2010 hero of the year.

So there, that's my All-2010 squad. Who's in yours?

Winning and Grinning

It doesn't take much time in getting to know me to know that I'm a New York Knicks fan. I tweet about them all the time, I relentlessly read about on Knick box scores, recaps, news, scouting reports, rumours, everything, even ex-Knicks stuff (shout-out to Starbury), most of the basketball gear I own is in Knicks orange-white-blue (Marbury jersey, Knicks T-Shirt, cap, hoodie, even shoes), and the very first NBA game I watched in person was Knicks vs. the Warriors, in the mecca of basketball, the Madison Square Garden, the Knicks' home-court.

Through the good years and the bad years (mostly bad years), I have stuck with them for the past decade, ever since the Allan Houston-Latrell Sprewell-Marcus Camby squad battled their way to the NBA final in 1999. And ever since then, life as a Knick fan has been mostly depressing. After winning 50 and 48 games respectively in the 2000 and 2001 seasons, the Knicks have been a below .500 team, winning 30, 37, 39, 33, 23, 33, 23, 32, 29.

Worse than those dismal win numbers was the dismal management of the team. Knicks became the laughingstock of the league, thanks to failed owners (Scott Layden, Isiah Thomas), under performing coaches (Lenny Wilkens, Herb Williams, Larry Brown, and yes, Isiah Thomas again), a lot of players who were overpaid, underperformed, bad draft picks, bad trades, or plain and simple, sucked - Shandon Anderson, Howard Eisley, Stephon Marbury, Keith Van Horn, Tim Thomas, Jerome James, Michael Sweetney, Jalen Rose, Steve Francis, Penny Hardaway, Renaldo Balkman, Zach Randolph, Larry Hughes, Darko Milicic, and Eddy Curry.

No wonder, despite being a team with passionate fans in a major city, no one could take the Knickerbockers too seriously.

But things have changed this season - I was skeptical of the 2010-11 Knicks roster when I first saw it, something looked incomplete about it. Knicks missed out on the LeBron, Wade, Bosh sweepstakes, and managed to rope in Amar'e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton. They missed out on trading for Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, but traded away their only recent all star (David Lee) for three players who are either injured (Kelenna Azubuike), barely getting any minutes (Anthony Randolph) and didn't impress me, at first (Ronny Turiaf).

But oh, have they made proved me wrong! For the first time in nearly a decade, the Knicks stand 6 games over .500, with a 15-9 record after yesterday's win over the Wizards. They are amongst the hottest teams in the league right now, after having won 12 of their last 13 and currently, on a seven game winning streak. Like 'Clyde' Frazier, Knicks legend and announcer said in one of his famous linguistic alliterations, "The Knicks are winning and grinning"!

Felton is looking like the bargain of the summer, Stoudemire is getting MVP consideration, and rookie Landry Fields, the 39th pick has been the team's surprise glue-guy, and was rewarded for his efforts by being named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in November.

So what went right? Well, a host of things. To start off with the top, Stoudemire has been an absolute beast this season, capitalising on the opportunity to play with old Suns' coach Mike D'Antoni again. He has become the most dominant Knick since Patrick Ewing, and has had a stretch of seven straight games of 30 or more points. Currently averaging 26.1 ppg and 9.1 rpg, Amar'e has become the star that he always wanted to be, the star that the Knicks needed, and an attractive piece for the Knicks to have when other stars consider joining the squad. He is also a true a bonafide MVP candidate in the NBA so far.

There was a lot of talk about the Knicks needing serious point guard help, but Raymond Felton, an off-season free-agent acquisition from the Bobcats, has put that talk to rest. Felton has perfected the pick-and-roll with Stoudemire and has been putting up a career high in scoring (18.3) and assists (8.4). Plus, he has been a steady hand at times of trouble, and shot this clutch, super clutch 3-pointer to win the game against the Raptors a few days ago.

He was supposed to be a piece for the Carmelo trade, but for now, it seems that Danilo Gallinari will remain and Knick and remain shooting the lights out. To be honest, despite averaging a career-high 'Gallo' hasn't been wholly consistent or convincing this season, but there are few better shooters of the 3-ball in the league, and as the youngster gains confidence, he is sure to find his stroke again.

Whether he's starting or coming off the bench, Wilson Chandler remains an enigma and an x-factor for the Knicks team. He is not brilliant in any one thing, but does a host of things well enough to clock big minutes in each game. Chandler has been the team's third-highest scorer and a force on D. No matter what trade comes calling, it is unlikely that the Knicks will let him go.

The surprise addition to the starting lineup has been rookie Landry Fields. Barely known in the draft, Fields, a shooting guard, has become a rock for the Knicks this season. He's averaging an impressive 10.3 ppg and 7.5 rpg, while shooting at a blistering 51.4 % from the field.

Off the bench, the Knicks feature Ronny Turiaf, who I now admit is an important defensive piece to the puzzle, energizer bunny Toney Douglas, Russian giant Timofey Mozgov, who has been underwhelming so far, but carries a lot of potential, Shawne Williams and Bill Walker. With the return of do-it-all shooting guard Azubuike, the Knicks will have another important weapon in their arsenal.

Now, I admit that the Knicks haven't really been challenged by the league's best in the 12 out of 13 run. The 12 wins have come against the Kings, Warriors, Clippers, Bobcats (twice), Pistons, Nets, Hornets, Raptors (twice), Timberwolves, and Wizards. That is one hell of an easy schedule: the only team above .500 in that group were the Hornets, who themselves have been an overachieving surprise so far this season.

But this is when the real test starts. From now until the end of December, the Knicks will face the Nuggets, Celtics, Heat (twice), Thunder, Bulls, and Magic, and their only 'easy' game will come against the Cavaliers. The next week will be especially testing, as the Knicks will host Nuggets, Celtics, and Heat at the MSG.

The Knicks will only be considered a good team if they can get some decent results against these squads. For Amar's push to remain in the MVP race, and maybe for D'Antoni's push to put himself in the Coach of the Year talk, the Knicks have to perform well against the quality teams.

For now though, one thing is for certain, like the Knicks' teams from previous years, this one, if not a great team, has finally pulled away and separated itself from the bad ones. For too many years have I seen my team battle for decency amongst the worst teams in the league. The Knicks will make the playoffs this year, and probably not do much else, but hey, it's all about baby steps, right?

After all, a certain Denver Nugget can't be too far away, can he?

At the Garden: My photos and experiences from Madison Square Garden

Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to attend my first two NBA games at the Madison Square Garden (New York) and Verizon Center (Washington), watching the Knicks host the Warriors and the Wizards host the Raptors.

It was obviously a mind-BLASTING experience... The MSG, home of the Knicks in particular has been my dream. Watching my favourite Knicks squad was a pleasure to say the least - few things in the world can match the excitement of a Knick game, regardless of how well (or unwell) the home squad is performing. I wrong about this experience in my NBA-India article a few weeks ago. It was a close game which the Warriors won by 5 points. After the game, I was also invited to go to the locker rooms and speak to some of the Knick players. I interacted with Knick starters Landry Fields, Danilo Gallinari, and Raymond Felton.

Anyways, enough writing - A picture says a thousand words, so here are some that I clicked from the Knicks game. I will upload my write-up and photos from the Wizards' game another day

Madison Square Garden, pregame



David Lee returns to play the Knicks for the first time!



Game about to tip-off!



Amar'e and David Lee at jump-off



Gallinari at the perimeter...



Amar'e Stoudemire shooting a free-throw



Toney Douglas drives in for a tough lay-up

Vote for your NBA All-Stars!

So here we are again, just a few weeks into the brand new NBA season, and it is already time for the greatest fan participation event of the year to begin. The one event that really gives NBA fans access into watching who they want to see play. The one event that has seen Tracy McGrady's value soar higher than it has in half a decade. Yes, boys and girls, I'm talking about the NBA All Star Game.

The 2011 version of the game is still months and months away. The All-Star Game this season will be played at the Staples Center in Los Angles home of the Lakers (and another team, which also has a similar stationary-sounding name to Staples. Oh yeah, Clippers). Well anyways, just like everywhere, the NBA is allowing fans to vote in this year's ballot. If you haven't ever done this before, its about time you join the club. From now until January 23, you can vote every day for your eastern and western conference starters: two guards, two forwards, and two centers each.

This is where you go to vote.

I've already chosen my starters - I'm known to be notoriously biased in my all-star voting. So I've always picked players depending on who I like, not depending on how they are performing. So this year, the following will be my all-star picks:

Western Conference:

Forward: Ron Artest (LA Lakers)
Forward: Pau Gasol (LA Lakers)
Guard: Baron Davis (LA Clippers)
Guard: Deron Williams (Jazz)
Center: Yao Ming (Rockets)

Eastern Conference:

Forward: Kevin Garnett (Celtics)
Forward: Chris Bosh (Heat)
Guard: Dwyane Wade (Heat)
Guard: Gilbert Arenas (Wizards)
Center: Al Horford (Hawks)

My biggest issue here? The Center position. In the NBA's strictly defined positions, there are barely any centers that I rate very high. That is why Yao Ming makes it to my Western conference list. To be honest, I would have rather chosen Gasol at Center and upgraded someone like Carmelo Anthony as my forward in the West.

Similarly in the East, I would have rather taken Amar'e Stoudemire as Center if he had been listed in that position, but he was named forward.

Anyways, this is my list. Why don't you guys vote for your own and let me know.

My Pre-Season recap, if there's anyone out there to listen...

Please care about the pre-season. Please, pretty please! Look, I even went on NBA.com/India and pleaded its case. It's not not important, okay?

Well, whatever your sentiments may be for the seven or eight exhibition games played by each NBA team before the start of the regular season, you can now hold them until next October. The pre-season has concluded, the real season is only three/four days away, and peace has been restored in the galaxy, somewhat.

Still, the last few weeks haven't passed by without its set of talking points. Here are the stories that stood out from over the last few weeks of pre-season games:

The new technical rule: Be careful the next time you pump your fist in excitment or frown at the referee or raise your eyebrow to emulate The Rock. NBA refs have been given a super ridicolous new technical foul rule that will keep most of the NBA's players worried more about their body language than their defensive assignments. A bunch of critics have already emerged against this new rule and we can hope that Commissioner Stern will ease them up a little.

NBA going to Europe, Mexico, and Outdoors: The NBA continued to try new things in the pre-season, as the Lakers, Knicks, and the Timberwolves headed to Europe to play in Milan, Paris, and London. The Spurs also faced the Clippers in Mexico. And the Suns, in what is starting to look like a yearly tradition, held an outdoor game against the Mavericks.

The Teams playing well...: The Jazz have been on an absoulte tear in the pre-season, going 8-0, and so have the Magic, who have been 7-0. The Magic is no surprise: this is their THIRD STRAIGHT undefeated pre-season, and they're on a 21-0 pre-season streak. Too bad it doesn't count in conference finals games against the Celtics.
The surprise undefeated squad are the Grizzlies, who have also gone 8-0. And there are a few more surprises, because back in the East, the Cleveland Cavs are the third best team, going 6-2. Should anyone be shocked, since this has been the best regular season team over the last two years? They lost, like, just one player, right? Whatshisface whoever?
And then there's the Celtics, who are looking scary efficient, including their bench. They went 7-1. Plus, Shaq is in Boston and all things in life seem to be happy again.

... And the ones dissapointing: The Suns, last year's Western Conference finalists, lost Amar'e, and look in danger of losing their swagger, too. Then again, this is only the pre-season.

New faces making it count: The two leading scorers of the pre-season are both new faces in their squads: Amar'e in New York and LeBron in Miami. It'll be interesting to see how LeBron's scoring will be effected once Wade returns from his injury. Amar'e looks like he'll flourish with D'Antoni again.
The third leading scorer is Monta Ellis... Is this is a sign for a breakout season?

Miami-Orlando cancelled game: The NBA doesn't want LeBron, Dwight, Bosh, or Stan Van Gundy to fall on a slippery floor and hurt themselves (not too sure about Stan, actually). That is why this game was cancelled in Tampa last night. Too bad, it would've been a chance for Magic to protect their super important pre-season winning record against the new-look Heat.

Injury concerns in Miami: Wade went out about three minutes into the Big 3's debut in Miami. And now, it seems Mike Miller's gonna miss a couple of months. This is not my favourite team, but it'll still be sad to see injuries stopping what could otherwise be a historically good squad.

Rookies stepping up: The silent battle for this year's rookie of the year has already begun. Blake Griffin (injured and missed all of last season), John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins are all looking good. Should be a fun race to keep an eye on.

The Carmelo Question: Is he going to New Jersey? No he's going to New York now. No, Chicago is the best fit right now. I think he's happy in Denver.
Too much speculation, too few answers. As of now, Carmelo Anthony is still a Nugget, but things could change as soon as I finish this sentence, really. He seems to have caught the LeBron-Decision bug and look for brighter lights and bigger success. I wonder how the speculation is going to affect his game...

Lockout looming?: Dark clouds in the league ahead. There has been much discussion and debate about the player's salary agreement, and it seems right now that David Stern wants the player's salary to be dropped by a third. Will there be repurcussions? Will there be a lockout? Rajon Rondo is already saving his cash for next year.

But whatever happens next season, happens next season. In three days, the 2010-11 season tips off. I will soon have my season review up, too. Let's get ready for some games that count...

Dwight Howard coming to India!

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Brace yourself, fellow Hoopistanis... the NBA is about to make a BIG presence (in every sense of the word) in India - news has leaked that none other than Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic will be landing in our shores in 10 days.

Howard will be one of the biggest stars to ever come to India - the Magic player is the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year, has been the league's leading rebounder for the past three seasons, is a four-time all star, three-time member of the All-NBA First team, is a Slam Dunk Champion from 2008, and is the self-proclaimed new Superman (although a certain Shaq may have something to say about that!)

This is exciting news for basketball fans in India, as the NBA continues its grand plan to popularise the sport in the country. A big player was promised... and a big player will be delivered... In the shape of the 6 foot 11 'Minotaur', the best Center in the league!

The NBA in India is currently busy with implementing the Bangalore and Ludhiana Mahindra-NBA Challenge programmes - a surprisingly positive response has been seen from hoopsters from both these cities, and also from the Mumbai league that was held a couple of months ago.

Howard (24), was the first pick by the Orlando Magic in the 2004 draft - he joined the NBA straight after high school from the Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. Ever since, he has been one of the league's most dominant players - grabbing rebounds, swatting shots, donning on the 'Superman' cape for the Slam Dunk competitions, and collecting double-doubles like spare change. He has led the Magic to three straight division titles and one conference title, when the Magic went to the NBA Finals in 2009 (only to lose 4-1 to the Lakers).

Howard is traveling around the world this off-season - he has been to China and Taiwan in the past few weeks, conducting clinics, playing pickup basketball and judging dunk contests as a part of promotional tours for the NBA, Amway and Adidas. He heads to Senegal next, and then to India. He will also follow Amar'e Stoudemire's footsteps into Israel this offseason.

The visit brings back memory of Kevin Garnett's adidas-promotion visit in 2006, when he was mobbed by crazed fans everywhere he went (including by yours truly at the Sanksriti School in Delhi!).

Come on over, D12. India is waiting with open arms. Someone find a large pagri to fit his head.

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One Decision, Three Kings, and Trading Places

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I have waiting patiently before finally sitting down to write this. Most of the memorable Free Agent class this summer, dubbed the legendary 'Summer of 2010' have finally found their homes, some old and some new, and set up a whole host of excitement for the 2010-11 NBA season.

Unless a) You have been living under a giant rock, b) You are a monk somewhere in a cave in the Himalayas without internet access, c) You've been distracted too much by the FIFA World Cup and the sound of vuvuzelas has made sure you don't here any news ever again, or d) You're from Bangladesh, you've probably heard that Miami Heat ended up becoming the second-biggest story of the off-season after bringing back Dwyane Wade and signing LeBron James and Chris Bosh to their roster, to assemble perhaps one of the greatest trios to ever land on an NBA team together (on paper, at least). With 'King' James joining the crew, the new Miami roster was introduced as the 'Three Kings' of Miami (or 'Miami Thrice'. Last I checked, only one of them, Wade, has any sort of a crown (or a ring), but hasn't had a whiff of it in four years.

The biggest story of the summer, of course, was of LeBron's shameless self-promotion and attempt to overshadow everything else in the basketball (and otherwise) world by flirting with at least six teams and finally making his cringe-worthy 'Decision' through a one-hour special on ESPN on the 8th of July.

A lot more decisions were made, most of them not as important as LeBron's, but still crucial to the new shaping of the NBA geography. With the NBA Draft having introduced a new crop of future stars and the free agents beginning to settle into their new homes, here is my list of the winners, losers, and those still squatting in purgatory after the Summer of 2010.

The Miami Heat made the biggest splash, but nay, I feel the biggest winner were actually the Chicago Bulls. Yes, they lost out on LeBron, Wade, and Bosh (as did everyone but the Heat), but the Bulls chose to use their cap space to make a ton of smart moves and bolster their squad. Unlike the Heat, the Bulls already had a stable backbone led by former-best-PG-in-the-league Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and talented youngster Taj Gibson. They've since added Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver from the Jazz, and are on the verge of getting their hands on Magic sharp-shooter JJ Redick. The Bulls could end up with a formidable looking and balanced line-up of Rose, Redick, Deng, Boozer, Noah, with Korver, Gibson, etc off the bench. It's my early bold prediction that they will actually be the team to beat next season.

Now, when saying that, I'm assuming that the Bulls do better than all other teams that were ranked higher than them in the playoffs... Let's go through them one by one, shall we.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Oh... Cleveland! The city which had the worst luck, found their saviour in the form of hometown boy LeBron in '03, and after seven rosy-yet-ultimately-unfruitful years, lost him to the Heat in the most unceremonious way possible: Live TV. If only LeBron had been gentler (and more prompt) about his decision, the city wouldn't be reacting in pain as it is now. For now though, I predict a historical downfall for the Cavs, in which they will return to their pre-2003 days as every LeBron fan jumps the bandwagon to become a Heat fan and no one cares about Cleveland any more. Shaq's gonna leave. Big Z has already joined LeBron in Miami. Their best players are going to be Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, and LeBron's replacement, Kyle Lowry. Ouch.

Orlando Magic: Magic get Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson, will lose Redick. Dwight will be the same, so will Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, and Jameer Nelson. Squatting on purgatory.

Atlanta Hawks resigned Joe Johnson, but he's peaked. Josh Smith and Al Horford will improve, the Hawks won't. Purgatory.

It's hard to believe that last season's Eastern Conference Champions Boston Celtics finished fourth in the regular season. Celtics have made a smart move in bringing in Jermaine O'Neal to replace Rasheed Wallace, and their best off-season move definitely was re-signing Ray Allen. But as much as I respect KG, Ray, and Paul Pierce brought last post-season, I feel that the Finals Game 7 was the end of the road for these old cats. Rajon Rondo, on the other hand, is going to be a superstar.

And then there's the Heat. Winners, definitely. No matter how much someone hates the process of how LeBron became a Heater, there is no doubt that now that he's there, he helps elevate them immediately into the NBA elite. Watching LeBron and Wade together in the Dream Team and the All Star Game had everyone's wildest fantasies salivating, but it was hard to imagine them actually playing together, in the same team. Well, here they are, as team-mates, along with all star big man Bosh. Miami will always be Wade's team, and LeBron will benefit from being spectacular while not being entirely responsible, just the way he would like it. The responsibility will fall on Wade, who is no doubt the ultimate winner of the free agency - he got to stay loyal to his team and he was able to coax the league's best player and one of the best men to join him to now attempt another shot at the title. This is the best set of team-mates any of them has ever had, and their chemistry together will be crucial when predicting how they will end up.
I do feel this team has titles in them - they will have a backing squad of Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Udonis Haslem, and I'm hoping a few more, but I don't think that they will see the ring their first season together. It will take some time, but when it happens, it is going to be devastating. Until then, I'm excited just with the possibility of seeing these three go at it together.
And oh, let me not skip LeBron James the winner/loser/most wanted/most hated person in the world right now. LeBron's shameless flirting with the Cavs, Heat, Bulls, Knicks, Nets, and Mavericks had team-owners begging around his arrogant self to join them, and in the end, the world realised that the decision was never about what team LeBron wants to play for, it was about what LeBron can get out of this situation. He turned it into a marketing ploy, broke a million hearts, and in the end, chose the one situation in the Eastern Conference that would make life easiest for him by joining Wade and Bosh. Sure, this classifies as 'wanting to win', but more than that, it classifies as 'not wanting to be his own legend'. Starting from the shambolic end to the Celtic playoff series back in May, the last two months have taken LeBron from being one of the most admired to one of the most hated people in sports right now. How's that for successful self-promotion. His only redemption? Stop acting like a 'Chosen One' and a 'King' (he won't) and quietly stack up NBA Championships (quite possible) like Number 24 out west in LA.

And the other Eastern Conference playoff teams? Bobcats made a few moves but aren't getting anywhere. And does anyone even remember that the Bucks were a game away from the 2nd round?

Raptors are done, Pacers and Pistons are pretty much the same, and the Sixers and Wizards got a couple of exciting rookies but won't be shaking the world any time soon.

Which leaves the Knicks and the Nets, two teams hungry for the LeBron sweepstakes. Knicks made the smart early move and didn't wait for His Royal LeSellOut to sign Amar'e from the Suns. Not the biggest of upgrades, but a force on the block nonetheless. I'm saddened by the loss of my Knick favourite David Lee, but the team received three good players in the form of Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf, and Kelenna Azubuike in return from the Warriors. The addition of Raymond Felton at the point helps to complete a starting five of Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Amar'e, and Randolph, with Azubuike, Turiaf, Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, and newly signed Russian big man Timofey Mozgov off the bench. Not the best team, yes, but definitely a playoff team. The Knicks win.

The Nets, for their efforts, got talented big man Derrick Favors from the draft and replaced LeBron dreams with Travis Outlaw and Jordan Farmar. Yes, losers.

On to the west coast then, which was relatively quieter from the drama. Mavericks made the right moves by re-signing Dirk Nowitzki and also getting Tyson Chandler from the Bobcats. They will be better, but still no Laker-beaters. Nuggets scored with former Knick Al Harrington, but will not be a better team. They should keep their eye out on keeping next year's big free agent Carmelo Anthony happy. Jazz lost Boozer and Korver, but have made up for it somewhat by getting Al Jefferson from the Timberwolves for shits and nickels.

The Suns will have a new-looking roster next season. After losing Amar'e, they signed Hakim Warrick and smartly, signed Hawks/Olympiacos swingman Josh Childress, who could become the underrated signing of the summer. The team is also close to replacing Leonardo Barbosa with Raptor flop Hedo Turkoglo. Steve Nash has given new life to many has-beens before, and I actually believe that Turkoglo, Childress, Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, Frye, Warrick, Robin Lopez, etc will flourish with the star point guard's final season in top-tier relevance.

Blazers stay pretty much the same (but will improve with the return of Oden, if he returns), Spurs stay the same (except for a maybe genius signing), and the Grizzlies wasted a bit too much money on keeping Rudy Gay.

Now, how about the Thunder? The young, exciting team that toppled the Laker ship in the playoffs will be the squad to watch next season. Kevin Durant is a bonafide superstar, finishing as the league leader in scoring and second in MVP voting last season. He also made the anti-LeBron gentlemanly move of the off-season when he quitely extended with his team, giving a clear sign of loyalty to his talented teammates Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and others. By not changing much, the Thunder have improved.

Houston will be better if Yao returns, worse if he does not. Hornets and Chris Paul are going to spend a season (or two) in a lot of pain before Paul eventually gets frustrated and (probably) leaves for the Knicks. Clippers will improve with the play of Blake Griffin, but will still be the Clippers. Warriors should enjoy the improving Stephen Curry, along with David Lee and Monta Ellis. And the Kings will just hope that former ROY Tyreke Evans continues to improve and incorporates talented but troubled rookie DeMarcus Cousins.

Now, where do I start my Minnesota Timberwolves rant, a failure in management that is starting to make Isaiah Thomas' reign with the Knicks look flourishing. David Kahn has made some confusing moves over the past two off-seasons, and has now finished with a roster that refuses to improve. Sure, Jonny Flynn, Kevin Love, new signing Michael Beasley, Corey Brewer, Darko (gulp!), talented rookie Wesley Johnson, and soon-to-be-new-point-guard Luke Ridnour are good players, but the team was supposed to be done with young-maybe-potential-talents by now. Instead, they continue to be where they always were, still giving false hope. They still own the draft rights to Spanish phenon Ricky Rubio, but I'm willing to bet Darko's new 20 million dollar contract that Rubio's never putting on a Minnesota jersey.

But in the end, the real Kings remain the Kings. Not the Sacramento Kings, or the Miami Heat Three Kings. I mean back-to-back NBA Champions, the Lakers. Phil Jackson is back, Derek Fisher is back, Steve Blake was smartly added to this team, and of course, Kobe, Gasol, Artest, Bynum, Odom, etc are still there, still dangerous.

After a lot of noise and shifting and rumours and flirting and talking and moving and all that, the Lakers are still the team to beat, still looking favourites to make it a three-peat.

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The Summer of 2010

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July 1, 2010. 00:01 US Eastern Standard Time. One of the biggest moments in NBA history. While the Mayans civilization, film director Roland Emmerich, and a bunch of other apocalypic nerds would have you believe that 2012 is the end of the world, everyone else (that matters) knows that the end is already here. Or the beginning. Or the most important middle part.

The Summer of 2010. Where Free Agency Happens.

As of the aforementioned hour, some of the biggest names in NBA basketball have become free agents. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Amar'e Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Dirk Nowitzki, etc, etc, etc. It is the time of the year that more than half the NBA teams have saved money for, raised fans expectations for, based their future on. Franchises like the Cavaliers, Heat, Raptors, Suns, Jazz, Hawks, Mavericks, Knicks, Nets, Bulls, Bucks, Timberwolves, Clippers, and many, many more have been waiting anxiously and excitedly for this moment. Many will lose their best players and be forced to start building up from scratch. Many will add the right pieces around their squad to elevate themselves to the next level. Some will strike gold and win the sweepstakes, bringing drastic changes to their roster for success.

The top free agents in the Summer of 2010, from a list on Yahoo! Sports, are:

1. LeBron James
2. Dwyane Wade
3. Chris Bosh
4. Amar'e Stoudemire
5. Dirk Nowitzki
6. Carlos Boozer
7. Joe Johnson
8. David Lee
9. Rudy Gay
10. Paul Pierce
11. Luis Scola
12. Brendan Haywood
13. John Salmons
14. JJ Redick
15. Ray Allen
16. Shaquille O'Neal
17. Udonis Haslem
18. Brad Miller
19. Tyrus Thomas
20. Zydrunas Ilgauskas
21. Matt Barnes
22. Raymond Felton
23. Nate Robinson
24. Mike Miller
25. Anthony Morrow

These are just the top 25!

For the past few years, and particularly over the last season, the shadow of this summer has been hovering over the entire league. From rumours circulating damn near every day to free agents planning secret summits to teams going to great lengths to clear up roster space, there has been no shortage of speculation about this summer. There has been a no-holds-barred approach to player recruiting as well, a process that has included many, many websites, T-shirts, rallies, and the mayor of New York wrong-numbering a young Indian man. Hell, even the leader of the free world aka US president Barack Obama couldn't keep his mind of the issue, adding his own opinion on free agency. Who cares about some spilled oil when LeBron is unrestricted, right?

Speaking of LeBron, he is by far the most important pawn in the game. Wherever LeBron will go, success will follow, except, ironically, if he stays with the Cavs. When the Celtics surprised and beat the Cavs 4-2 in the second round of the playoffs, LeBron James walked off the court amidst mass speculation about his future. Kevin Garnett, who himself suffered through a major dillema when finally demanding a trade away from a Timberwolves team that he had spent his career with, approached LeBron after the closing Game 6 of the series and reminded him his choice: Loyalty vs. Legacy. Does he stay with his hometown team, the one that helped him become a two-time MVP, the team with whom he can become a true legend, or does he leave for greener pastures for success and cement his legacy? LeBron has been linked with the Cavs, Knicks, Bulls, Nets, Heat, and even the Mavs. Wherever he ends up, other stars are sure to follow, except, perhaps the Cavs, who don't have the market, money, or trade value to get other big players. One decision LeBron, the reigning, two time MVP, could cause a techtonic shift of power for the entire league, somehow similar to the shift of power when Shaquille O'Neal went from the Lakers to the Heat, or when Garnett finally shifted from the T-Wolves to the Celtics.

Then there's Wade, my favourite player, and who is only second to LeBron because of his greater age and his injury prone past. Wade is more likely to stay with the Heat and attract other stars like Amar'e, Boozer, or Bosh towards him. The world, including me, would love to see him and LeBron pair up and make the most threatening tandem in the league since the Shaq and Kobe days.

Others, like Bosh, Stoudemire, Boozer, Johnson, David Lee, Rudy Gay, Ray Allen hold the key to the developments of particularly these two, as great players will obviously be tempted to play alongside other great players. Bosh, in particular, seems to be the most important key of them all, and is sure to contribute his loyalties to one of the other stars.

Dark horse candidates like Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce will also be free agents, but unless there are some drastic developments, these two are not expected to leave their respective teams.

For my team, the Knicks, this is a time of great opportunity. They have enough cap money to sign a few big names, but the question is, will they go there? The Knicks have promoted their big stage, their ties with basketball history, their role in NBA history, their fans, their (few) remaining players, and other factors to try and sell themselves, but good players will only come to a bad team if joined by other good players. Until recently (when I heard that the Knicks offered Joe friggin Johnson a max contract), I have been fairly optimistic of the Knicks' chances of coming out of this summer with a much-improved team. I don't want to repeat the long-endured tortures of a Knick fan, but I would like to say this: Dear haters, don't even THINK of juimping on the Knick bandwagon. I haven't suffered for 11 years as a fan to share the space.

Aaah... I'm officially done with the speculation, the talks, the possibilities, the what-ifs, and the maybes. Its July 1, 2010. It's going to be a crazy summer. Let's buckle up and watch what happens...

Keep updated with the free agent breaking news on Yahoo! Sports NBA Free Agent Tracker.

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You can vote for the NBA MVP

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As if letting NBA fans vote for All-Star starters wasn't controversial up enough (see Iverson, Allen or McGrady, Tracy for further proof), the NBA is now going to give one of its 125 Most Valuable Plater (MVP) votes to the fans. The other 124 votes for the MVP are decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States. The one fan vote will be the accumulated vote of all the fans.

Okay, so 1/125 isn't that big a deal when it comes to shaping the MVP award, but its still significant. You can vote for your top five MVP choices at NBA.com/kiamvpfanvote.

The pros: Obviously, more fan involvement, interaction, and as 'Wikinomics' preaches, "When you ask the customers to dance, let them lead!" This would mean that fans would (faintly) believe that there opinion is making a difference in deciding who has been the season's most valuable player.

The cons: It's the friggin MVP award. Not a popularity contest. The All Star Game is the popularity contest, where the game is an exhibition FOR the fans, and thus one can argue that letting the fans decide who they want to see is the right move. The MVP award, on the other hand, is about the one player who has been the most valuable in the entire league, not to the one player who fans like the most. Obviously, there is a great number of fans who would vote sensibly, but you won't find too many hardcore Kobe fans voting LeBron despite the latter deserving the award much more. I don't want to see a billion Yao Ming votes when he is injured or not as many votes for Tim Duncan (because everyone outside of San Antonio seems to hate the Spurs) or not as many votes for Kevin Durant (because despite his brilliance this season, Kobe/LeBron/Iverson/McGrady/Yao etc are a lot more popular than him internationally).

Still, it's only 1 out of 125. That gives like a million of us a collaborated 0.8% chance to determine the 2009-10 MVP. [In Napoleon Dynamite's voice]: "Yesss..."

Now, on to my top five MVP pics. I'm going to make two lists here, one based on sound reasoning and one based on passion. Because you know, if they ARE going to let us vote here, are we not going to let our opinions seep through?

Sound Reasoning

1. LeBron James: Duh... Obviously. LeBron has been the best player in the league and the best player in the best team and is near the scoring leader and has the best stats and may end up having the best PER EVER and he's the most untradeable and the most valuable and you take him out the league or his team and it'll make the biggest difference and damn I hate over-LeBroning of the world. I'm not the LeBron fan that many, many others are, but there is no denying that anyway you define the meaning of MVP, he is it this season. He won it last year and only the infinite improbablity drive can keep him away from doing a back-to-back. But most probably not.

2. Kevin Durant: Damn, the Durantula really sneaked up big on everyone this season, didn't he? I mean, we all knew he was talented, but no one imagined that along with invidual brilliance (he might win the scoring title from LeBron), Durant has also made sure that the awful Thunder of last year have already won more than twice as many games this season, and the young, inexperienced team is easily heading into the playoffs. The most improved team of the year, on the back of one of the best talents in the league. Durant deserves a nod for his efforts all year.

3. Dwyane Wade: Three weeks ago, Kobe would've been number three on this list. But the month of March has been gold for D-Wade and the Heat. He has once again carried an inconsistent and awful team into the playoffs, improving his play off late and making sure that the Heat are now an 8-game winning streak entering the most important period of the year.

4. Kobe Bryant: Can't believe that after the first month of clear-cut domination Kobe has falled to FOURTH on my list. But Lakers are the second best team, he's their most valuable player, and still one of the best talents in the league. Plus, there were all those game-winners that have been leaving us all in awe. Plus, I still think that he will be the last one standing with the championship trophy in June.

5. Steve Nash: The two-time MVP is again having one of his best seasons, and the Suns, who are surprisingly underrated this season, have been playing amazingly under him. Of course, this is an arguable choice because Amar"e has been just as awesome, but i'm gonna go with Stee here.

Passion

1. Wade: Ya, he's my favourite player. And I still believe that he's the one player I'd like to have on my time for any one basketball game anywhere in the world.

2. Chris Bosh: Bosh has been having an all-world season, and although the Raptors dipped in form for a while, he has been able carry them close to a playoff berth with his amazing form.

3. Pau Gasol: Don't laugh. The Spaniard keeps on getting overlooked for his awesomeness, despite being a rock for the Lakers all season. Give Gasol enough touches and Lakers don't lose, it's as simple as that.

4. Amar'e Stoudemire: Amar'e has been a friggin beast all season, but especially after the all star break. He's ignored all the trade rumours and the contract-ending stuff and has just played amazing basketball. He has also helped the poster-making businesses around the world. Just as Anthony Tolliver.

5. Deron Williams: The Jazz are a model of consistency, and no one player has epitomized it more than Deron.

So who will finally win the MVP? Let me know your top fives, and vote here to get your voice heard. The results will be announced at the end of the season.

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