BIG: A Eulogy to Shaq's NBA Career

How's this for a (semi) oxymoron: devastatingly hilarious.

After 19 years, Shaquille O'Neal retired from the NBA. The only NBA player, or person alive, or person dead, that I can truly describe to be both - devastating, and hilarious. If I can describe him in two words, it would be those two. Not someone who was so hilarious that it almost destroyed people. Not someone who was so devastating that it was funny. No: Shaq was both those things, separately and together, in one single entity.

I heard the news seven or eight hours later than it was first announced: but this is 2011, and in the world of fast news sharing and even faster reactions, seven or eight hours is a lifetime. There was a newsletter from the NBA in my inbox, but instead of discussing the NBA Finals, the focus was all about a certain announcement by the NBA's biggest personality.

On a 16-second long video posted on Twitter, Shaquille O'Neal of the Celtics, and the Cavs before that, and the Suns before that, and the Heat, and most memorably of the Lakers, and for the Magic, announced his retirement.

The 'twitter retirement' was a surprising whimper in the story of a man who is loud, proud, boisterous, and overly Shaqtastic.

Everything about the career of Shaq has been Big. Not just Big, but BIG. It should be in bold actually. As a matter of fact, here you go: BIG. From his 7 foot 1 inch, 150 kg body to his achievements - his four championship rings, his three Finals MVP awards, his 2000 NBA MVP award, and his 15 All Star appearances. He was BIG when it came to dunking on everyone from Dikembe Mutumbo to Robert Parish, and BIG when he broke backboards on his dunks.

Now, he retires as one of the best Centers ever to play the game - and in all seriousness, I will put him in top 3, somewhere in the league with Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - I'm sorry but I have never been a fan of Chamberlain. Put Shaq in the Chamberlain-era and he would've made averaging 60 and 30 look easy.

But his career to me also leaves a HUGE gaping hole and a list of questions and what-ifs - yes, I know, every player has a what if (what if MJ never left in 93? what if Grant Hill never got injured? what if the Lakers never traded for Kobe as a rookie?), but the Shaq what-if is simpler, and thus, most frustrating.

What if he cared more?

Never in his 19-year-career did Shaq play all 82 games of the regular season. His peak of dominance, where he made every other player in the league look like mincemeat, was far too short for someone with this potential. I know I'm saying this of a player, who with one trade, changed the entire balance scale of the NBA, but Shaq was THAT good. Even after a hall of fame career, I say he could've done more, could've been better. What if Shaq tried to stay in better shape? What if Shaq took the regular season more seriously? What if Shaq worked on his free throws? What if there was never any drama between him and Kobe in LA?

I read an article many years ago about how, based on pure dominance, Shaq is the man who comes closest to being the one person to change the entire shape of a franchise. Only Michael Jordan in the history of every great basketball player may rank higher. And what if Shaq had the hunger MJ had? What if he had 75 percent of that hunger? What if he tried harder and sacrificed more to keep winning. I'm convinced that he would be sitting comfortably on a couple more MVP awards, a couple more rings, and a place in NBA history as perhaps the second-best player in basketball.

Well, it's finally over now, and by most reactions, people are happy Shaq called it a day. From being the league's Most Dominating Ever (MDE) to a mere sideshow who was now more famous for his jokes and his dunks, the end of Shaq's playing career was a little too quiet.

There has been just too much about Shaq, on and off the court, to truly capture in a silly little article. I try to think about how to approach this, but the idea of Shaq, like Shaq itself, is bigger than most other NBA personalities. So I'm going to take a cop-out and list to you the many, many, MANY things that I remember about Shaq. Some you may know, some you may have forgotten, and some may be new to you - I just hope that, by the end of this list, you realise that there will never be a player who was as dominant on court and as awesome off it as Shaq again.

1. I have already mentioned this before, but Shaq broke backboards.

2. In additional to his basketball career, Shaq released four rap albums in the 90s: Shaq Diesel, Shaq Fu: The Return, You Can't Stop the Reign, and Respect.

3. Shaq played for six different teams in his career, and he took THREE of them to the NBA finals - the Magic, the Lakers, and the Heat. He won with Lakers and Heat.

4. Shaq did a legendary song with another BIG - the Notorious B.I.G. - on the classic, "You Can't Stop The Reign" - "7-0, towerin inferno / invincible smooth individual / who wanna test it, foreign or domestic / no matter where you're from, I'm not the one you wanna mess wit".

5. Oh, Shaq was rookie of the year too, with the Magic.

6. Yes, Shaq did movies, of course Shaq did movies. You don't remember the classic Kazaam? Or the unstoppable Steel? What's wrong with you?

7. These were Shaq's statistics in the NBA Finals during the three-peat with the Lakers (2000-2002): 35.9 ppg, 15.2 rpg, 2.9 bpg, and 60 percent shooting. He was Finals MVP all three times.

8. Shaq has been in many music videos too, not including his own. This is very random, but I used to watch a lot of NBA Inside Stuff in the 90s, and they showed the making of a video of a little child- Aaron Carter, younger brother of Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter - of a song called "That's How I beat Shaq". No need to say more. (BTW, one of the worst songs ever). "Hey Aaron, are you for real? / One on one with Shaquille O'Neal?

9. Shaq is the fifth all-time in career scoring, at 28,596 points. He has mentioned several times that he regrets not hitting more free throws and getting higher up this list.

10. Shaq like to nickname himself, over and over again. Here is a short list (believe me, it's short): Diesel, Shaq Fu, Big Daddy, Superman (Yes, children, Shaq came way before Dwight), Big Agave, Big Cactus, Big Shaqtus, Big Galactus, Wilt Chamberneezy, The Big Baryshnikov, Dr. Shaq (after earning his MBA), Big Shamrock, Big Leprechaun, Shaqovic and Big Conductor (because he conducted the Boston Pops orchestra, obviously). He even asked fans to give him a post-retirement nickname, and settled with the 'Big 401K'. Not to mention his most recent nickname which he gave himself during the 'retirement press conference', as The Big AARP (Association for the Advancements of Retired Persons).

11. Don't be fooled by the last few years, in his prime, there was no bigger force of nature than Shaquille O'Neal. In his prime, he was one of the league's best scorers, best rebounders, best shot-blockers, and had developed his own drop-step dunk, of course, nicknamed by him, the 'Black Tornado'. To put it mildly, take Shaq 2000-2003, put him against any player in the history of the league, and NO ONE would be able to stop him. The only defense against Shaq was 'Hack-A-Shaq', aka, fouling him and forcing him to shoot free throws.

12. Shaq has a long-list of other possible work avenues besides basketball. I've already mentioned the movies and the music. In 2010 he undertook a PhD in Leadership and Education with a specialisation in Human Resource Development at Barry University. His dissertation topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles". Humour and Aggression - Laker leadership, anybody? Shaq is an honourary US Deputy Marshall and a Miami Beach reserve officer. He is trained in Mix-Martial Arts - boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. And he's on Reality TV, extremely popular with the Shaq Vs. show.

13. In 2004, when Shaq was traded to Miami, it became the biggest shift of NBA power in recent memory - he immediately made a paper thin Eastern Conference stronger. The only other players to make a big difference in the entire map of the NBA within one year in a new team have been Kevin Garnett (Timberwolves to Celtics in 2007) and LeBron James (Cavs to Heat in 2010).

14. Shaq liked to dance, and we like to watch a behemoth dance like he's Michael Jackson. Out of all of them, my favourite highlights are: 1. Shaq, LeBron, and Dwight Howard having a dance-off at the All Star Game, 2. Shaq dancing with the Jabberwockiez, and 3. Shaq challenging Justin Bieber to a dance-off.

15. Shaq played for six different teams during his career - definitely the most for any player in my 'greatest ever' list: Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns, Cavs, and Celtics. What I liked was how, in every city, he truly embraced its culture and became a complete vocal part of the team.

16. After Kobe lost the 2008 Finals to the Celtics, Shaq went on stage at a club to sing, "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste?"

17. Only three players have won the All Star MVP, NBA MVP, and Finals MVP in the same season. They are: Willis Reed (1970), Michael Jordan (1996 and 1998) and Shaq (2000).

18. No, Shaq didn't play a lot in his last season in Boston, but he entertained fans in another way - posing as a statue in Boston Square, dressing up in drag on Halloween and calling himself 'Shaqueeta'.

19. I'm currently working on my list of top 25 greatest players ever, a list that takes into account a mixture of talent, peak, and overall resume. At this point, Shaq ranks 6th, only below Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, and Tim Duncan.

20. It's fitting that Shaq said his goodbye via twitter. He has more followers than any other player in the NBA (3,888,667 and counting), and ranks 28th in the top list of all twitter accounts. Considering that the existence of Twitter has been parallel to the downfall of Shaq's dominance, it shows how popular Shaq is off-the-court.

But the off-the-court Shaq isn't going anywhere - if anything - he's gonna be present more - analysing NBA games, doing reality shows, making rap albums, saving the world, whatever. It is the on-court Shaq that is done, and his contribution to the NBA will be dearly missed. He is the one and only one: a personality that can be so devastating and so hilarious at the same time.

In a list of top-10 greatest players ever, there can only be 10 players. And 10 out of thousands is a very small number: very rarely will we get a chance say goodbye to someone as dominating as Shaq, but the time is here and now: So goodbye, finally, to the BIG Everything.

The best-paid teams in all sports

A year ago, I wrote about the results of the Global Sports Salaries Survey, a survey conducted by sportingintelligence.com that revealed the world's best paid teams... in all sports. On its way, the survey also went on the reveal the league's with the highest average salary.

A few weeks ago, the results for the 2011 Global Sports Salaries Survey were revealed - and the results are interesting indeed. Some of the top football, basketball, and even cricket teams in the world are represented from league's like Primera Liga (football), NBA (basketball), and IPL (cricket).

Baseball team New York Yankees of the MLB were the world's best paid team last year, but Spanish footballing duo of Barcelona and Real Madrid have since overtaken them for the top spot.

The richest NBA team is the Los Angeles Lakers, who are fourth in the overall list behind Barca, Madrid, and the Yankees - no surprises there, since the Lakers are not only the most popular team worldwide but also two-time champions. What is surprising, though, are the next three basketball teams on the list - Magic (5), Nuggets (9), and Jazz (11) - I would've expected someone else to be ranked higher. The Celtics come in at 15th on the all teams list.

And about our Indian cricket leagues? Well, they seemed to have fallen far behind. Last year, the Royal Challengers Bangalore of the IPL were 12th on the list. This year, they are still the richest IPL team, but have fallen to 26th.

So here is the top 12 for 2011 - a detailed list of the top 200 is available on ESPN-The Magazine website:

1. Barcelona (La Liga)
2. Real Madrid (La Liga)
3. New York Yankees (MLB)
4. Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)
5. Orlando Magic (NBA)
6. Chelsea (EPL)
7. Inter Milan (Serie A)
8. Boston Red Sox (MLB)
9. Denver Nuggets (NBA)
10. Manchester City (EPL)
11. Utah Jazz (NBA)
12. Bayern Munich (Bundesliga)

Any more surprises? Barcelona, the leaders, pay an average annual salary per of $7,910,737 per player. Manchester United, one of the most famous teams in football (real football, soccer football), rank 16th. Liverpool are 20th. The two best NBA teams, in terms of record this season, are 42nd (Bulls) and 43rd (Spurs).

The NBA, who crowd the majority of the top half of the top 200, leads as the league with the highest average salary in the world, which is about an average of $4.79 million per year or $92,199 per week, sportingintelligence.com said.

SportingIntelligence also did a survey of global attendances, to mark the best attended outdoor and indoor leagues in the world. Amongst outdoor sports, the top five are the NFL (American Football - USA), Bundesliga (Football - Germany), AFL (Aussie Rules Football - Australia), EPL (Football - England), and MLB (Baseball - USA). India's IPL comes in at 10th. The NBA continues to be the best attended indoor sports league in the world.

The lesson from all this? Sport pays. And basketball is one of the richest. The IPL has shown that it has the lucrative backing to eke a space for itself amongst the top leagues, even though cricket isn't a worldwide sport like football or basketball is. India is just that crazy a market, and it's another sign that maybe, if basketball is marketed the right way, it could have a positive future in India.

D12 is thrice the best on D

Most people who know my basketball opinions know that I'm somewhat of a Dwight Howard critic. I call him out on his lack of focus during clutch moments and important games. I call him out for not being the best floor leader that he should be for the Magic. I call him out for his lack of polished offensive moves, and for the fact that he just doesn't seem to be taking the competition as seriously as other elite players in the league. For long, I have maintained that the reason the man known as Superman/D12 is the best Center in the league is because there are very few Centers in the league to come in his way.

But now that my qualms about Dwight are out of the way, I can't help but maintain a grudging respect for his accomplishments. The NBA announced yesterday that Dwight Howard was named the 2010/11 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), and in the process, he becomes the first player in the history of the game (!!!) to be named DPOY for three consecutive seasons.

Yes! First. One. Ever. The DPOY award was introduced in 1982-83, and I have a feeling that if it was awarded earlier, a certain Bill Russell would've had his name scratched in every corner of the trophy. Nevertheless, since 83, the league has had several great defensive stalwarts (Sidney Moncrief of the Bucks won the award for the first two years), but none of them won it thrice in a row. Not Moncrief, not Michael Cooper, not Michael Jordan, not Gary Payton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Dennis Rodman, Alonzo Mourning, Ben Wallace, or Kevin Garnett.

Dwight Howard!

The only people who have won the award more times are Mutombo and Ben Wallace, who each were named DPOY four times, but never more than twice in a row. Dwight won easily with 585 points, receiving 114 of the possible 120 first place votes! Kevin Garnett (77) points came second and Tyson Chandler (70) was third.

So congrats to D12 for making history. Despite the criticisms that many (including I) have been guilty of showering on him, he has continued to be the #1 in the NBA at the defensive end of the floor. Dwight led the league with 66 double-doubles this year, including six 20-20 games (!). He ranked second in rebounds and fourth in blocks. The Magic, behind Dwight, were the league's fourth best defensive team.

In a conversation that I had with my older brother just last night, we even came to the conclusion that Dwight may be the least-tradeable player in the league right now. Don't confuse that with "best player". There are few players as good as Derrick Rose, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, or Dwyane Wade, but Dwight stands above all as a unique commodity in a small man's league, bringing with him the type of game-changing potential that few players in the league possess.

Still, without an MVP or a title to his name, Dwight will always have the reputation of being almost there, just not quite. Even in this season, which was Dwight's most valuable for his otherwise inconsistent side, the big man was overshadowed by the brilliance of Derrick Rose in Chicago, who will most-likely be named MVP in a week or so.

Now, Howard needs to back up this honour and save his side from a surprise upset. In Game 1 against the Hawks, Dwight was allowed to create havoc offensively, as he scored 46 points and brought down 19 rebounds. His team-mates, unfortunately, performed a disappearing act that would've made Houdini proud. The current Magic team will never be enough to take D12 over the hump; and I believe that Dwight alone will never be the leader in a sure-shot championship team. But once you find the right type of dominating perimeter leader to team up with Howard, his teams will surely become damn-near unstoppable.

Until then, congrats, Superman. And in his honour, here's the link to my article/interview with Dwight when he came to India last August. Enjoy!

Dear India: NBA Jerseys are coming your way

Remember the days when it was kind of exclusive to own an NBA jersey in India? The days when you saw a friend wearing a jersey and you knew he had either travelled abroad or had an uncle/aunt/cousin/in-law/Chachi-ke-mama-ke-behan-ka-beta somewhere in the first world, who gifted them a precious jersey.

I don't have the stats to prove this, but the most popular jerseys when I was growing up were probably Bulls Jordan #23, Lakers O'Neal #34, Lakers Bryant #8, 76ers Iverson #3, or Magic McGrady #1. Two of my classmates had the most enviable rare ones, who I feel like giving a shout-out here:

1) Jigme Sadutshang, aka James, who owned a Gary Payton (my favourite player of all time), in SuperSonics green #20 - in that old logo - a team and jersey that doesn't exist anymore.
2) Mark Thyle, who owned a Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves #21

I was gifted my first very own authentic NBA jersey when I was 22 (late, I know) from England - it was a Knicks Marbury #3. Yes, I know - but hey, I'm a Knicks fan and wanted to sport their colours somehow. Marbury was one of my favourite players back then - but we all know how that story ended - losses, selfishness, vaseline, China.

But what about India itself - we haven't really had authentic NBA jerseys on sale here. adidas first introduced them last August - selling the Magic Dwight Howard #12 jerseys, to usher in 'Superman's' visit to India. The reaction to the jersey, along with the obvious rise of popularity of NBA in India, has encouraged adidas and the NBA.

So here's the great news: the NBA has announced that, for the first time, jerseys will be available to basketball fans in India at 200 adidas stores across the country, along with lots of other NBA merchandise. This is a great time to make this announcement, as the NBA playoffs are right around the corner.

The initial collection of jerseys will include the four players that, pretty much, will be the most bankable over here: Dwight Howard (Magic #12), Kobe Bryant (Lakers #24), LeBron James (Heat #6), and Kevin Garnett (Celtics #5).

Besides from jerseys, the rest of the line will include stylish and classic apparel, accessories and the latest in footwear, as well as colorful tees, large graphics and youthful designs showcasing top NBA teams such as the Lakers, Bulls, Magic and Celtics. The NBA collection will range from Rs. 999 to Rs. 4,499.

“Basketball is growing rapidly in India and the sport is already quite popular amongst high school and college kids in major metros,” said adidas India Director of Sales and Marketing Tushar Goculdas, “Being a leading sportswear brand and market leader in basketball in India, adidas' endeavor is to promote the game and provide our consumers innovative and exciting sportswear. We are leveraging our exclusive global partnership to bring the NBA closer to fans in India. This season, basketball enthusiasts can enjoy official licensed NBA jerseys of their favorite players and a wide and vibrant range of other NBA merchandise.”

"The NBA and adidas share a long-term commitment to grow basketball globally and are encouraged by the tremendous amount of untapped potential we see in India," said NBA India Senior Director of Development Akash Jain. “NBA fans in India are passionate about their favorite teams and players, and through adidas’ extensive retail network we will make available the largest selection of NBA performance and lifestyle merchandise ever in the country."

Now obviously, I have A LOT to say about this!

First of all - amazing news. I know this is just a modest start with only four players. Howard, Bryant, James, and Garnett. Wow. We'll be seeing a lot more of them around the country soon, worn by fans and players. But the good news is that, as the NBA gets more popular here, we will see more jerseys coming to India. This is my wishlist, which includes a whole lotta Knicks, and a lot of players that you probably won't expect to see here, but who I wish should be seen on the country's basketball courts or adorned by fans walking around the marketplace:

1. Knicks - Stoudemire #1
2. Knicks - Anthony #7 - Come on, admit it, Knicks white, orange, and blue are terrific colours, probably the NBA's best. And once they start improving, watch out for the Knicks bandwagon to get heavier.
3. Heat - Wade #3: Once again, the NBA has disappointed me, promoting LeBron but not Wade. Newsflash, world - Dwyane Wade is as good as (or ALMOST as good as) a player that LeBron James is. And he's definitely more exciting. Show some love, pleeeease.
4. Bulls - Rose #1: Before the Lakers took the mantle, the Bulls, behind Michael Jordan, were by far the most popular basketball team in the planet. Now, they are number one in the East again and their star player is an MVP candidate. This one, I really shouldn't have had to explain.
5. Lakers - Gasol #16: He came to India. He is a 2-time champ. He plays for the most popular team. And he's awesome.
6. Thunder - Durant #35: Newsflash Part 2 - Kevin Durant is a really, really, really good player. But because he doesn't really have the most promotable personality and plays in a system more than as an individual, the NBA hasn't really promoted him the way they have promoted the other superstars. The Thunder are a new team, with rare, colours, and I'm sure it will become the alternative fan's favourite apparel if we can get this jersey here.
7. Clippers - Griffin #32 - Honour to a man who has temporarily made wearing the word 'Clippers' across your chest cool again. Wait, scrap that. It's too risky.
8. Mavericks - Nowitzki #41 - Not that I would buy it, but the Mavs/Dirk are pretty popular.
9. Lakers - Artest #37: There could be many reasons why this is a bad idea. Artest is crazy is probably at the top of the list. But to all those who love defense and their psychiatrist, this is a must have. Perhaps the other reason why this is a risky move is because Ron Ron changes jersey numbers faster than the Knicks' change their roster. Over the course of his career, he has worn 15, 23, 91, 93, 96, and 37.

Others in contention: John Wall (Wizards), Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen (Celtics are popular in India), Chris Paul (Hornets), Steve Nash (Suns), Landry Fields (Knicks).

And my favourite, best, jersey idea? Cavaliers, LeBron James, #23. Ha! Just so you can a) pretend the decision never happened or b) burn it like the folks over in Cleveland.

And for those who are now kind of disappointed that NBA jerseys are now available in India, your jersey isn't rare anymore, and your days of calling on your Chachi-ke-mama-ke-behan-ka-beta are over, take heart and move on to the next level - THROWBACKS! Do some research and go old school. ESPN.com has listed its favourite retro jerseys, which include Moses Malone (Spirit of St. Louis, #13), Rick Barry (San Francisco Warriors #24), Pistol Pete Maravich (Atlanta Hawks #44).

My sights are still set to that Gary Payton Sonics - Jigs, you got a bigger size?

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 vs. Pau Gasol: Battle of the India visitors

You knew this was inevitable, didn't you? After being relatively starved of NBA star-power for years, the world's finest basketball league decided to spoil us this summer. I already feel that August 2010 will go down in NBA India lore as the summer/monsoon season where India took its biggest splurge towards becoming a large NBA market.

In the space of two weeks, All-Star Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard and All-Star Los Angeles Lakers Power Forward/Center Pau Gasol landed in India. Now apart from being recent fans of India, these two players have a lot more in common: they are both big players hovering around the 7 foot range, they are both in successful teams who have been going deep in the playoffs the last few years, and they are both devastatingly talented players.

But the question remains: which one of the NBA's All Star visitors to India is a better player: Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol? The two players faced each in the 2009 NBA Finals where Gasol, Kobe and the Lakers beat the Howard and the Magic 4-1. I'm going to lay down my stats and opinions, and finally my choice.

But first, I must answer the more important question of "What is better?" Is the better player the one with the better statistics? Is the better player the one who wins more? Is it someone who can carry a team better? Is it someone who performs better in tougher circumstances? Is it someone with a bigger worldwide influence?

Maybe it's a combination of all these things. And I'm going to use all of those factors, and then finally determine it through a final determining factor: "If I am starting a new team today, which player would I pick first?"

So here we go...

Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic): 24 years old, 6"11, 120 kg, Center
Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers): 30 years old, 7"0, 113 kg, Power Forward/Center

Basic Individual Statistics: 2009-2010 season - PPG: points per game, RPG: rebounds per game, APG: assists per game, BPG: blocks per game, SPG: steals per game.

Howard: 18.3 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.8 bpg, 0.9 spg
Gasol: 18.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.7 bpg, 0.6 spg

Howard and Gasol averaged the same points per game, despite Gasol being the second option in his team (behind Kobe) whereas Howard being his team's "main man". In his last full season in Memphis before going to the Lakers, Gasol averaged 20.8 ppg. Howard, who is the two-time reigning defensive player of the year, scores better in rebounds and blocks (where he has led the NBA), and other important defensive factors that don't appear on the scoresheet.

The "Real Season", as many believe, actually begins in the playoffs, where the games are much tougher and a player's talents are tested more. Here are the statistics from last season's playoffs for both these players: Gasol played 23 games and went on all the way to win the title, whereas Howard's Magic were knocked out in the Conference Finals after playing 14 games.

Basic Individual Statistics: 2009-2010 Playoffs

Howard: 18.1 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, 3.5 bpg, 0.8 spg
Gasol: 19.6 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.1 bpg, 0.4 spg

Both players improved on their blocks average, but as you can see, there is a sharp rise in Gasol's scoring and a slight fall in Howard's in the playoffs. Howard also became a worse rebounder. Most of these struggles are due to the Celtics Conference Finals series.

Team Success

This is where the intangibles begin - I place a lot of importance on team success to determine a player's value. Dwight Howard, still only 24, joined the Magic as a rookie in 2004. After closely missing the playoffs in his first two seasons, Dwight has led the Magic for four straight years. For the last three years, Magic have been the best team in the Southeast division over the regular season. In 2009, Magic went all the way to the Finals only to lose to the Lakers. In 2010, they lost in the Conference Finals to the Celtics.

Gasol has had a lot more success with his teams. He has been in the NBA for nine years, six of which he spent with the Memphis Grizzlies. The team moved from Vancouver to Memphis in his first season there. In six full season's with the Grizzlies, Gasol saw Playoffs three times, each time to lose out in the first round. To be fair, the Grizzlies were a much inferior team who overachieved every year in a tough conference. But Gasol immediately showed his class after being traded to the Lakers half-way through the 2007-08 season. The Lakers became a world-class team again and made the NBA Finals for three straight years, winning the Championship twice. What is more astonishing is that he Lakers have only lost three straight games once in the Gasol era!

Both Howard and Gasol have had international success with USA and Spain respectively. Howard followed the "disappointment" of a Bronze medal in the 2006 World Championships with a Gold over Gasol's Spanish team at the 2008 Olympics. Gasol's Spain won the 2006 Championships Gold (with Gasol named the MVP of the tournament) and his team won Silver at the 2008 Olympics. In the FIBA European Championships, Gasol and Spain have won Gold (2009), Silver twice (2007, 2003), and Bronze (2001).

Howard never got the opportunity to star in a packed US squad filled with players like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, etc, whereas Gasol has always been the first option for Spain.

More Valuable?

The last few categories may have made the questions of better statistics, better performance under pressure, and more team success, but the question remains: Given the same set of circumstances, which player would perform better? Would the Lakers win even more games if they traded Dwight Howard for Pau Gasol? Would the Magic continue to perform so well consistently if they had Gasol instead of Howard in the middle for them?

Gasol has had the luxury of having one of the NBA's best players in Kobe Bryant, the NBA's best coach in Phil Jackson, and an amazing supporting cast including Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and others backing him. Howard's Magic may not be as star-studded, but they are certainly one of the deepest teams in the League, with talent pouring out of even their 11th and 12th best players. Last season, Dwight was surrounded by players like Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, Adonal Foyle, Jason Williams, Mikael Pietrus, Marcin Gortat, and others. Stan Van Gundy isn't a bad coach, either.

My opinion is this: Gasol wouldn't be able to carry his team as far as Howard does every year. But conversely, I don't think Howard has the ability to carry a team with a different system (like Spain), or be able to play an ideal complementary player to someone like Kobe in LA. The biggest reason for the Lakers' consistent success since the Gasol trade has been the fact that Gasol eases can ease between being a main player to a complementary team player with ease. His shooting and passing make him stand-out in Phil Jackson's system, something that Howard would've struggled with.

The two also have a curious distinction: Howard is a stronger player physically whose biggest drawback may be his mental ability. Gasol is a relatively softer player but has shown championship caliber and toughness - especially against Garnett and the Celtics these last finals. I am actually of the opinion that Gasol should have been named the Finals MVP this time instead of Kobe.

The other major difference is in offence and defence: Gasol is one of the best offensive big men in the league (perhaps second only to Dirk Nowitzki), but has been exposed for his defensive problems in the past. Howard is a two-time defensive player of the year, a monster in the paint on defence, but hardly has any offensive post moves to stand amongst the greats.

There is one other clear advantage Howard has - he is about six years youngster than Gasol, and thus can be potentially a much greater player.

So, who do I pick?

So if it comes down to it today: I'm starting a new NBA franchise, I have no player on my team yet, and can make my first choice between Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol. There is also no guarantee how good my supporting cast will be - it could be LeBron James and Dwyane Wade or it could be Mo Williams and Jamario Moon.

And with my first pick I choose... (drumroll)... Pau Gasol!

He may be older and lacking in some of the raw atletism that Howard is gifted with, but Gasol will guarantee me a competitive team with any kind of roster.

Phew! Do you think I'm right? Or do you think I need to get some more sleep to think clearly? Both of them came to India, but who do you choose for your team - Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol?

Superman Invades India

Dwight Howard asks: Who's the Big Three?

This feature was first published on August 18th, 2010 on SLAM Online

“He is the only Superman to play on the basketball court,” came the introduction, and soon enough the cheering public at the mall in Gurgaon, outside New Delhi, saw Dwight Howard stroll up to the stage with a signature beaming smile. I immediately sensed a potential “Shaq vs.” episode at the “only Superman” statement. The Big Leprechaun was always the only basketball Superman I believed in, but in Dwight, the NBA-starved Indian fans got a chance to meet the next biggest thing. It’s not every day that a devastating two-time Defensive Player of the Year flies down our desi skies.

The relationship between India and the NBA really started to gain momentum four years ago, when the current Basketball Federation of India (BFI) Secretary-general Harish Sharma went into an agreement with the NBA to promote basketball in India. It was around that summer of 2006 that a certain Minnesota Timberwolf, Kevin Garnett, made a low-key visit to the Indian shores. Apart from a few adidas store openings and school appearances, the Big Ticket’s visit went mostly under the radar. After all, this wasn’t China, it was India, where the average person still believed that Michael Jordan invented basketball.

Fast forward four years — KG became a Celtic, became an NBA champion. And NBA kept coming to India. Baron Davis was here, and so was Kyle Korver and Ronny Turiaf for a Basketball Without Borders program. Some legends came too: Dominique Wilkins, AC Green and others.

But it took the Summer of 2010 for the NBA to once again to make its massive presence felt on the Indian shores, and that presence came in the form name of Dwight Howard.

Suddenly, ‘Superman’ became sort of the flavor of the month amongst the basketball circles in India, and for a country full of many, many flavors and masalas, he came in as a hell of a big deal. Dwight was in India from August 10-14, sandwiching his visit here between a couple of visits to East Asian countries like China and Taiwan. Although the popularity of the NBA popularity in India still has a long way to go to match those other countries, it has been growing rapidly in recent years.

When asked what India can do to help the growth of basketball, Dwight had very simple advice: “Just pick up a ball and play. Basketball is such a fun sport — the more people play it, the more they will realize how great it is. Basketball is a very lively sport — it is my sanctuary — I love to put a smile on people’s faces through the game. I encourage people in India to pick it up too because it has the power of bringing people together.”

Over the past few days, Howard has brought his message of the joys of basketball to India, visiting Bangalore and New Delhi in his tour. India is a country that sorely lacks modern sport infrastructure and facilities, but Howard said that this shouldn’t deter young players from working on improving their athletic ability.

“I started playing this game when I was just 3 years old,” he said, “Growing up, I didn’t have the best conditions and facilities around me. And I wasn’t always this tall — I worked at this game every single day to get to this level.”

He added: “Inevitably, the game is more about heart and mental strength.”

Indian players have gotten the reputation of simply not being athletically built enough to survive the toughness of all-world level basketball. This may be true on certain levels, but I feel that we just haven’t developed the right potential into right talent.

In recent years, India’s own talent churning factory has been the state of Chhattisgarh, which has been developing strong, athletic youngsters from tribal villages (sort of like ‘The Air Up There,’ but imagine Kevin Bacon with an Indian accent) into phenomenal basketball players. Similarly, villages in Punjab are filled with giants like the 7-footer Satnam Singh, who, still a few months shy of his 15th birthday, has already been labeled as the country’s “Chosen one.” Raised on buffalo milk and an excess of homemade white butter, these players have been blessed with the right mold, but have no access to the right infrastructure and training to raise their level. India’s most regular hoop culture resides amongst players in the bigger cities like Mumbai and Chennai, yet without the right kind of conditioning and training, they too fade away into obscurity.

Dwight had some sound advice for Indian players hoping to improve their conditioning: The most important thing for Indian players hoping to make the NBA is to keep training all the time. “Train in the offseason, train when you don’t have any games, just keep working every single day to improve. That is the best way to stay in shape.”

Upon his arrival in India at Bangalore on August 10, Dwight soon headed to the Sri Kanteerava Stadium where he turned coach, working with several members of the Indian Senior Men’s team. Players such as Sambhaji Kadam, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Prakash Mishra, Jayaram, Harpal Veghala, Hirendra Singh and Somvir Chahal got an opportunity to get some tips from Howard.

The Indian team, also known as the ‘Young Cagers,’ are currently preparing for the Asian Games, set to be held in China in November. Dwight worked with the team on several drills, screen-and-rolls, and post-up plays. But Howard’s focus remained of defense, as he stressed on the important of defensive positioning to the players.

In Delhi, Dwight visited a mall to tip-off the ‘NBA Jam,’ which is NBA’s “traveling interactive fan event”. A horde of fans followed Howard to the mall to catch a glimpse of their favorite star as he came out, and he didn’t disappoint. The mall was covered with fans in Orlando Magic jerseys and ‘Superman’ t-shirts.

Finally, to rousing cheers of ‘Superman,’ Howard made his way out to greet the eager crowd. “It was my dream to visit India, and I’m very happy that it has been accomplished,” he said.

After some initial words, the floor was opened for the media to question him, and this was where two of my favorite events of the day occurred.

First, a confused Indian journalist, definitely not well-versed with the basketball world, asked Dwight (in Hindi) about his experience of grassroots VOLLEYBALL in India. A few awkward moments of silence later, Dwight was bailed out when Akash Jain (NBA Director, International Development - India) answered the journalist that, yes, the NBA is interested in digging out more sources of grassroots BASKETBALL in the country.

And soon enough, the inevitable happened when a bunch of not-so-well-mannered teenage fans from the back raised their voices for some questions.

“Dwight, how will you defeat the Big Three?”

Without a second’s hesitation, Dwight responded: “Who’s the Big Three?”

I few of us laughed out loud. After some bumbling amongst the kids in the back, another one grabbed the mic and asked: “How are you planning to stop Big Baby?”

Ouch!

Dwight (in a mock heavy voice): “I have no problems stopping him.”

Dwight went on to refuse the kids’ challenge for a one-on-one match-up (again, in a mock voice: “I don’t think you’re ready!”). Later, along with the Troy Justice, the NBA’s Director of Basketball Operations in India, he took the court where he taught shooting and defensive drills to a crowd of eager youngsters. Chants of “We want dunks!” quickly began to rise, and Dwight finally obliged them by slamming one down the basket.

I got a chance to interact with Dwight earlier that morning, where he spoke about his time in India, his work with the national team players, and looking forward to the ‘10-11 NBA season. He stressed how the players here should follow his own training schedule, which went all year round, with or without a game, with or without a season.

He also confessed that his own personal improvement this offseason was going to be more of a mental issue than a physical one. “In one way, I’m always improving, because I’m always growing older,” he said. “With age comes maturity and mental strength which will help me a lot on court. Every team in the NBA has improved this season, and we have to get better too to keep performing well.”

He will have to — and Magic fans will be hoping that his world travels this offseason help in developing the “mental strength” that Dwight talks about. The NBA shrewdly chose a personality like Dwight to come and provide the League as well as the game of basketball some exposure in a large market such as India. His short trip may not have distracted the imaginations of a cricket-crazy country (only the FIFA World Cup managed to do that!), but the interested players and fans got more than they wished for: an experience with a genuine NBA star, and more importantly, good advice on how to improve their own conditioning and take their game to the highest level.

Meanwhile, we in India will be hoping that the efforts of our basketball federation and the NBA can elevate the game to “Number Two” status in the country. It’s considered nonsensical to even discuss overthrowing cricket, so every other sport fights for this glorified silver medal.

As I write this, it also happens to be India’s Independence Day. So Jai Hind, and let’s pray for that Number Two spot.

It's time for Pau in India!

For all those in India STILL craving for an NBA fix, even after the Dwight Howard visit, here is something to excite your senses a little more. The news has been in the air for a while, but now it's official: Following last week's visit by NBA All Star Dwight Howard, basketball excitement is set to continue in India. For the first time, India will be visited by a reigning NBA Champion. Los Angeles Lakers forward/centre Pau Gasol will be visiting Mumbai and New Delhi from August 23-28, and he will be bringning the the Larry O' Brien Championship trophy to India for the first time. Gasol, who is a two-time NBA champion and also the reigning FIBA World Champion with his nation Spain, will conduct clinics at the Mahindra NBA Challenge and host a first-ever Live Fan Chat on NBA.com/india.

“I have always wanted to visit India and I am very excited to represent the Lakers and the NBA in a country where basketball is on the rise,” said Gasol. “As an international player in the NBA, I know how important it is to do my part to grow the game globally and would love to compete against a player from India in the NBA one day.”

Gasol will make appearances with the Larry O’Brien Trophy to take photos with fans in Mumbai and Delhi. This will be the first time that the trophy will be in India. He will also conduct clinics in Mumbai on Aug. 26 for participants of the Mahindra NBA Challenge, the league’s first community-based basketball league in India, which tipped off in Mumbai,Bangalore, and Ludhiana this summer and attracted thousands of participants, including top players from each city.

This past season, the NBA enjoyed its broadest reach ever in India through television and digital technology. To continue this momentum, Gasol will become the first NBA player to host a live fan chat on NBA.com/india during his trip.

Gasol will also conduct an NBA Cares clinic on Aug. 28 in Delhi at Father Angel School in Gautam Nagar, a missionary school that serves underprivileged communities. NBA Cares is the league’s social responsibility platform and these clinics will continue the NBA’s commitment to using the sport of basketball to engage communities and promote healthy, active lifestyles.

“Giving youth in India the unique chance to step onto a court and learn from a reigning two-time NBA champion will inspire more athletes to play the game of basketball,” said NBA President of International Heidi Ueberroth. “Pau is a great ambassador for the NBA and his visit is part of our continued efforts to work with our partners to increase participation in communities throughout India."

“Our goal is to increase basketball participation and improve the level of play in India and we are thrilled that the NBA shares our long term commitment to accomplish these goals,” said BFI Secretary General Harish Sharma.”

“Our collaboration with the NBA has generated a tremendous amount of interest for the sport in India, including the recent visit of All-Star Dwight Howard, and the arrival of NBA world champion Pau Gasol will help popularize the game even further.”

Thank you, NBA, the best way to follow the visit of an All-Star big man is to bring another All-Star big man. It also helps that he's a two time champion and a FIBA world champion. The Lakers are also a far more popular team in India (and everywhere else in world) than the Magic.

I'm not much of a Laker fan myself, but I love Gasol. Yes, yes, Kobe Bryant is one of the best players of our generation, but ever since Gasol was traded to LA from the Memphis Grizzlies, the Lakers have been to THREE STRAIGHT NBA Finals and won twice. Oh, and thad I mention that he's a world champion? With the Turkey Basketball World Championships right around the corner, there is no better time than now to welcome the last championship's brightest star. Too bad he won't be representing Spain this time around.

Also, I know everyone and their mother here will be trying to ask him how it feels to be playing alongside Kobe. I, for one, want to know how it's like partying with Ron Artest.

POW!

Dwight Howard in India: “Basketball brings people together.”

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When asked what India can do to help the growth of basketball, Dwight Howard, Centre for the Orlando Magic, had very simple advice:

“Just pick up a ball and play. Basketball is such a fun sport – the more people play it, the more they will realise how great it is.”

Over the last few days, Howard has been bringing his message of the joys of basketball to India, visiting Bangalore and New Delhi in his tour. India is a country that sorely lacks modern sport infrastructure and facilities, but Howard believes that this shouldn’t deter young players from working on improving their athletic ability.

“I started playing this game when I was just three years old,” Howard said, “Growing up, I didn’t have the best conditions and facilities around me. And I wasn’t always this tall – I worked at this game every single day to get to this level.”

He added: “Inevitably, the game is more about heart and mental strength.”

The player nicknamed ‘Superman’ due to his Slam Dunk competition theatrics said that the most important thing for Indian players hoping to make the NBA is to keep training all the time. “Train in the off-season, train when you don’t have any games, just keep working every single day to improve. That is the best way to stay in shape.”

Upon his arrival in India at Bangalore on August 10th, Howard soon headed to the Sri Kanteerava Stadium where he turned coach, working with several members of the Indian Senior Men’s team. Players such as Sambhaji Kadam, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Prakash Mishra, Jayaram, Harpal Veghala, Hirendra Singh, and Somvir Chahal got an opportunity to get some tips from Howard.

The Indian team, also known as the ‘Young Cagers’, are currently preparing for the Asian Games, set to be held in China in November. He worked with the team on several drills, screen-and-rolls, and post-up plays. But Howard’s focus remained of defence, as he stressed on the important of defensive positioning to the players.

Howard should know – he is the NBA’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, having won the award for the second year in a row. His broad shoulders carry with him several accolades, including four all All-Star, three time All-NBA first team, and most entertainingly, the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Champion.

But there are two moments that he cherishes over all else – the gold medal that he won in the Beijing Olympics while representing the US basketball team, and his appearance in the NBA Finals last year, where the Magic lost 4-1 to the Lakers. “We lost, but people should know how difficult it is to get to the NBA Finals. That accomplishment showed the togetherness and the strong self believe that we all had.”

Howard worked with the Indian team for another day, and also taught some drills to young players taking part in the NBA-Mahindra Challenge in Bangalore. He then came to New Delhi to tip off NBA’s travelling interactive fan event, the NBA Jam, at the Ambience Mall in Gurgaon on August 13th.

A horde of fans followed Howard to the mall to catch a glimpse of their favourite star, and he didn’t disappoint. The mall was covered with fans in Orlando Magic jerseys and ‘Superman’ T-Shirts. A makeshift basketball court was installed in the ground floor of the mall, surrounded by many other hoops, NBA merchandise stalls, video games, and other interactive goodies to present a gala NBA event in India like never before.

Finally, to rousing cheers of ‘Superman’, Howard made his way out to greet the eager crowd. “It was my dream to visit India, and I’m very happy that it has been accomplished,” he said. Howard, whose hometown is Atlanta in the US, says that he felt extremely privileged to go to places such as China and India and continue spreading the message of basketball to people. “I have come a long way, thanks to hard work and the blessing of God,” he said.

“Basketball is a very lively sport – it is my sanctuary – I love to put a smile on people’s faces through the game. I encourage people in India to pick it up too because it has the power of bringing people together.”

Along with the Troy Justice, the NBA’s Director of Basketball Operations in India, Howard took the court where he taught shooting and defensive drills to a crowd of eager youngsters. Chants of “We want dunks!” quickly began to raise, and Howard finally obliged them by slamming one down the basket.

Howard has raised fan interest for the NBA Jam event, which is set to be held in Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai over the next month.

Additionally, this event also marks nearly four years of the relationship between NBA and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). Harish Sharma, the Secretary-General of the BFI, was all praises for Howard. "He's 'Superman' both in his game, but also in his heart," Sharma said, "I hope his visit here encourages NBA to continue investing in their work in India and help us in making basketball the second biggest sport in the country."

Howard’s journey will continue in India for one more day, as he continues to take part in the NBA Jam activities on Saturday. He is slated to make one more visit to China before returning to Orlando for another season of NBA basketball that is slated to begin in the end of October. “We have to continue improving as a team, because every other team in the NBA has become stronger.” He further added that his own personal improvement will be more to do with his mental game. “As I get older and more experienced, I need my game to reflect that experience.”

Until then, he can leave India satisfied, discovering not only that he has eager fans thousands of miles away from home, but that he has been able to get through his simple yet important message across to them: Go out and play!

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Dwight Howard to hold clinics in Bangalore, visit Delhi

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A little over a month ago, Troy Justice, the NBA's director of basketball operations in India, had promised Indian fans that he will be revealing some "big news" soon.

Few expected the "big" part to be this literal. As literal as a 6 foot 11 dominating NBA giant. The news is finally out - Dwight Howard will be coming to India from the 10th-14th of August. NBA-India sent out a release today confirming this news. Howard will be participating in a series of events in Bangalore and Delhi to further the growth of basketball in India.

“The game of basketball has been so good to me and I am excited to go to India on behalf of the NBA,” said Howard. “Basketball is a global game and I love that the NBA is bringing the fun and excitement to fans around the world and introducing young athletes to the sport.”

By the way, in another interview earlier, the player known as 'D12' and 'Superman' had said that "I've always wanted to go because I'm in love with tigers!"

Among his activities in India, Howard will train with India’s Senior Men’s National Basketball Team; conduct coaching and player clinics for Mahindra NBA Challenge participants, the NBA’s first community league in India; launch NBA Jam, an interactive fan basketball event; and attend the launch of the first two NBA shops opening within adidas stores in Bangalore and Delhi.

The players of the Indian Men's National team, the Young Cagers, will have the chance to train with Dwight Howard and learn some moves from him on August 10-11 at the Sri Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore. This will help them prepare for the 16th Asian Games which takes place in China this November.

Howard will also make an appearance during the Mahindra-NBA Challenge in Bangalore, where he will meet participants and conduct basketball clinics for players and coaches on August 11th.

Howard will then come to New Delhi - on August 13th, he will be at the Ambience Mall in Gurgaon to launch the second consecutive NBA Jam, which is a traveling fan event in India that features interactive basketball activities. He will meet fans in Delhi and teach fundamental basketball skills to the youth.

“Dwight is extremely talented and charismatic and his presence at the Mahindra NBA Challenge and all the events will provide great inspiration to young basketball players in India,” said NBA President of International Heidi Ueberroth. “Bringing top players like Dwight to communities in India is an important part of the NBA’s overall efforts to teach the game of basketball and increase participation in the country.”

Howard was the overall No. 1 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft and he led his team to The Finals at the end of the 2008-09 season. He has won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award two seasons in a row and was a member of the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He earned the nickname “Superman” for his performance during the Sprite Slam Dunk contest at NBA All-Star 2008.

Stay tuned - Hoopistani is going to have a lot more material during this BIG visit.

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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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NBA Finals: Celtics, Lakers, History...

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No one expected it at mid-season, and no one in their right mind expected it when the playoffs began. Sure, the Lakers were always the favourites in the West, where the debate contiunally raged on about who would finish at second place. The East was supposed to be the Cleveland LeBrons, um, Cavaliers to lose, and if they did lose it, it was most likely going to be the Magic. Most likely.

I predicted a Cavaliers-Lakers final in February, and I predicted it again when the playoffs began around six weeks ago. The Lakers are here, the LeBrons are back home. Instead, every Laker's favourite (not) opponent the Boston Celtics, after finishing a humble fourth in the Eastern Conference seedings, beat down Wade and the Heat, LeBron and the Cavs, and Dwight Howard and the Magic to surprise everyone and reach the Finals again.

So here we are, looking over the 12th NBA Finals meeting between these two legendary franchises. I almost titled this piece "Celtics and Lakers ARE the NBA", and that wouldn't have been too far off. These two teams have won 32 of the 63 NBA championships between each other, and after this one, it will be 33 of 64. That is about 51.6 percent. They are also the last two champions, Celtics beating the Lakers in 2008, and the Lakers winning over the Magic last year. I'm feeling like its the mid-80s all over again. Bird. Magic. Pierce. Kobe. Garnett. McHale. Gasol. Abdul-Jabbar. etc. etc. etc.

But before I delve into this incredible finals match-up, let's talk about the Conference Finals a little bit. I predicted both the Celtics and Lakers to beat their opponents, and although both the series started to look like potential easy pickings, Magic and the Suns showed enough life to keep things interesting.

When the Magic took on the Celtics, I had a feeling that Celtic Ubuntu was going to be too much on the softer Magic squad. Dwight Howard is a strong player, but he is not a tough player. Celtics easily (more or less) breezed through the first three games, which were mostly a nightmare for Dwight Howard. And for Rashard Lewis (who scored 15 points TOTAL in those three games). And for Vince Carter (those missed free throws in Game 2 will haunt him forever). Jameer Nelson showed some sign of resilience, and under his lead, Magic won the fourth game in overtime, and (with the help of some dodgy refereering) took Game 5 in Orlando. Although Boston looked old and beaten, they were back up to their old tricks in Game 6 and easily closed out the series to become Eastern Conference Champions.

Rondo continued his steller play in this series, but he was helped greatly by an improved Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Pierce, specifically, is looking extremely dangerous and poised to take over the Finals. Rasheed Wallace, Kendrick Perkins, and Glen Davis all did an awesome defensive job on Howard, and Wallace and Davis showed up on the offensive end, too. Plus, when Nate Robinson took over in Game 6, I momentarily lost my sense of reality. Nate friggin Robinson, the Knick sideshow, whose only real success has come in the Summer League and the Slam Dunk Competition, played the best 10-something minutes of his life in Game 6. And all this without my favourite Celtic Kevin Garnett playing a lot more subdued than he did in the Cavs series. The Celtics did it like they always do it - teamwork and hustle.

On to the West now, where the shooting percentages are higher, the scoreboards have more triple figures, and the courtside celebrities look better. Lakers looked great in their first two games against the Suns at home, and the Suns defense was all over the place. In Phoenix, Suns showed great resilience to make an amazing comeback and tie the series 2-2, thanks to Amar'''e, Steve Nash, Grant Hill, and a strong bench. Game 5 was the most exciting one of them all, as a fury of amazing plays from Nash brought the Suns back from a huge deficit to tie the game in the end, only to lose out to a tip in by... Ron Artest. The biggest shot of Ron Ron's career gave Lakers a crucial 3-2 lead. In the closing Game 6, Kobe, Ron Ron and the rest of the Lakers did their thing to hold the Suns' comeback and make it back to their THIRD STRAIGHT Finals.

And oh, I nearly went a whole paragraph without mentioning Kobe. 'Mamba' was amazing all series, scoring a shade below 34 ppg, and getting near triple-doubles on several occasions. Most importantly, he was clutch in nearly every win for the Lakers, especially in Game 6 where he hit dagger after dagger to silence the Suns' surge. Like Lamar Odom said, "Kobe is so good, he makes incredible normal for us." Bryant has (unsurprisingly) improved his play considerably in the playoffs and truly answered back to all those who doubted him all season.

But now comes the biggest challenge that either team has faced all playoffs. And fittingly, it happens at the game's biggest stage, the NBA Finals. And Hoopistani predicts...

Lakers vs. Celtics: Celtics in 7: I have been contemplating this result more than you think... Each game of the Conference Finals changed my opinion, each result gave me doubts, and now that these two teams prepare to see each other again, I have finally settled (sort of) the see-saw of my thoughts to decide on a prediction.

All season, I would have picked the Lakers to repeat as NBA Champions. I picked them at the start, at the mid, and near the end. Even when the Conference Finals began, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. But the Celtics kept on improving. They got better and better, and then the Lakers didn't look so strong after losing two games to the Suns, and then the Celtics looked old and battered when they lost Game 5 at Orlando, and then Kobe became godly again and Lakers won the series, and then Celtics improved their play, too.

Phew!

So to make the picture a little clearer, I'm going to compare and contrast what the two teams will be going against here, and add up their advantages...

Point Guard: Rondo vs. Fisher: Rondo has been the best player in the playoffs. Fisher hits important shots sometimes, but Rondo is going to eat him alive. ALIVE I tell you. Kobe might have to respond like he did with Russell Westbrook in the first round against the Thunder and try to stick with Rondo. I don't think it will work. Celtics

Shooting Guard: Ray Allen vs. Bryant: Oh, and these two are semi-rivals, too. Ray Allen is an amazing shooter, but Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant. Lakers

Small Forward: Pierce vs. Artest: I love Ron Ron. You don't know how much I love Ron Ron. I've always said that if Artest is in any sort of a decent squad, he will take up to a higher level. Don't ask me exactly how he does it, but it is a combination of great defense, ill-advised but sometimes important three-pointers, and his own brand of crazy Dennis-Rodman-ness. That said, the 2008 Finals MVP aka Paul Pierce aka The Truth is looking incredible right now and could well be the main main in this series. Artest will trouble him, but Pierce is better. Celtics

Power Forward: Garnett vs. Gasol: This match-up I feel is the closest and the most important of them all. So much so that, whoever dominates between these two will be the one in the winning squad. And although Gasol has been incredible all season and Garnett has not, KG has picked up where it counts, and if there is anyone who can make life hell for Gasol, it is him. KG won't score much, but he doesn't need to, for he will dominate Gasol defensively and make him want to shoot himself. Celtics

Center: Perkins vs. Bynum: Perkins is a mean man. Bynum is a nice little boy who is hurt a lot. Bynum is technically more talented, but he won't overcome Perkins. Celtics

Bench: Davis, Wallace, Tony Allen, Robinson, Finley, Daniels vs. Odom, Waltom, Farmar, Vujacic, Brown, Mbenga. Lakers bench, hands down, is much better, thanks mostly to Lamar Odom. For the Celtics bench to have a chance, they will need consistency from Rasheed Wallace and Nate Robinson, but asking that is like asking for consistency from the friggin moon. Sometimes you get it full and bright, sometimes it shoots dumb three-point air-balls. Lakers

Coach: Rivers vs. Jackson: Doc Rivers is a good coach, and has succesfully watched his plan come to good as the Celtics saved their energy for the playoffs. Phil Jackson though, is the best, perhaps the best ever. The 'Zen Master' always seems to be a step ahead of his opposition coaches, and will once again be an important factor tactically on the Laker sideline. Lakers

Health: Lakers' only issue is Andrew Bynum. Celtics have issues with everyone. Lakers

And of course, it is well known that no result in sport is as simple as stats, match-ups, and players on paper. I must add one more category here: call it heart, call it desire, will to win, the hustle... I'll just call it The Edge. And coming into the 2010 Finals, Celtics have the edge over the Lakers. They will win the loose balls, they will get more offensive rebounds, they will have the emotional runs, they have the team chemistry. Lakers have the most cold-blooded man in the world right now in Kobe, but that won't be enough of an edge. Celtics

Final score? Celtics 5 Lakers 4. I told you it's gonna be close. Celtics in 7. And it's hard to choose an MVP from this squad of numerous stars, and although Rondo and Pierce have been the go-to guys the last few rounds, I have a feeling that it will be Kevin Garnett who will be the X-Factor and the one to elevate the Celtics over a tough LA team.

Despite what I predicted all year, the Lakers will not repeat as champions, and although I believe that this will be a much tougher series for both teams than last time around, Celtics will beat the Lakers again, just like 2008.

2010 Champions: Boston Celtics
Finals MVP: Kevin Garnett

Can't wait for this series to begin. Thursday night in Lost Angeles, Friday morning on my TV in India. Lakers vs. Celtics, Part 12. Here's another chapter in the history of the NBA Finals...

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