Onto the Next One....

Let's take an NFL/draft/lockout  break and focus some attention on the NBA.

I grew up in an NBA loving household, watching the "greats" of my time which of course include Michael Jordan and the Bulls team of old... Pippen, Rodman, Kerr... *sigh*

Then something happened... I believe it was college, and I lost sight of the NBA, except to note that it had a bad reputation for being a place where guys just out of high school could go, show up to games dressed like "thugs" and taint the once classy style of the NBA.

In recent years the NBA has gone through yet another transformation.  When the players arrive at the arenas for a game, it's more like a runway show in Milan than anything else.  These guys are dressed to the nines!  And although sometimes what happens on the court is not exactly classy (ie Koby using the word fag and a whole lot of profanity), these are men playing sports in a competitive environment: do we expect any different?

So I've been drawn back into the NBA... not just because of the fashion :) but also because the players have once again become interesting.  The teams competing in the playoffs have a lot to prove.... During the regular season the Spurs seemed unbeatable... yet they didn't make it past the first round... perhaps showing some signs of their aging team.  The Celtics just suffered a loss to the Heat, despite the decisive sweep of their series with the NY Knicks.  And of course the Lakers have to continue to prove that they are still a viable team, yet are struggling to do so due in large part to their over reliance on Kobe Bryant. 

But the team with the biggest chip on their shoulder is the Miami Heat and the chip's name is LeBron James.

Now this may come as a shock to you, but there are perhaps thousands of articles you can read all about James and his journey from Cleveland to Miami... and though I am not from Cleveland nor do I have any allegiance to the state of Ohio, I find the whole process James went though, all the pomp and circumstance, the prime time news conference etc... to be completely distasteful... no... let me rephrase that... I think James should be ashamed of himself for the ego he displayed. 

But that's show biz right?  Anyways, so Miami has it's Big 3: James, Wade and Bosh... and big things were expected of them.  Truth be told, despite my hatred, right now they are meeting those expectations.  For all the grumbling and doubt during the regular season and their occasional lack of cohesion as a unit, the Heat are in playoffs and have a real chance to make it all the way. 

Whether or not you are a fan of the NBA, the playoffs format in the NBA is definitely fun to watch, especially because the matchups in this round promise to keep us on the edge of our seats, perhaps even taking us to a game 7 in multiple matchups (for those of you who don't know, they play a 7 game series... first to 4 games wins). 

More to come as we make our way through the second round.

This is Valentina signing off....