On with business as usual

Well, the season is well under way, and everyone seems to have forgotten about the lockout. At least trying not to mention anything about it. I was watching some of the days highlights a couple of days ago, and I saw some rookies performing very well. Mike Bibby has been playing pretty good, and Paul Pierce is playing excellent for the Celtics. I said to myself, "I can't wait to see these guys in the Rookie Game" and then I realised, there isn't going to be a Rookie Game this year. The one really good chance for fans to see the rookies doing their stuff, especially for overseas fans, and we aren't going to see it. We aren't going to see the All-Star Game, we aren't going to see the Dunk Contest. Wait, we wouldn't have seen that anyway, thanks to the bumbling NBA decision makers. We won't even be seeing the poor excuse for a Dunk Contest substitute, in the two-ball competition with the WNBA players. One of the most disappointing things that fans will be missing this shortened season is the age-old clash of the two Statesmen Teams, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. For the first time since the late 1940's NBA fans will not be seeing the Lakers and the Celtics go at it. Now that's pretty sad if you ask me.

News fresh out of the NBA mainly concerns injuries and surgery. Shaq, Barkley, Lenard and Owens have all been out injured. This is bad news for their respective teams, and players in the NBA.com Virtual GM competition, that I will get to a little later. O'Neal, who suffered from an abdominal strain earlier in the week, came back Sunday and produced 36 points in a 101-99 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Barkley however, will be out more than a few days. Charles has been playing exceptional basketball, scoring very well and rebounding at will (17 per game), but will be out for 3-4 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn muscle in his left knee. Normally, 3-4 weeks would not be that long in a normal season, but this season, Charles being out could be detrimental to Houston's chances for a third Championship in the last six seasons, and Barkley's first. Let's all wish Charles a speedy recovery.

Rumors coming out of the Lakers camp, have Dennis Rodman signing with the Championship hungry Los Angeles team. Of course nothing is a sure thing when dealing with Rodman, but he has had dinner with Lakers owner, Jerry Bus, and they are in negotiations. The most Los Angeles can offer him is the league minimum of US$1 million for veterans, cut back to US$600,000 for the shortened season. Rodman's rebounding and defensive intensity would be a great addition to any team, but I think his skills would fit great into the Lakers unit. Shaq is ok at rebounding, but with Rodman next to him down low, the Lakers should clean the boards. Can you imagine the Lakers starting five with Rodman in there? Quite impressive.

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