Basketball Detox - Just Say No

My apologies for such a long absence from contributing to the NBA page, but November/December found me in Europe, on a month long punk rock as a one-man documentary crew/roadie. It was a cool trip and I got some interesting footage, so from that perspective it was a great experience. However, from a NBA perspective - being the basketball junkie that I am - it was like forced detox. No professional bball for over a month! Not even a highlight or a score or anything. Honestly, I'm not sure how I survived. And for all you other basketball nuts out there - don't do what I did. Don't go cold turkey like that. It's too hard on the psyche. You've got to ease yourself off of it slowly. Of course, it was especially difficult in November. After a long summer, the NBA was back and there I was in soccer country, sleeping too little, partying too much and drinking a lot of German beer.

Wait a second. What the hell am I complaining about?

Once I was back, I felt it was my duty to all of you to glue myself to the television and watch as much basketball as possible. Of course I would've done it anyway, but I'm the king of rationalization so I convinced myself I was doing it all for you - the Suite101 reader. You're welcome.

Interesting season so far, but already it's plain to see that the power lies in the Western Conference. After a suspiciously slow start - much like Kemp getting off the team bus - the Blazers seem to have righted the ship and are back on track. Apparently the turning point was a team meeting where coaches and players spoke freely and were able to clear the air on some issues and get back to focusing on the game. Nicely done, Mike Dunleavy.

On the Lakers front, there seems to be some increased tension between Shaq and Kobe this year, most likely due to Kobe's (not Shaq's) position as NBA scoring leader. Leave it to Phil to smooth things over. After all, they don't have to be best of friends, they just have to win the rings.

And how about those Sacramento Kings? It seems they've finally realized that defense is not just trying to outscore your opponents, but actually trying to STOP them from scoring. Who would've thought?

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