The NBA Lockout Is Over: Welcome Back Hoop Heads

The lockout is over, which means basketball is back to being basketball again. We wrote about the CBA and labor negotiations because we had to, and because these things matter—both to fans who wonder what's in store for their franchise, and as matters of the big business sports had become. But let's face it, as exhilarating as it could be reading tweets from reporters staking out the meetings like they were breaking important political news, and as much as we all learned about labor and economics, it wasn't basketball. And now, with today's news, the NBA is once again the NBA.

Sure, we've had the exhibition highlights to gawk at. But LeBron James dunking in an anonymous jersey made up for the occasion is not the same as James dunking with his Heat uni on, fighting to redeem himself and that team with every play. It was all well and good to be reminded of Kevin Durant's pure love of the game, or Blake Griffin's commitment to freakish physical prowess. It will be a lot better, though, when Durant's passion is channeled into a fourth-quarter playoffs fusillade, or Griffin's expert flexibility allows him to pull in a preposterous alley-oop against an unsuspecting opponent. There's a big difference between good intentions and getting a chance to once again start altering the future of the sport. 

It's the point guards, though, who may have suffered most. Sure, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings, and others have been out there, often making the kind of ridiculous playground gambles they would rarely chance in a real game. Yet elite point guards aren't just about crazy passes. They run the offense, set strategy, and play off of teammates, the focal point of a complex, fluid system—one that unfolds, and is developed, through hours of play and practice. Maybe we'll see less high-level PG play this year, since preparations will be somewhat rushed. Regardless, it's those guys who have seemed most glaringly absent, or at least empty, during the lockout. 

I can't lie, the last few months have taken a lot out of me as a basketball fan. The NBA is still just as great as ever in my eyes, now that they have proven they're willing to bury the hatchet for the good of the game. But all the energy I usually spend gearing up for a season? Burned that off a long time ago. I'm not exactly cynical, but it's just not the same as starting on schedule, full of anticipation and jumping at the chance to get a look at second-round picks who might amount to something. Then again, when I remember Chris Paul, and realize how close we came to having to go more than a year without seeing what kind of athlete he really was, it's hard to not get excited. Maybe we aren't getting a full season, but for those of us who really felt we almost lost the season, we'll take whatever we can get.