The NBA's 10 Biggest Stories

With the NBA season a little more than halfway over, it's time to reflect upon the 10 biggest stories so far this season.

The Darius Miles Saga

When the Portland Blazers let Darius Miles go last season, it was because the doctors had told both parties that Miles had a career-ending injury. As a result, Portland received cap relief from the remainder of Miles’s contract which lasted the next the next two-and-a-half years.

This is where the story gets bizarre. One year later, word got out that Miles was ready for a comeback and had tryouts with several teams. Portland threatened that if any other team in the NBA signed Miles, they would be sued for unfair practices.

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert came out publicly and condemned the Blazers for their tactics. In the end, Portland's bluff was called by the Memphis Grizzlies, and now the Blazers are responsible for $18 million over the next two years.

We have yet to see how this will affect Portland and their ability to bring in quality free agents, but it's nonetheless an intriguing storyline.

Brand-less 76ers

Last offseason, the 76ers made the biggest free-agent news of the year by signing Elton Brand away from two West Coast suitors, the Los Angeles Clippers (Brand's previous team) and the Golden State Warriors. The move was compared to two big deals of the previous year, when the Boston Celtics picked up Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

Brand was supposed to put the 76ers among the East’s elite teams. Instead, the team was lost for the first quarter of the season and played without any sense of identity. Coach Maurice Cheeks got fired, and soon after, Brand injured his shoulder. Recently, it was reevaluated and diagnosed as a season-ending injury.

As of late, the 76ers are playing better and seem to be forming an identity again. They are solidly in contention for a playoff spot, but no one would say they are a title contender. With all that money locked up in Brand over the next six years, it will be interesting to see if the 76ers can figure it out and challenge for supremacy.

The Ageless Spurs

The oldest and most successful team of this decade started out sluggish. People were wondering if Father Time (which might be Coach Pop, the way he's rocking that beard) had finally caught up with the Spurs.

Tim Duncan, the Big Fundamental, is no spry chicken anymore. Manu Ginobili is in his 30’s, and Tony Parker seems to be catching the injury bug more often now. But here we are, more then halfway through the season, and once again, Pop has his boys playing classic Spurs ball: Tough defense and efficient offense.

With one the league's best records, it’s never safe to count these guys out. That is, until Timmy and Coach Pop move on.

All-Star Weekend

Yes, I know it hasn’t even taken place yet. But there have been multiple story lines leading up to the game that have drawn some significant interest.

The NBA held a fan vote-off to select which rookie would participate in the dunk contest. Congrats Rudy, I voted for you.

The new, futuristic, and surprisingly not-ugly uniforms for the game were a pleasant surprise.

The addition of H.O.R.S.E (or if you’re a corporate stooge, G.E.I.C.O.) has a lot of potential for some good laughs and amazing shots.

Also, this year seemed to have more All-Star snubs and new faces. Guys like Mo Williams and Kevin Durant are having All-Star seasons (but to no avail), while Danny Granger and Jameer Nelson have proved their worth.

LeBron 2010

We all know the outcome of this story is still almost two years away, but the public and media attention it receives will just not die. Many people consider LeBron to be the greatest showman, and perhaps best player, to come into the game since Jordan.

But LeBron is not helping the situation by showing his affinity for all things "NYC". For a city like Cleveland that has not won a major sports title in what must seem like forever, this has to be torture.

Still, the story is compelling, and no matter what speculation the media or fans want to serve up, we will all have to wait and see what the King does.

The Rise of Superman

Kobe, LeBron, CP3, KG, and the Big Fundamental. These are the names of the NBA elite.

Well, now you can add the name of Dwight “Superman” Howard. DH is the most dominant low-post presence since Shaq in his prime. He rebounds as well as anyone since Rodman, his post moves have improved dramatically with some help from Coach Patrick Ewing, and he is one heck of a showman to top it off.

He is no longer the young raw talent with gobs of potential; he is now the best center in the league and will compete with the rest of the NBA elite for world titles.

The Setting Suns of Phoenix

This story began last year with the trade for Shaquille O'Neal and the departure of Mike “I Can't Spell Defense” D’Antoni. It continued with the trade of Raja Bell (one of Steve Nash’s best friends) for Jason Richardson.

The result? Steve Nash looks almost morbid, Stoudemire is completely unhappy, and, as a whole, the team is a huge disappointment.

Steve Kerr (no matter how many 3’s he knocked down for the Bulls) will have some explaining to do if he can’t turn it all around and fast. He took the most fun and entertaining team in the NBA and turned it into a second-rate soap opera.

Poor Nash.

The Los Angeles Lakers

Andrew Bynum was back, now he's gone. Lamar Odom's coming off the bench, Sasha Vujacic can’t get off the bench. Pau Gasol is soft, Coach Phil Jackson is coming down hard. I haven’t even mentioned Kobe yet, and, already, there is a plethora of topics to discuss.

Now, every NBA team has its own plots and story lines, but the attention the Lakers receive from the media and fans in general is immense and, as of late, has no equal. When there is a national poll on a website, the Lakers almost always come out on top. When NBA TV lets fans vote on which game will be shown on Tuesdays, the Lakers are a sure bet to win.

Kobe's 61 points at the Garden, Phil’s Zen-like wisdom. It all adds up to the NBA's most watched and popular team. Whether it’s the Cavs, Celtics, or Magic representing the East, the league and its TV sponsors are all better off with the Lakers representing the West.

Celtics Championship Defense

These Boston Celtics remind me of a previous championship team defending their crown, the 1995 Houston Rockets. Both teams were coming off tremendous runs, but were a bit long in the tooth and wary of the honeymoon period.

The difference? The Rockets cruised through the season, not even achieving one of the top four seeds. The Celtics, led by team captain Garnett, have been relentless in their title defense. The passion and energy the Celtics have played with is both inspiring and risky.

After the Christmas Day loss to the Lakers, the team seemed to crash both emotionally and physically. But since then, they have gotten it back together and are back to their winning ways.

But the question has to be asked, will the Celtics replicate the 1995 Rockets' finish, which saw them retain their crown? Will the Celts still have enough left in the tank to take down the likes of the Cavs, Magic, Spurs, and Lakers?

1.    Lebron vs. Kobe

We We had to waitun till LBJ developed, refined his game and got a few sidekicks. But now that these things have occurred, we, as basketball fans, are witnessing the best two-man rivalry since Magic vs. Bird.

     It would be hard to argue against these two players being the heir apparent to MJ’s throne. But which one?

KobKobe has the three rings, albeit with Shaq, who at the time was the focal point of his team. Lebron is rewriting just about every “Youngest to...” record in existence. This year, both players emerged from the gate with purpose and established their teams as top contenders.

BotBoth players have had a flair for the dramatic. Kobe’s 61-point game and Lebron's 52-point triple-double (NBA stat-keepers be damned) back-to-back at the Garden make one of the fiercest separate-game player-on-player competitions the game has ever seen.

KobKobe has tailored his game after the G.O.A.T. (MJ), and so far it has worked out wonderfully for him. LeBron may have more talent and ability than anyone who has ever set foot on some hardwood.

     Kobe is 30, and LeBron is 24, so that leaves us with roughly four or five more years of what could become the greatest two-man rivalry of a generation.