Living Legacy (Edition 1)

Note: This article was written on March 8, 2008.

Shaquille O’Neal and Jason Kidd, what do they have in common?

The fact that both the Suns and Mavericks were scared of Pau Gasol and the Lakers, so they had to get another big-name superstar on their team.

So far, neither of them are currently helping their team.

The Suns are now giving up more points than they have ever allowed, and not to mention a loss at home to a below .500 76ers team.

The Mavericks haven’t looked impressive either being four and five with Jason Kidd in the lineup.

Both of these teams have screwed themselves over for now. Who know where they will be come playoff time, but it’s not looking good thus far.

Now we go from looking at some struggling teams to a team that hasn’t lost a game in a month and a half, the Houston Rockets.

Without Yao Ming, the Rockets are currently undefeated in five games.

Tracy McGrady is leading the squad as of late averaging 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists during the five games that Yao has been out for.

The Rockets are a good team and finally living up to expectations. I think that they will make the playoffs and lose in the first round unless they play a team that they match-up well with.

Sorry Rocket fans, I don’t see T-Mac getting past the first round for now.

My current MVP rankings have Kobe Bryant listed as number one. He has played phenomenal ball as of late.

People are calling this the best season he has ever had, I disagree.

Individually, his best season was the year where he was scoring like crazy, as of right now he isn’t in the scoring Kobe mode until the fourth quarter.

With Gasol on the team, Kobe has become a better passer and his assists have also gone up.

After Kobe, I have Chris Paul and Lebron James in the rankings.

Paul has slipped with the Hornets slipping in the standings as of late and not the first-place team out west anymore.

As for Lebron, if you give him the MVP trophy, then that means Kobe has been robbed the past few years, because they are basically in the same exact situation.

You could make a case for it though if the Cavs win 50 games or more.

Sam Cassell has recently joined the Boston Celtics.

He did not play in last night’s game against the Chicago Bulls, but he plans on playing in the game after.

He has said it himself that he does not want to take Rajon Rondo’s spot as a starter, so look for him to come of off the bench for the Celts.

I see this as a good signing as he could be a veteran leader for them and bring a spark of off the bench.

The San Antonio Spurs are playing some of their best basketball of the season, yet no one is mentioning them with the Celtics, Lakers, and Rockets as being the most discussed NBA teams.

The Spurs have won 11 of their last 12 games. With Tony Parker back and Manu Ginobili playing well, all you add in is a Tim Duncan and you’ve got one of the best teams in the NBA.

I picked the Spurs to win the championship at the beginning of the season, why, because it is the safest pick to make.

The Lakers may have a chance now with Gasol, and I’m not sold on the Celtics just yet.

Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett don’t have as much experience in the playoffs like the Detroit Pistons do.

In my opinion, right now I would pick a Spurs and Pistons finals again. I don’t want it to happen, but for now, I think it has the biggest chance of happening.

The playoff race in the West is getting crazier and crazier.

It’s hard to imagine a team with Carmelo and Iverson currently not in the playoffs, which shows how hard it is.

If they Nuggets were the East, they would have been a top six seed for sure.

In the future, I would like to see them change the playoff format and just have the top 16 teams make it instead of the tops eight teams in each conference.

That way, teams that deserve don’t have to sit at home and watch teams that don’t deserve it as much as them get swept or barely go anywhere in the playoffs.

Well the NBA continues to have one of the best seasons it’s ever had, make sure to tune in with the final month and half closing in on the season.