NBA Opening Day: Ten Gifts the NBA Gave the Fans.

Twas the NBA on Christmas, with five great games,
Big dunks, huge shots, and a stat beast named James.
The refs blew their whistles, and the players disagreed,
So Odom got tossed and KG flipped out like Rasheed...

Christmas time is usually a season for family, presents, great food and sub-par NBA basketball. Most of the players have been on the road for two months already and would rather be with their families too.

This Christmas was different. It was the first time we had seen our beloved superstars all winter. (Remember that ugly 149-day lockout thing?) The fans craved basketball but were understandably pessimistic as to the quality of the product. So, when David Stern handed us the sweater-box shaped gift, we took it and put it to our ears. We shook it, and listened to what rattled inside. Then we unwrapped the paper slowly and tore open the package...

Our eyes how they twinkled! Our dimples how merry!
It was Griffin sky hooks, and jumpers from Terry!
Durantula dropped 30, and the Mamba got beat in his house, 
'Melo was clutch, Rose was a Bull-y, and Dwight was quiet as a mouse. 

Let's take a look at the 10 gifts that Santa Stern and the NBA gave us this Christmas.
  

Regular Season LeBron

Rookie of the Year
Two MVP awards
A pair of All-Star MVP awards
Seven All-Star appearances 
One scoring title
18 Player of the Month Awards
27.7 career PPG 

Whether you love LBJ or hate him, you have to admit that you cannot look away. His game is on a level that we have not seen before (and may never see again) because it's so hybrid. 

Throw pinches of Jordan, Magic and Bird in a pot and let simmer. Drain all championships, then regular season to taste, and you have the delicious souffle known as Regular Season LeBron.

Before the summer arrives, this is the best basketball player on planet Earth, and he was on full display for Christmas with 37 points, 10 rebounds and 6 dimes...and that's on a team crowded with All Stars. I don't know about you, but I'm saving the wrapping paper from this gift. Thank you, NBA.  

Five Better-Than-Expected Games.

Contrary to the "any given Sunday" motto in the NFL, most games are pretty easy to predict. I personally took the Green Bay Packers to win every game this season. I was wrong once.

If I pick the Miami Heat to have a perfect season, I would be wrong quite a few times. Not just because there are more games, but because the teams are closer in terms of talent in the NBA. Injuries to a star can devastate a ball club, and the road is not something you go on once a week, in some cases (Spurs and Bulls) you may be hotel soapin' it for a month. That can have a serious affect on the amount of games you win.

Factor in that these teams have not played elite-level basketball since early spring, and a day full of shoddy basketball could have been easily expected, if not accepted. However, Knicks/Celtics and Bulls/Lakers fans were forced to bite their nails until the final buzzer. Even the blowouts provided entertaining acrobatic dunks and circus shots like this one by Caron Butler. 

All in all, in only two quarters out of the five games Sunday was scoring below 16 points. One was a 12-point lackluster third quarter by the Bulls (which set up their surprising comeback), and the other was an eight-point stinker in garbage time by the dominant Miami Heat. 

NBA, I am holding out my plate to you after those games.

"Please sir, may I have some more?"

A Trailer for the Summer Blockbusters

Sunday's games weren't just good...they were marquee matchups. I feel safe in saying the Knicks, Heat, Mavs, Bulls, Magic, Thunder and Clippers will make the 2012 playoffs.

I did not include the Celtics because health may be a concern. The Lakers will go as Kobe goes, and if that wrist is worse off than he is letting on, they could conceivably, although not likely, miss the playoffs. (Probably not, but still...) I also don't believe the Warriors are ready to make a leap into the big dance just yet, so I chose to leave them off the list as well. 

This means that the Christmas showcase gave us seven to nine teams that will show up in the playoffs come May. These are the teams that the nation wanted to see, and the NBA gave us a huge helping of quality hoops to satisfy our hunger. I was glued to the TV set most of the day, and my team wasn't even playing.  

Depth from the One-Dimensional LOB Angeles

The last game on Christmas night seemed like a dream come true. The Los Angeles Clippers vs. the Golden State Warriors. Most of us probably settled in and "fastened our seat belts" to paraphrase Clippers announcer Ralph Lawler. 

Somewhere in the middle of the second quarter, I think we began to realize that this wasn't just another gimmicky shootout between middling Western Conference teams. This was a battle between a team poised to take the next step and another team altering its offensive culture.

Rookie Warriors coach Mark Jackson even employed a "Hack-a-Jordan" strategy at the end of the third quarter to cut his team's deficit. DeAndre Jordan, who was responsible for eight blocks, was visibly disturbed by the strategy but was encouraged by his teammates.

With significant contributions from Caron Butler, Chauncey Billups and Blake Griffin, the Clippers are more than just a two-man flying act...they're a team now. Having Mo Williams, Ryan Gomes, Brian Cook, and Randy Foye coming off the bench in relief, this team has the potential to be deep and very good—two essential things needed to make a run into the loaded Western Conference.  

Not so Sloppy Play

ESPN and NBA TV analysts would have fans believe that the long lockout-induced layoff was sure to be the NBApocalypse concerning sharp play. It wasn't though. 

One of the best gifts the NBA gave us on Christmas was sharp, attractive play. Even with the shortened training camp and six less preseason games to tune up, there were only 165 total turnovers Sunday through five games (including a league-low 10 turnovers by the L.A. Clippers). Compare that with a night of NBA games in December of 2010 where there were only 156 turnovers throughout five games, and you have only nine more turnovers, or just over one more per team.

In terms of scoring we had four teams score 100 or more points, and the remaining six teams averaged 90.1 points. Not too shabby for an eight-month layoff.

While we can expect fatigue to set in during the season (inevitably producing more turnovers and lower scoring) at least it didn't mar the comeback day of the NBA. 

The Passing of the Torch

There once was a time when we talked about Kobe Bryant in future tense:

"He could be the next Michael Jordan."
"He has the potential to be the best."
"He'll get a few championships before his career is over." 

That talk is over. We know unquestionably that if Kobe hasn't been the greatest for the last decade, he's as close as you can come to it. 

But something very interesting occurred in the final seconds of Sunday's game between the Bulls and the Lakers. Derrick Rose hit a tough shot in the teeth of the Lakers' defense for a one-point lead. The next possession ended with the ball in the hands of the closer, Mamba himself, old Kobe Bryant. Instead of the Lakers accumulating another miracle win and Kobe making that horrendous lip clench thing he does in the playoffs...he missed. Really. He missed. Rose wins the game, and the torch was passed in the block of a shot. 

Worse yet for the Lakers' perpetual reign was what happened in San Fransisco later that day. In an effort to rally the Warriors to a win, the crowd began to chant "Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!" 

 Even the Clippers couldn't believe it. They'd finally arrived. 

Another Brilliant NBA Ad Campaign

NBA, please keep these commercials coming. That is all. 

Double the Van Gundy

One game with Jeff Van Gundy as a color analyst is golden. Two games with Jeff Van Gundy, well, it's just so good it should be illegal, I think. 

I was never a huge fan of Van Gundy when he coached my beloved Houston Rockets, but I always thought he made us a solid team fundamentally. He coached us up to be a defensive juggernaut and an offensive miscreant (in my humble opinion). 

After watching him call games for a few years now (with Mark Jackson as a perfect sidekick), I actually miss him as our coach. Who knew the man had this robust personality? He's great in the ESPN tour bus commercials. 

ABC and ESPN re-gifting this guy's antics for two full games...where's the downside in that?  

An Alternative to the NFL Blowout

The NFL is nearing the end of the regular season. This means that three games, four tops, will be played as if they have major playoff implications. The best teams have already clinched everything they can and are resting starters against desperate teams who didn't garner your attention to begin with.

Did anyone outside of Wisconsin and Illinois watch this game with baited breath? Aside from NFL uber fans, the answer is no. What are the rest of us supposed to do?

The ninth gift that the NBA gave us Christmas Day was an escape. The Packers/Bears game was nothing more than a glorified preseason game as the Bears played without the services of Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, Johnny Knox, Marion Barber, and the list goes on.

I realize that this game was going on while the Magic/Thunder game (which was a blowout) was being played. The major difference there is both teams had healthy stars to deliver eye-popping highlights and something worth watching.

Which brings me to our last NBA Christmas Day gift...

Egg Nog Santa

Yes...NBA fans are a special bunch. Some of us went a little further to show just how much we missed the NBA. Some of us dressed up like Santa and got "festive" on egg nog and showed up to find out what gifts our favorite NBA players wanted.

Reportedly, the Crown Royal Kris Kringle asked LeBron (who was in the middle of dismantling the Mavericks by 32 points in the third period) if he wanted a championship ring for Christmas.

He sure showed LeBron (ahem...regular season LeBron) who only finished with 37 points. Bah humbug.

The masterful debut we got from the NBA Sunday begs one question: Should we just start the season on Christmas Day every season?

Enjoy the rest of the season, NBA fans...and take it easy on the egg nog.