As we get underway with the NBA season, we know we are in store for some wondrous action.
We also know in the majority of the 1,230 regular season games on the schedule, the entertainment will be wonderful.
And we know acts of wonder by players will be performed regularly.
But as the season begins, we are face with a different sort of wonder – the one of uncertainty.
So as we predict and project, I find myself contemplating these mysteries.
Call them the Twelve Wonders of the 2012-13 NBA World.
1. I wonder if it is possible that a move to a new city and new arena will be enough to turn a team from a loser into a winner. The positive vibes coming out of Brooklyn for the Nets are overpowering. Even after they made the Finals in the Jason Kidd era, the Nets did not generate the optimism that engulfs the current team. No doubt adding Joe Johnson, a healthy Brook Lopez and a full season of Gerald Wallace makes them more talented than the 22-44 team of last season. But is it possible that simply changing cities results in a more successful franchise?
2. I wonder if the Heat have the killer instinct to repeat. Even though other contenders have bulked up in the off-season, the Heat are the clear favorites. LeBron James leads the candidates for MVP in much the same way that the major party presidential candidates lead the Libertarians. If Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis brought their shooting skills with them to Miami, it’s difficult to see how the Heat won’t repeat.
3. I wonder if the Lakers can stay healthy enough to win the Western Conference and engage the Heat in a championship series for the ages.
Don’t discount Harden’s income tax savings, which isn’t insignificant. He’s doing the right thing, they’ve been doing nothing but dangling him for years, anyway. If Varejao hadn’t gotten hurt, he’d be wasting away and miserable in Cleveland after Varejao was traded for him.