59 days to go and another BLOCKBUSTER DEAL

So since nothing interesting is happening in my life for the next 59-days (other than me being a top performer at my company and getting a nice little bonus on my March pay check); let's talk more basketball!


(not a basketball picture but a picture of Jason Kidd nonetheless)
The Dallas Mavericks fearing their window at a championship dwindling (especially with the recent powerhouse acquisitions of Pau and Shaq) moved today to bring in one of the games best floor generals. Jason Kidd comes back to Dallas where his career started and will try to lead the Mavericks to a championship in the Wild Wild West. Here is my (biased) analysis of how the season shakes out.


The Lakers had a solid core before Gasol came in; they look to benefit the most from these recent blockbuster deals. Gasol fits in well into the Lakers system and has already shown that he can play well besides Kobe. Anything less than a Conference title would be a disappointment. Very good chances of going all the way and brining another ring to Los Angeles.

Today's trade gives Dallas one of the best guards in NBA history. Too bad it won't be enough to stop the West elite. Nash has a better supporting cast and is arguably a better PG. Sorry Dallas, get ready for another early playoff exit.

I would say this is the biggest hurdle for the Lakers team. The Lakers can guard Duncan with Bynum/Gasol; but a healthy Shaq/Amare would be disaster for any team to play. I don't see enough fire power to take out the Lakers or even the Spurs in a 7-game series but this is a solid team who can shoot, pass, and now DEFEND. They will go far but fall short.

The Spurs are a scary team with a scary coach. They still have a solid Duncan who can dismantle teams on a nightly basis. They have a solid core with Championship experience; can they repeat last year? I don't think their bench is deep enough to contend with the Lakers. They look to go deep as well but there won't be a parade in San Antonio this year.

The Hornets are the surprise team this season. Chris Paul is slowly closing in on top PG honors; they are calling West, Chandler, & Paul the BIG 3 of the West. They are winning a lot of games but come playoffs they don't have the depth and/or experience to get out of the 2nd round. If they draft well and add additional role players, they could be back next year.

Rounding out the top 6 is the lone team from the Northwest Division. Getting into the playoffs at this point is a guarantee. Winning and going deep like they did last year is a different story. These last 3-weeks have seen a complete power shift to the West as the top teams became tougher to beat. Williams, Boozer, AK-47 (and now Kyle Krover) are as tough as they get. Depending on how the teams matchup; the teams playing in the later rounds could be running on fumes (a big plus for a young Lakers team - too bad for Shaq who'll be out of diesel by then...). It is definitely going to be an interesting playoffs.