NBA 2nd Half

-Keefe

The NBA's All-Star weekend is in the books. Congradulations to the Sophomores, Deron Williams, Jason Kapono, Dwight Howard, and the Eastern Conference for their performances the past few days. The fun is are over now as the teams prepare for their final 30+ games of the year. In the coming days I will break down the contenders from each conference as they hit the second half. The West has 10 competitive teams while the East has just 5 teams above .500, and 1 team less than 10 games back of the Celtics. I think it's fair to say that one entry will be a bit longer than the other.

The Jason Kidd deal looks as though it could go through after all, this time not involving Devean George or Jerry Stackhouse. How can any of the Mavericks even talk to George right now? I guess if the trade does go through it doesn't really matter, but if Kidd stayed in Jersey? George strikes me as that guy who invites himself over and stays late. It's time to go buddy. And if that wasn't weird enough how he just decided he wasn't going to get traded, but then he starts the next couple of games, even throwing out an 0-11 night. As a former DIII athlete, like George, I wanted to root for him, but first the Lakers, then he refuses to be traded and we miss out on a chance to see Kidd play for a contender. George is making close to $2.5 million this year to average fewer than 4 points and 3 rebounds a night, and now he may have just pouted himself onto another championship run.

No only does LeBron James have to see fellow Eastern All-Star starter J. Kidd, get traded to a team not in Cleveland, but then Atlanta scoops up Mike Bibby from Sacremento. LeBron thought with Kidd running the point he could return to the NBA Finals, that didn't happen. Mike Bibby was still out there as a back up plan. Well, not anymore. A team that is 7 games under .500 and 6.5 games back of the Cavs goes out and makes a big move. What is LeBron thinking now? "When's my contract expire?" comes to mind. 2009-2010 is the answer.

The Hawks see a weak East and the Nets giving up as a chance to get involved. Mike Bibby joins All-Star Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Marvin Williams. Take a look at that. Not a bad 5 in the East.

Let's take a quick look at the Standings before the 2nd half begins.

EAST:
Boston 41-9
Detroit 39-13

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Orlando 33-21
LeBron 29-23
Toronto 28-23

The rest of the East is below .500. Washington, NJ, Philly, Atlanta currently fighting for last spots.

WEST:
1. New Orleans 36-15
1. Phoenix 37-16
3. Lakers 35-17
4. Utah 34-19
5. San Antonio 34-17
6. Dallas 35-18
7. Golden State 32-20
7. Houston 32-20
7. Denver 32-20
10. Portland 28-24

9 teams in the West have 30 or more wins while just 3 teams in the East can say that. I'll break down the top teams this week, and figure out who has the best chance to win it all.

Side note: I would have to strongly veto any NHL talk on this site. The Bruins should have just moved the team instead of trading away Joe Thornton for a bag of pucks and a squid. Sports that are more popular than the NHL: NFL, MLB, NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball, NBA, NASCAR, MMA (UFC), PGA, to name a few. Even poker, boxing, and bowling are on ESPN and other sports stations more than hockey.