Nate Robinson #2 of the Chicago Bulls led the Playoff fight valiantly as they bowed out with their heads held high. (Getty Images)

In an alternate reality, the 2012-13 season would’ve gone quite differently for these Chicago Bulls.

In that reality, the Bulls would’ve quit on the entire season when they knew that there would be little or no chance for their reigning MVP (and on his day, a top five player in the league) Derrick Rose to play a single contest. They would’ve quit when their famed bench mob would’ve grown thinner with the departures of Omer Asik, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and John Lucas III, who had stepped in Rose’s absence to lead the team through major stretches in 2011-12.

They were destined for NBA purgatory: not good enough to contend for a title, and not bad enough to contend for a lottery spot. If they had just quit, they would’ve not only cleared up cap space for 2013-14 and perhaps struck lucky with a high pick in the 2013 draft, but also then welcomed a healthy Rose with open hands for the next season to try and bounce back into the playoffs.

They would’ve certainly not fought so hard for a playoff spot, would’ve certainly allowed extended rest for their remaining core players, and certainly not find themselves giving the world’s best basketball team nightmares.

And yet, all of the above happened. For the alternate reality Bulls, the 2012-13 was destined to a season lost. Instead, the team fought till the very end, and despite a 4-1 second round exit to the Heat, emerged with their pride intact.

Under the tutelage of Coach Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls did not let injury (or their spendthrift front office) stop them from once again having a memorable campaign. Joakim Noah and Luol Deng were both named to the All-Star team, and were both amongst the league leaders in minutes played per game this season. Somehow, without the help of any true offensive option, the team managed to finish fifth in the East and give fits to the finest squads in the Conference, including going 3-0 over the Knicks and tying their season series versus Miami. It was no surprise when the Heat’s incomparable 27-game winning streak also ended at the hands of Chicago, who refused to back down and allow Miami to trample over them.

Although the Bulls could never replace the superstar and the bench presence that they lost, they did get a few new backups who bought into the team’s philosophy of relentless and to fight till the very end. Head of the new class was little Nate Robinson, the 5’9 sparkplug who had to step in and become the team’s best (and probably only) offensive option and responded beautifully in several memorable playoff performances. Kirk Hinrich, Marco Belinelli and Nazr Mohammed all had their moments this season, particularly Hinrich who had to step in and become the team’s starting PG in Rose’s absence.

It was in the playoffs that this team really began to turn heads, playing the underdog card beautifully throughout and making sure that, even with the odds stacked against them, they played with the swagger of a championship team. Chicago defeated the Brooklyn Nets in seven games, a series that included an amazing triple overtime win (with Nate Robinson’s uber-heroics) and a fantastic game seven where Joakim Noah (24 points, 14 rebounds) willed the team to an away victory and into the second round.

By the time the Second Round against the defending NBA champions – and favourites for the title this year – Miami Heat began, the Bulls roster looked like a M*A*S*H unit from the famous US TV Series from the 70’s. Rose had been out all season, and despite being cleared by his doctors to take part in team scrimmages, never felt comfortable enough to play a single game. All-Star and the league’s leader in minutes, Deng fell ill and had to be hospitalised by the end of the Nets’ series following a deadly-sounding spinal tap treatment. Hinrich had a bruised calf and didn’t play a game after hallway through the first round. All three missed the entire second round versus Miami. Noah had plantar fasciitis in his foot – an injury where most players just shut down for the season – and yet, he played through the pain and became the team’s motivation. Robinson and Taj Gibson played through illnesses (and vomit) and still helped the team compete through games. They faced off against a team that featured four-time MVP LeBron James, superstar Dwyane Wade (who has been struggling with knee issues himself), All-Star Chris Bosh and one of the best surrounding casts in the league. And they held their own.

The record books will state that the Bulls only won one game in the second round against Miami, and a 4-1 victory for the Heat is a pretty comprehensive way to win a series. In Game 2, Miami handed Chicago their worst loss (37 points) in playoff history. In Game 4, Chicago only managed a total of 65 points on 25 percent shooting while experiencing a franchise-worst 9-point quarter in a 23 point loss. But Miami were closely challenged in all other games, and a little more effort from Chicago could’ve helped them steal another game or two in the series.

 Jimmy Butler #21 pictured here with Carlos Boozer #5 and Richard Hamilton #32 was the find of the Playoffs for the Chicago Bulls. (Getty Images)

It is only in further dissection do we see heroism of what the Bulls achieved, even in a comprehensive loss. They handed Miami only their third loss in the past 49 games (one of the other two came by their hands, too). They had the best players in the world shook and worried; all this, despite struggling mightily on the offensive end. Their leading scorer for the series was Jimmy Butler (15.6 ppg), a relatively unknown second-year player who became a regular starter this season and had to play Deng’s role after the All-Star went down. Butler answered the call brilliantly, playing 48 minutes in five different post-season games and guarding MVP LeBron James toe-to-toe throughout the second round. Their second leading scorer was Robinson (15.2 ppg), an unpredictable backup player his whole career who had to suddenly graduate from being a bench offensive sparkplug to the team’s starting point guard. Carlos Boozer poured in 15 points per game. They had to rely on rarely-used guards Rip Hamilton and Marco Belinelli to find them desperate points.

By the time Game 5 finished, Bulls had been defeated 94-91 and their season was over. They huddled together by the court for one final public embrace. Few teams could lose 4-1 and still hold their heads up this high. It was a rare occurrence when the losing team somehow became the story of the series. But the Bulls had done just that, not just by getting results, but by fighting till the very end.

Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls looks on from the bench during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat. The former MVP is expected to pull on his red #1 jersey next season. (Getty Images)

The future looks better for them. Rose will be back and will suddenly give them an elite offensive option capable of being the best in the NBA on any given night. Deng and Hinrich will be healthy again. Butler has been the find of these playoffs and will evolve into one of the league’s best two-way players. Noah’s passion and energy make him this team’s emotional leader and he will of course continue to evolve as one of the finest post defenders and rebounders in the NBA. By this time next year, they could well be one of the league’s elite teams, and the ‘lost’ season could be all but forgotten.

Except that – with pride and passion – the Bulls refused to lose this season. And they refused to not be counted amongst the league’s elite, even without the presence of elite players.

In an alternate reality, the 2012-13 season was a season lost; in the real world, it was a season gained. It was a season where the team gained its pride and its soul. A season where a team with a lot of character, gained a whole lot more.

The Cavaliers are the NBA’s ultimate good luck-bad luck team. They suffered with years of bad luck and punishment by the hands of Michael Jordan (and others) and were never able to bring any positive news to Cleveland pro basketball for decades. Then, in 2003, they won the Draft Lottery for the first time and brought home the ultimate jackpot: (near) hometown boy LeBron James. LeBron brought fame and success to this franchise for the better part of seven years before leaving them jilted in 2010 and again without a future. But a year later, the Cavs luck turned for the better again when they once more won the lottery and got in Kyrie Irving, who turned out to be the 2012 Rookie of the Year.

And now, as the franchise continues its rebuilding process post the LeBron James era, they have been gifted with the favour of Lady Luck once again. For the second time in three years, the Cavaliers won the number one pick in the 2013 draft at the Draft Lottery in New York on May 21st. The Cavs had finished with the NBA’s third-worst record last season. The team with the worst record – Orlando Magic – won the second pick. The biggest jump was for the Washington Wizards, who moved from eighth place to win the third pick in the draft.

The 2013 NBA Draft will be held on June 27th.

Now that they have the freedom to choose first, who will the Cavs pick? I have written on numerous occasions that a team in the draft should always pick talent first and worry about their roster requirements (through trades, etc.) later. Unfortunately, there is no standout talent in the draft this year that is set to be a bonafide, can’t-miss superstar. So the Cavaliers wouldn’t be blamed for picking and choosing a player that fits in a positional need.

The consensus top-man this year might be Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel. A freshman Center, Noel is a great defensive player who can be the middle-man that many young teams hope to anchor their future upon. The Cavaliers already have Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thomas in the post, and Kyrie Irving and Dion Waters in the backcourt. Their biggest position of need is then at Small Forward, but they are most likely to draft Noel anyways and adjust their lineup accordingly. The question mark around the youngster is of course that he tore his ACL (which is unfortunately happening to a lot of folks these days) in February and won’t be healthy by the start of the new season. Noel only played 24 games in college, but in a weak draft year, that is still good enough to keep him number 1. And remember the last injury-riddled college player Cleveland drafted at first place? That player was Kyrie Irving, who is already blossoming into a superstar. The Cavs will feel that Noel may be well worth the risk and become a great addition to their rebuilding squad.

The other biggest prospect in the draft is Kansas’ Ben McLemore, a big shooting guard who could one day grow into the Dwyane Wade frame. The Magic – who have had bad luck with high-picked big men before (See O’Neal, Shaquille and Howard, Dwight) – may be satisfied to hand the keys of their offense to a young game-changer in the backcourt. The Wizards, who were one of the best teams in the East in the second half of the season, must be thrilled with their lottery luck. Behind John Wall, they were already gearing up to become a team shooting for a playoff position next season; and now with another high draft pick, they may add a big player like UNLV’s Anthony Bennett to their roster and continue their upwards charge.

Other prospects to watch will include National Player of the Year Trey Burke (Michigan), Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller (Indiana), and Shabazz Muhammad (UCLA). Muhammad is an especially interesting candidate. A year ago, the explosively talented shooting guard would’ve been a consensus top three pick, but his draft status has dropped after a so-so freshman year. Still, I won’t be surprised if his stock rises between now and draft night.

Here are the full 2013 Draft Lottery results:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Orlando Magic
3. Washington Wizards
4. Charlotte Bobcats
5. Phoenix Suns.
6. New Orleans Pelicans
7. Sacramento Kings
8. Detroit Pistons
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
10. Portland Trailblazers
11. Philadelphia 76ers
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Toronto Raptors)
13. Dallas Mavericks
14. Utah Jazz

Of course, in one way, all the winners in this draft are losers, because the real time to tank for the worst spot / highest pick is next year. The 2014 class is set to be star studded and feature some of the most enticing NBA prospects in recent years. Entering their first year in college this year, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker could go 1-2 in the draft this season. The Harrison twins (Andrew and Aaron) have a lot of talent too. And then there is Julius Randle, another potential future superstar.

But anyway, let’s not distract ourselves by looking too far ahead. Congrats to the Cavaliers again, and to their lucky charm Nick Gilbert who again represented the team at the draft and again brought them a high pick. They will be the team calling first on Draft Night.

(Unless, of course, the rumours of them looking to trade the top pick hold any authenticity. In that case, ignore half of this article!)

Like every year, stay tuned for my Mock Draft predicting all the lottery picks close to Draft Night!

This quote is from the book ‘Men of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold’ by Michael Benanav, about a thrilling 40-day journey through the unforgiving Sahara desert. It’s a line that perfectly sums up the idea that a group would last longer than an individual. Even if an exceptional individual is capable of doing things quicker alone, for the long run, a team always travels farther.

A long, gruelling NBA play-off run can be sort of like a journey through an unforgiving desert sometimes. Those who dream of the desert oasis at the end of the horizon – the NBA championship – must battle through all kinds of trials and tribulations. They must suffer past injuries, fatigue, hostile road environments, and the stacks raised against them. An exceptional individual could certainly help a team achieve great things, win a big game, or hit a big shot; but it is the effort of the team as a whole that carries the group through four best-of-seven-series, through long road journeys, through defensive adjustments, and with the effort of every member of the troop stepping up whenever their number is called.

Perhaps it’s no surprise now that, as we reach the NBA’s Conference Finals, the Final Four remaining teams have largely come here based on their team-first, unselfish mentality, relying more on the efforts of the group than the talents of an individual.

Your Conference Finalists are Heat and Pacers in the East and Spurs and Grizzlies in the West. Outside of LeBron James – the 2012-13 MVP – no other player who finished top five in MVP voting (Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant) finds himself in the Conference Finals. In recent years, the smart answer for any contending team has been to find a superstar or two and build a strong roster around them. This year, the formula has been slightly adjusted. Squads who have focused on defensive intensity, have built strong team chemistry, and play unselfish basketball are now in the final four. Even the Heat, who feature a four-time MVP in LeBron and superstars in Wade and Bosh, are relying more and more on playing strong group defence and sharing the ball on the offensive end.

Of course, injury played a part in the result so far. Kevin Durant and the Thunder were favourites to make it this far (and further) if Russell Westbrook had been healthy. A healthy season for former MVP Derrick Rose would’ve seen the Bulls finish higher in the East and perhaps still be standing at this point. Injuries to Kobe Bryant, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love, Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, David Lee, Danilo Gallinari, and many more have marred this season. But that only goes to prove the importance of a team structure. A better-built team could afford to lose an individual and still be standing strong; a star-reliant team (like the Thunder) crumple without their stars.

So far in the play-offs this season, unselfish, defence-first teams have been able to punch above their weight. The league’s two best defences – Grizzlies and Pacers – are in the Conference Finals, defeating the Thunder and the Knicks respectively. Even though the Bulls lost to the Heat, they were able to give them fits by setting their defensive identity on the series.

The Second Round was indeed full of surprises, and two of my four predictions from a couple of weeks ago went awry. After losing Game 1 in a surprise to the Bulls, the Heat bounced back admirably to win the next four, even though the injury-plagued Chicago roughed up the reigning champions till the very end. The Pacers stole Game 1 in New York from the Knicks, and even though the Knicks won a couple of games back in Madison Square Garden, Indiana protected their home court and destroyed the Knicks on the boards to win the series 4-2.

Out West, the Spurs were given fits by the surprising Warriors who relied on Stephen Curry taking a star turn. Golden State were even with the experienced crew from San Antonio 2-2, before the Spurs made adjustments, guarded Curry better, and saw great production from Parker and Duncan to win 4-2. The Grizzlies lost game one to a fantastic clutch shot by Kevin Durant, but turned the screws on the series after that and grinded away four consecutive wins to take the series 4-1.

Now, what happens next? To make it to the next step – the NBA Finals – the Conference Finalists will fight to impose their will and their playing style on the series. If the trend in the play-offs so far is to continue, then it will take much more than star power to proceed ahead. Here are my predictions for the Conference Finals.

East

Heat vs. Pacers: Miami have lost only one game in these play-offs. Indiana haven’t lost a single game at home. The Heat have been toughened with their battle against the Bulls, and they will need every bit of that toughness if they wish to defeat the mean-streak Pacers in the next round. Indiana will not go down quietly. The starting five of George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Paul George, David West, and Roy Hibbert was the best five-man unit in the NBA all season and any of those is capable of being their hero on any given day. Indiana have the defensive capability to defend Miami’s superstars and are getting solid production from their bench too. Their biggest advantage over Miami is size, and just like they dominated the Knicks’ front-line, expect David West and Roy Hibbert to play a big role defending the paint and getting their squad second-chance opportunities with offensive rebounds.

Yet, outside of the size advantage, Miami still hold all the other keys for success in this match-up. They do all the other things that Indiana do well, and they do them better. Indiana do have a 2-1 regular season advantage over the Heat, but Miami have become otherworldly good since March, and have won an incredible 45 of their last 48 games. It is tough to beat them once, and nearly impossible to beat them four times. LeBron will continue his stride, Wade has been hobbled but has a habit of coming up big when most needed, and the Heat have shown their ability to get tougher to match their opponents. My prediction? Heat win 4-2

West

Spurs vs. Grizzlies: A match-up of epic proportions. Tim Duncan warned that this series was not going to be pretty, and I believe him. Grizzlies finished fifth in the West and lost their first two games, but ever since, have won eight of their last nine, defeated a fourth-place and a first-place team, and are looking like the most-feared team in the league. The line-up of Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Tayshuan Prince, Zach Randolph, and Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol has the potential of becoming the closest thing to the 2004 championship Detroit Pistons.

A less-experienced version of these Grizzlies shocked the world when were an eighth seed in 2011 and upset the top-seeded Spurs in the first round. Now, the Grizzlies have reached the NBA Conference Finals for the first time in the franchise’s 18-year history (from Vancouver to Memphis) and will show no fear to anyone.

In those same 18 years, these San Antonio Spurs have played in the Conference Finals nine times (so, pretty much one every alternate year) and in the Finals four times, winning a championship in each Finals appearance. This team oozes confidence and veteran stability. Despite recently turning 37, Duncan is having his best season in years and was perhaps the best big man in the league this season. Parker is a perennially underrated superstar who will probably require the defensive abilities of Tony Allen.

The Spurs support crew have been stepping up of late as well, especially Kawhi Leonard and to a lesser extent, Tiago Splitter and Danny Green. And then there’s the evergreen Manu Ginobili, who always finds ways to win. I think that the slower pace of the Grizzlies will benefit the ageing Spurs too, who won’t mind grinding it out against Memphis. It will be a long, hard series, and the longer it goes, the decisions of coaches, the defensive and offensive adjustments, and the veteran smarts will start being the deciding factors. It is here that I will give the very slight edge to Greg Popovich and the Spurs. The Grizzlies have been great, but the Spurs will eventually figure them out, even if it takes seven games. I predict that the Spurs win 4-3.

Faster alone, but farther together. The journey for the NBA championship through these play-offs is only half done. The remaining four teams have to continue their voyage. But they must remember that to cross the desert and reach the sweet oasis to become the league’s best, they’ll need to do it just how they have done it so far: Together.

Olympiacos Piraeus celebrate during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four 2013 Champions Awards Ceremony at O2 Arena on May 12, 2013 in London, United Kingdom. (Getty Images)

For the second consecutive season, Greek club Olympiacos beat the odds and reached the pinnacle of European club basketball as they retained their Euroleague Basketball title after defeating Real Madrid at the O2 Arena in London 100-88 in the Final. This was Olympiacos’ third Euroleague title in their history and the third consecutive year that the championship was lifted by a Greek after, after Panathinaikos won in 2011.

Falling to a 17-point hole at the end of an awful-shooting first quarter, Olympiacos were able to steadily carve a comeback against the star-studded Real Madrid side from Spain. Led by 22 points from Vasisilis Spanoulis, Olympiacos played gutsy, physical basketball to take the lead and dominate the final period to secure the championship. For the second consecutive season, Spanoulis was named MVP of the Euroleague Final Four. He was also the MVP of the entire 2012-13 Euroleague season.

Noted basketball website HoopsHype described Olympiacos, on talent alone, as ‘probably the worst team in the Final Four. But they play together and they play hard.’ Their togetherness and hard-play was rewarded in the Final was Sunday night. The final was reminiscent of last year’s Euroleague’s Final, when Olympiacos trailed by 19 in the third period against CSKA Moscow before coming back to win in the final seconds. The end to this game wasn’t quite as dramatic, but led by Spanoulis, the Greeks went from being underdog to champions again. Acie Law, who chipped in 20 points, was named Final’s MVP. Rudy Fernandez led Real Madrid with 21 points in the Final and Sergio Rodriguez had 17.

Only three other teams in the Euroleague Final Four era have successfully defended their title. Olympiacos have become the first to do it since Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2005.

Earlier in the day, CSKA Moscow edged FC Barcelona in a close-fought game for the bronze medal. Victor Khryapa had 16 points for Moscow, who survived a potential game winning shot by Barcelona’s Marcelinho Huertas to win the game 74-73. Juan Carlos Navarro led Barcelona with 17.

In the semi-final stage of the Final Four on Friday, Olympiacos had defeated Moscow comfortably 69-52 in a rematch of last year’s final. In a game between two Spanish giants, Felipe Reyes scored 17 to help Real Madrid slip past Barcelona 74-67. Huertas (19) and Ante Tomic (18) were the leading scorers for Barcelona.

All Euroleague First Team

Dimitris Diamantidis (Panathinaikos)
Vassilis Spanoulis (Olympiacos)
Rudy Fernandez (Real Madrid)
Ante Tomic (Barcelona)
Nenad Krstic (CSKA Moscow)

Final Four MVP: Vassilis Spanoulis (Olympiacos)

Euroleague MVP: Vassilis Spanoulis (Olympiacos)

LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat poses with his collection of Maurice Podoloff Trophies after being named the 2012-2013 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Year for the fourth time on May 5, 2013. (Getty Images)

If there’s anything that the legacy of LeBron James will be remembered for after his career is over, it will be for his numbers. It will be the near triple-double averages, the scoring title, the shooting percentages, the eye-popping efficiency ratings, the rebounds, the assists, the points and the +/-.

Right now, the number that stands out the most in the legacy of LeBron is four. LeBron just won his fourth MVP award in five years. He’s the only other player to do that since Bill Russell in the early 60s. And he’s the only player to have at least four MVP awards outside of Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. He is also only has two MVPs away from equalling Kareem’s record of six and three more from becoming the most decorated MVP in NBA history. And he’s still only 28.

Even if James doesn’t win as many championships as Russell, Jordan, Kareem, Kobe Bryant or Magic Johnson, or score as many points as Kareem, Karl Malone, Jordan or Kobe, he could become the greatest regular-season performer in history, if he continues bagging the Most Valuable Player award at this rate.

But is that what he wants?

Any observer with a shred of common sense would say, ‘but who wouldn’t want that?’ Who wouldn’t want to be crowned as the best player of the season, year after year? LeBron’s staggering collection of MVP awards are an impressive feat and even at this point, already place him in the pantheon of the greatest basketball players who ever lived. But there’s a reason that, year after year, LeBron has shrugged attention away from this individual trophy to bigger things, or sometimes, different challenges.

A year ago, when accepting his third MVP award and before his first championship he said, “This is very overwhelming to me as an individual award. But this is not the award I want, ultimately I want that Championship. That’s all that matters to me. I would give all three of them back for an NBA Championship.”

LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat poses with the 2013 NBA MVP trophy prior to Game One against the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena on May 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. (Getty Images)

And this year, now armed with another MVP award and his first championship, he added, “I tried harder to win defensive player of the year than I did MVP. That’s my goal.”

Here’s the truth: until LeBron won his first ring last season, his collection of MVP trophies were morphing into just hollow consolation prizes, given to the best performer of the less serious part of the season. Year after year, LeBron failed in the playoffs, and the weight of his three MVP awards would’ve been even heavier if he hadn’t finally won the trophy that, as he said, he would’ve himself traded his three MVP trophies for.

This year, after winning it all, he seemed to take his foot off the gas a little at the start of the season, cruising early on until he caught on fire a couple of months in and then didn’t look back. He claimed to be gunning for the DPOY award instead this year (although he was better defensively last season) and claimed to not try so hard to become MVP again. But like a new special female friend that wants you more if you pretend not to care about her too much, LeBron got the MVP award even after playing it cool. All he did was average 26.8 points, 8 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, shooting a career-best 56.5 percent from the floor and 40.6 percent from the three-point line. He defended at a high level again, guarding nearly every position on the floor. He became a better leader who was a central figure of his team’s historic 27-game winning streak and he led Miami to a franchise best 66 wins in the season.

His contenders tried their best to steal this trophy away from him. Kevin Durant joined the elusive 40-50-90 club while leading his team to the best record in the West, improving as a rebounder, defender, passer, leader, and of course, continuing to evolve into one of the best scorers we have ever seen. Carmelo Anthony had a career-year in New York, leading the league in scoring, also becoming a better all-round player and leader, and leading the Knicks to their best finish in 17 years. Chris Paul led the Clippers to their best ever record while Bryant – a far shot but should be mentioned anyways – battled despite injuries and struggles to have his most efficient season to help the Lakers clinch a playoff spot.

And yet, it was LeBron’s trophy to lose, and he didn’t lose it. Unfortunately, on the day fans should be celebrating his achievement, many were too busy worrying about the 1-vote-Melo-drama. 1 of 121 first place MVP votes didn’t go to LeBron but went to Anthony instead. One voter – later revealed as Boston Globe writer Gary Washburn – gave his MVP vote to Anthony. Despite all the brouhaha that followed, Washburn’s opinion made sense, because it was his opinion: Anthony was more valuable to the Knicks having a great season than LeBron was to the Heat having a great one. Good for him: after all, why would the NBA even bother voting for these things if everyone thought the same way? The bigger surprise was that two people didn’t even vote Kevin Durant in the top five. But these are issues for another day.

LeBron James of the Miami Heat speaks next to the Maurice Podoloff Trophy after being named the 2012-2013 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Year. (Getty Images)

LeBron’s MVP award wasn’t unanimous. But does it even matter? What the voting process reveals year after year is that the MVP award is more opinion than fact, more subjective than objective. ‘Valuable’ is a fairly loosely-defined term that could be interpreted by 121 different ways by 121 different people. This season, 120 interpreted it to be LeBron. For one of them, it was Anthony. At the end of the day, LeBron found himself on a similar podium to where he had stood three times before already, giving a similar speech, about being ‘humbled’, about the ‘team first’ mentality, and about ‘aiming for the bigger prize’.

That ‘bigger prize’ is ultimately what will separate him from the conversations amongst the Kevin Durants and Carmelo Anthonys to conversations amongst the Tim Duncans and Kobe Bryants. LeBron has worked so hard to become the best in the league that he is making the MVP award look easy. A career year by Derrick Rose – where the young point guard truly rose to become the best player in the NBA’s best team – was all that justifiably came between LeBron’s streak of trophies. Of course, he cares if this streak continues until the day he retires, but at the same time, he cares far more about starting a new streak. A streak where he can collect Championship trophies at the same rate; a streak that can help him build a dynasty.

Because at the end of the day, each NBA player competes for that final result. The result that is bigger than any averages and individual trophies: the Championship. LeBron already has one, and to further cement his legacy amongst the all-time greats, he will want to win many more. And then the rewards are objective, the rewards are facts. There will be no opinions and differing views on the definition of ‘valuable’, because a champion is the always the most valuable of them all.

Chicago Bulls were the final team that qualified for the second round of the playoffs

A couple of weeks ago, Inside The NBA host (and former superstar/round-mound-of-rebound) Charles Barkley said that the first round of these year’s playoffs could be the ‘worst in NBA history’. His early fears were perhaps right: after all, seven of the eight first round series started off with the home team taking a 2-0 lead. Fortunately for the neutrals, six of the eight teams made a real series out of it and turned it into a round to remember.

The First Round is over and we can start looking ahead. The likes of Derrick Rose, Danny Granger and Amar’e Stoudemire were already questionable for the playoffs; and now, the absence of Russell Westbrook means that the path to a repeat championship for the Miami Heat is even clearer than ever before. For the rest of the teams in the playoffs, the mission is to survive and advance; advance as far as possible before the inevitable showdown against the NBA’s reigning champions.

With matchups getting closer and the repercussions for every decision bearing bigger fruits, the Second Round turns into a Survivor Series. Although nothing is guaranteed, we can assume that it will be LeBron James and the Heat waiting at the end. But who will advance all the way to challenge them?

First, let’s take a quick recap of the First Round. Despite Brandon Jennings’ outlandish prophecy, the Heat had no trouble defeating the Bucks sweeping them in an easy four games by an average of 12.25 points per game. Even though LeBron had a great series, you got a sense that he didn’t need to push it to the top gear. Wade cruised, and the supporting cast stepped up. The First Round, as predicted, was an early morning snack. Now the rested Heat get ready for the Second. They will be playing the Bulls, who kept on losing players (Rose – already out, Deng, Hinrich, Hamilton, and sicknesses/injuries to Robinson/Gibson/Noah) and still kept on bouncing back. Chicago beat the Nets in seven games in a series that will be remembered for the Nate Robinson 3 OT Game and for Joakim Noah’s heroic leadership.

The Knicks took an easy 3-0 lead over the Celtics before Boston showed incredible pride and heart to win the next two games and even make a legendary 20-0 run in the fourth quarter of Game 6 to give the Knicks a scare. In the end, Carmelo and co advanced to play the Pacers in the next round, who also won 4-2 against the Hawks. Forever stuck in mediocrity, the Hawks did even the series when they won games 3 and 4, but it wasn’t enough to stop rising star Paul George and Indiana’s tough defense from surviving and moving ahead.

Out West, the Thunder started comfortably against old buddy James Harden and the Rockets until superstar Russell Westbrook went down for the season and the series took a dramatic turn. Kevin Durant was good enough to help OKC take a 3-0 lead, but Harden and Chandler Parsons led Houston to wins over the next two games before OKC finally closed it out in Game 6. The Thunder will be facing the grit-n-grind Grizzlies, a team that is striking fear in the heart of all opponents at this point, in the next round. Despite going down 0-2 to the Clippers after a Chris Paul game-winner in Game 2, Memphis went back to their defensively tough ways to rattle the Clips and win the next four in a row. A rejuvenated Zach Randolph became a big reason for this turnaround, and newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol as well as Tony Allen beefed up this team’s defensive prowess.

The Lakers were the noisiest team in the regular season, with all their drama, comedy and injuries. The quiet Spurs silenced them in an impressive four-game sweep which left the Lakers broken, hobbled, and ejected. I was doing pretty well with my First Round predictions, getting them all right, until the last one: The 6th place Warriors pulled off a big upset as they defeated the Nuggets in six games. If the series could be summarized in a single sentence, it would be that the team with the superstar won. Yes, it is wonderful to watch an ego-less, star-less team like Nuggets play; but in the playoffs, it becomes necessary in 95 percent of the cases to have a transcendent talent to lead the team. The Warriors have that in Stephen Curry. Now, he must prepare for a much tougher challenge against the Spurs.

And with that, we look ahead at the Second Round ahead. Here are my predictions for all the four series:

East

Heat vs. Bulls: Don’t let anyone blinded by the Miami-tinted glasses tell you otherwise: this series will be no cakewalk for the Heat. The Bulls are a team that hustle hard and battle till the very end. If the Heat have superstars and MVPs on the court, then the Bulls have a superstar on the bench and he is Coach Tom Thibodeau. Thibs’ defensive-minded attitude will make this a physically testing series for Miami. A lot depends on the health of Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich, and those guys can help contain (relatively) the explosiveness of LeBron and Wade. That said, we are still talking about the league’s MVP and best player here. LeBron will have to pull out some heroics in this series, and he will. I predict two different scenarios in this matchup, and both of them end up with a win for the Heat. If Derrick Rose returns, the Heat win in 7, if he doesn’t, they win in 6. Since we don’t know any better, we’ll assume that he doesn’t return, and Miami will win this series 4-2.

Knicks vs. Pacers: This is a series that will test a team that relies on great scorers getting hot against a team that prides itself on defensive discipline. Can the Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith recover from a late-series slump against the Celtics and find their shooting stroke against the defensively tougher Pacers? It is worrying for the Knicks fans when JR Smith is your second-most consistent offensive option. But a positive for them is that the Pacers are quite inconsistent offensively too. The Pacers will bring in their meanest faces, but that won’t be enough as they won’t have the offense to counter New York’s. I predict that the Knicks will win in 6 games.

West

Thunder vs. Grizzlies: Without Westbrook, this suddenly turns into the most interesting series of the round. Despite having the NBA’s most gifted scorer in Kevin Durant, the Thunder showed an identity crisis in their offense in the last three games without Westbrook against the Rockets. Expect the defensive-minded Grizzlies to exploit those issues and make life hell for Durant. On the other side, the Thunder bigs will suffer trying to stop Randolph and Gasol in the post. It will be the best matchup of the round, and will go to all seven games; but I predict that the Thunder will begin to reshape their offense as they get used to life without their point guard and finally get comfortable in their new look as the series progresses. And, no matter who they send to stop him, ultimately Durant will lift his team to victory. Thunder to win 4-3.

Spurs vs. Warriors: The Warriors haven’t won in San Antonio since Tim Duncan was drafted back in 1997. That’s a long 16-year stretch. Golden State have a fantastic home advantage and actually split the season series 2-2 against the Spurs. On form, they have the best player in the series in Stephen Curry. But the Spurs are a special team; a team that not only have two players in Parker and Duncan who will be the best on court at any given time, but also a team that is deeper and better-coached than the Warriors. It’s been a good effort getting this far, but this is where the journey ends for Golden State. They will win one emotional game in front of their home crowd, but Spurs will win the series 4-1.

There is no time to rest or recover, and little time to plan ahead. While you blink after a fantastic end to the First Round, the Second Round will jump at you less than 24 hours later. Barkley was wrong about the First; now let’s hope that the Second continues the same exciting momentum. Who will survive in the end?

Russell Westbrook doesn’t miss games. One of the most durable players in basketball history, Westbrook didn’t miss a single game for his High School in Lawndale, California, in two years for his college UCLA, or during the 439 regular season and playoff games that the Oklahoma City Thunder played since he got drafted in 2008. This is especially awe-inspiring considering that unlike the league’s previous ‘Iron Men’ to have played most consecutive games (AC Green, John Stockton, etc.), Westbrook has the most athletic and reckless style to his game.

So when the Thunder announced yesterday that Westbrook would be getting surgery for the torn meniscus in his knee and could be out for an extended period of time, the absurdity of injury crisis in the NBA this season reached its boiling point. Westbrook’s name has only been added to a growing list of NBA stars watching from the sidelines this season, which includes Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love, Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, David Lee, Danilo Gallinari, and many more. Put those names together in full health and you have a squad that can challenge any NBA All Star team. The growing number of these injuries had already been a serious problem across the league, but now as Westbrook goes down, the alarm bells start ringing even louder. If it can happen to Iron Man – a durable, young and healthy talent like him – it can happen to anyone.

But why is it happening?

Physiotherapy, training, medical care, surgery, and injury-prevention exercises and drills have come a long way. Today’s NBA features the world’s most remarkably gifted athletes who have access to the world’s most remarkably forward-minded care to keep them healthy. Then why is it that, as we land into the most important stretch of the NBA Calendar, we find so many game-changing players watching in street clothes. It isn’t just the names mentioned above: serious injuries of various kinds struck Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, John Wall, Eric Gordon, Ricky Rubio and Kyrie Irving over the past year. Are the NBA players doing something wrong, or have some voodoo magicians purposely cursed the league to suffer its worst stroke of luck ever?

Injuries have halted or completely derailed the career of way too many potential superstars over the course of history. Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, Ralph Sampson, Bill Walton, Yao Ming and Bernard King are just some great players who would’ve been headed towards far greater heights if they hadn’t gotten hurt. But today’s NBA players can enjoy the luxuries that many even in the recent past couldn’t. Players have access to a whole crew of Strength and Conditioning coaches, physicians, orthopedic surgeons, ophthalmologists, cardiologists, dentists, Yoga instructors, massage therapists, and other medical specialists as part of the team’s extended staff. They have fancy machines like the cyrosauna for ice baths and all types of additional paraphernalia for their body – from ankle bands to athletic body armour vests – to keep them intact and ready for action. Then why is it that modern players are still struggling to stay healthy, and are perhaps suffering from serious injuries more than ever before?

There is no clear answer to these questions; but one of my theories is that with all the injury-prevention, surgical, and post-injury support now available, the state of mind of many modern athletes has changed as compared to before. NBA players in earlier years perhaps had to be more careful about their bodies, knowing that even a minor injury could keep them out for the majority of the season, and hence played the game with a lot more conservatism. With the game evolving the way it is, featuring more and more athletic superhumans, the style of play by many has become more assertive and aggressive (like Wade, Rose, Westbrook, Wall, etc.), as players assume that no matter how recklessly they play, the human and technological support around them will keep them healthy and all their bones intact.

But the human body – no matter how miraculously strong it can seem – is a fragile piece of work, and sometimes even world-class preparation can’t save it from faulty landings or a nasty collisions. Basketball for the viewer is far more exciting with adventurous, reckless and strong play, and it is far more effective for those playing the game at an athletically higher level. But the continuing slew of injuries this season has shown the limitations to this extreme recklessness.

Another oft-discussed reason is that many of the players who get injured might just be getting burned out from the long, dense regular season of playing close to 40 or more minutes per game. Players like Kobe, Rose and Westbrook are used to playing big minutes night in and night out when healthy; but the grueling nature of the competition means that even these tireless talents can put themselves at the risk of a serious injury. Kobe, for example, was playing between 45-48 minutes a night in crucial games towards the end of the regular season to ensure a post-season spot for the Lakers before his injury. Lakers’ Coach Mike D’Antoni has been accused in the past for running down Amar’e Stoudemire in Phoenix and New York in similar fashion. For Kobe, who had been battling with all kinds of injuries and mysterious surgeries over the past year, it wasn’t a surprise that he got hurt again. However, it was a surprise that he couldn’t bounce back immediately like he usually does.

The NBA’s schedule of 82 regular season games plus a maximum of 28 games in the post-season can test even the best of talents who have to play around three games a week. Played at a breath-taking pace with the previously-mentioned reckless abandon, it’s clear to see why so many coaches choose to rest their best players in less meaningful matches to keep them fresh and avoid unnecessary pain.

But apart from the evolving style of play and the challenges of a packed schedule, maybe the NBA has just been struck with the most confounding ailment of them all: bad luck. Freak injuries happen all the time, but for some reason, they have decided to happen all at the same time during the course of the 2012-13 season. Kevin Love broke his hand doing knuckle pushups. Awkward landings led to torn ACLs for Rose, Rondo, and Gallinari, and an Achilles tear for Kobe. Bynum and Stoudemire have had a history of bad knees, and that history continued into this season.

As a result of this luck, numerous teams can argue that they missed the playoffs because of injuries (76ers, Timberwolves, and for Wizards and Mavericks who started slow), many are struggling with a shorthanded roster in the first round (Celtics, Lakers), and the rest may never be able to achieve their full potential going forward because of their missing talent (Thunder, Nuggets, Warriors, Bulls, Knicks and Pacers – although for the latter two, the absence of Stoudemire and Granger hasn’t bothered them yet).

What we are left with, unfortunately, is the hollow feeling of an inferior product. Yes, it’s great fun to see LeBron James and Dwyane Wade run a fastbreak, but I also want to see Kobe Bryant hit tough jumpers. We have two of the most natural scorers of all time in Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony lighting up the league, but the playoffs would’ve been more competitive with Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo also running the show.

In the true spirit of competition, each squad should be able to play with its full potential with all the available talent at the highest possible level. Until recently, we could assume that some teams and players have just done a better job at preparing for their physical health for a big playoff run. But when a guy likes Westbrook goes down, even all that preparation and durability leaves you with the same, unfortunate result.

Of course, the show must go on, and no one feels any sympathy for anyone else in the world of professional basketball. Still, we can look up and question the Basketball Gods for depriving us of some fantastic players this year. After all, it’s the year ’13, isn’t yet? Hopefully the curse will pass us by next year, and we can have a season where talent and teamwork matters more than a health crisis.

Every team played 82 games this season. As they should have. This is necessary to have been said because approximately a year ago, we had just completed a 66-game regular season played at a frantic pace and were headed into the playoffs at the same pace.

And the pace and challenges that come with a shortened season gave rise to the NBA’s teams most equipped with energy, health, youth and talent. So the Finals came down to the Heat vs. the Thunder, two teams featuring the league’s two best players and a style that left opponents huffing and puffing behind.

The man who reigned above all, and the man who controlled the past, was LeBron James. LeBron enjoyed his banner year last season, winning an MVP Award, his first championship, and the ensuing Finals MVP award. 2012 was his.

We are now in the present, almost a year later. LeBron and the Heat are looking like favourites again. Durant and the Thunder are looking like contenders again. But at the conclusion of a full-length season, we also saw a couple other interesting names crop up and be heard across the league.

So now we stand at the crossroads between what we know about the past and what we can predict about the future. As the great George Orwell wrote through the slogan of Ingsoc in Ninety Eighty-Four: “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” The past and the present have been controlled by LeBron and Miami. Will the same hold true for the future?

Here are my end-of-season awards for 2012-13.

MVP: LeBron James

Make it four times in five years. If LeBron hadn’t won a championship last season, his frantic pace of regular season MVP awards would actually be a blemish than a compliment, and he would continue to be called the one legendary player who couldn’t turn dominance into eventual success. But the 2012 championship has us all revising history. LeBron is undoubtedly the greatest player of this generation, and in 2012-13, he has enjoyed the greatest individual season since Shaquille O’Neal back in 2000. Yes, he missed several games at the end simply because the team didn’t need him after clinching the top spot, but it doesn’t take away from his MVP campaign. 26.8 points, career-high 8 rebounds, 7.3 assists on a league high +32.18 efficiency rating and career-best, a blistering 56.5 % shooting from the field. How about that streak of 30+ points on over 60 percent shooting? How about that 27-game winning streak? Kevin Durant had an incredible season, joining the 50-40-90 club. Carmelo Anthony was on fire, leading the league in scoring and making the Knicks into contenders again. Chris Paul and Tony Parker marshalled their teams to outstanding records. But this is LeBron’s award now.

Defensive Player of the Year: Marc Gasol

The Grizzlies are the NBA’s best defensive team, and it has been mostly due to the efforts of Gasol, Tony Allen, and Mike Conley, to be joined by Tayshaun Prince later. But Gasol is the man in the middle who really made a difference, changing shots, blocking shots, grabbing boards, and generally being a menace to your favourite basket-attackers. I’d give some love to Joakim Noah too, but he missed too many games this season. Paul George is a future DPOY in the making. But Gasol is my favourite here.

Rookie of the Year: Damian Lillard

Let’s give a ‘good job, good effort’ applause to the contenders: Anthony Davis, and Bradley Beal. But after a guy leads all rookies in points, assists, minutes, and cojones, we may as well hand him the trophy and step back.

Coach of the Year: Eric Spoelstra

Surely what is going to be the most hotly debated award. The contenders are aplenty. Gregg Popovich is a contender for as long as he’s a head coach, each year, every year, and once again he helped make Spurs into one of the strongest teams in the league. Mike Woodson reshaped the Knicks offensively and defensively and helped them rise to second place in the East. George Karl made the ‘All-Star-less’ Nuggets into a Western Conference powerhouse with the best home record in the NBA. Lionel Hollins should get some love for his work with the Grizzlies, especially sans the Rudy Gay trade. Tom Thibhodeau continues in the Popovich vein as a coach who can win with a system, not the stars in the system. Props to Doc Rivers and Mark Jackson too. But I think it’s time Spoelstra gets his due. The young coach is blessed with the league’s most formidable lineup, sure. But let’s give him credit for leading the Heat to a franchise best <> wins, including a 27-game winning streak, and finding offensive cohesion between LeBron, Wade and the rest of the players to become the most offensively efficient squad in the league. Congrats Spo.

6th Man of the Year Award: JR Smith

There exists a parallel bizzaro universe where JR Smith matures as a truly reliable NBA backup, becoming the second-best offensive threat in the second-best squad in the East, accepting his role as a 6th man, and turning his erratic shooting sprees into useful shooting sprees. In this world, he becomes the league’s highest bench scorer and wins the 6th man of year award. Now imagine that the bizzaro universe is where we actually live and all that I said above is true. Smith deserves this award, and he will edge Jamal Crawford and Jarrett Jack to win it.

Most Improved Player: James Harden

Like every year, the definition of this award is the most contentious. What are we counting as improved? Going from barely-known to useful, like Larry Sanders and Greivis Vasquez? Or going from useful to completely All-Star level, like James Harden or Jrue Holiday? I’m sure the definition changes every year. But now in Houston, Harden was handed the keys to the offense and a spike in minutes. We all knew he had it in him, but who expected his production to jump from 16.8 ppg and 3.7 apg to 25.9 ppg and 5.8 apg, and in the process Harden becoming an All Star and one of the NBA’s best young players? Sure, Sanders and Holiday have improved, but Harden (thanks to his improved minutes) is the most improved.

All NBA Team

I’m not sure what approach the NBA will take for this, but mine will be to choose players like the NBA made us choose our All Stars: two backcourt players, three frontcourt players. Because really, this was the year of the Small Forwards-turned-Power Forwards. Sorry, Centers.

My All NBA First team:

Chris Paul
Kobe Bryant
Carmelo Anthony
LeBron James
Kevin Durant

Here is my All-Defensive First Team:

Tony Allen
Paul George
Marc Gasol
Joakim Noah
LeBron James

Playoff Preview

First Round

East

Heat vs. Bucks: Heat
Knicks vs. Celtics: Knicks
Pacers vs. Hawks: Pacers
Nets vs. Bulls: Bulls

West

Thunder vs. Rockets: Thunder
Spurs vs. Lakers: Spurs
Nuggets vs. Warriors: Nuggets
Clippers vs. Grizzlies: Grizzlies

Basically, I have all the top seeds going through, except for the fourth seeds in each conference. I think Chicago (with or without Rose, or even with a hobbled Noah), are built for the playoffs, and it will take something special to stop them. Sorry Brooklyn. In the West, I expect Clippers and Grizzlies to go to seven, but for defense (Grizzlies) to beat offense (Clippers). Heat will sweep Bucks. Thunder and the Spurs to beat Rockers and Lakers (don’t get too excited about 7th place, Lakers fans) to win in five. Knicks to win a hard-fought series over Boston in six, and Pacers to grind out Hawks in six too. Warriors vs. Nuggets will be a fun watch, and I think Stephen Curry can help carry this to seven games. But home court advantage will take the Nuggets through.

Second Round

East

Heat vs. Bulls: Heat
Knicks vs. Pacers: Knicks

West

Thunder vs. Grizzlies: Thunder
Spurs vs. Nuggets: Spurs

With or without Rose playing for Chicago, Miami will be too good for the Bulls to stop, and the Heat will take revenge against the team that ended their streak. Pacers defense would’ve scared the Knicks in the past, but they have been inconsistent off late and the Knicks have the Eastern Conference’s best player outside of Miami. They will take it in six or seven. Thunder will beat Grizzlies in six and – although the Nuggets will have some bright sparks against the Spurs – Popovich and Duncan will be back in the Conference Finals again.

Conference Finals

Heat vs. Knicks: Heat
Thunder vs. Spurs: Thunder

The top two in each conference face off in the Conference Finals, and I’m predicting that last year’s winners will be winners this year again. Knicks will take a couple of games against the Knicks on their three-point shooting and Anthony’s brilliance, but Miami will be a force to be reckoned with. Expect LeBron and Wade to carry the Heat to the Finals for the third consecutive year. Out West, the Thunder will outpace the Spurs, who will finally begin to show their age against the talented team from Oklahoma City.

Finals: Heat vs. Thunder

A rematch of the 2012 Finals, and a growing rivalry between LeBron and Durant that will become the closest thing that we have to a Bird-Magic rivalry from the 80s. The Thunder are really, really good, but they have been outclassed in their head-to-head matchups against Miami over their past six games. Durant and Westbrook will give LeBron and Wade a run for their money this time, but I expect the Heat to win in six games and put a cap on their memorable season. Finals MVP: LeBron James, again.

LeBron James and Miami have controlled the past and the present. Will they control the future too?

January 7th. The Washington Wizards got one of their biggest wins of the season, a surprise triumph against the West’s best, Oklahoma City Thunder. They celebrated, as they should have. It ‘improved’ the worst team in the NBA from 4-28 to 5-28. This was a team that had started the season with 12 consecutive defeats. Rookie Bradley Beal had shown some promise, Trevor Ariza and Nene had been bright-ish sparks, but this was a team going nowhere fast.

And then John Wall returned.

Picked first by the Wizards in 2010 after a banner year for Kentucky, Wall’s career had been relatively underwhelming the first couple of years. Underwhelming, when seen in perspective of the high standards that his previous performances and his athletic capacity set up for himself. Blessed with blistering speed on and off the ball and tremendous athleticism, Wall entered the league as one of the poster-boys of basketball’s new generation point guards. Players like him, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook were fast, strong, and unstoppable, and they were here to revolutionize the point guard position.

Only, things didn’t quite pan out as they should have. Wall, of course, didn’t completely disappoint. He became the third youngest player to have a triple double in his rookie season. He was named as part of the 2011 ‘Rising Stars’ Challenge. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Blake Griffin.

Players with great potential make their biggest jump in their sophomore season. And that’s what Wall couldn’t do. Although he played and started in every game in his second season for the Wizards, Wall’s production stagnated across the board. The Wizards finished second-worst in the league and people started to wonder if he could ever figure out a way to improve his jump-shot. The pressure to perform and ‘break-out’ increased manifold on the young man’s shoulders when he got injured at the start of the current season and saw his team lose 23 of their first 28 games.

Luckily for Washington and Wall fans, that ‘break-out’ finally is finally here.

Since his return to the Wizards’ lineup on January 12, Wall has been averaging a career high 18.4 points per game and shooting at a career-best 44.7% from the field goal. Since his return, the Wizards have enjoyed a 24-23 record, which would’ve been good enough for a playoff spot in the East if Wall had them running at the same pace all season. The playoffs seemed out of reach months ago, but in Wall’s return and this team’s return to relevance, there is now finally some optimism in the future of Washington basketball.

Wall’s play has finally begun to respond to the expectations from his game as the number one pick. He scored 24 points and passed out 16 assists (with just 1 turnover) in a memorable comeback win over the Lakers in LA. He had 27 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a win over the defensive-minded Bulls. He saved his two finest performances against the two best defenses in the league, going for 37 points in a win over the Pacers and a career-high 47 points (on 13-22 shooting, along with 8 assists and 7 rebounds) in a win over the Grizzlies.

His outburst has been so magnificent that it has had people wondering how different this season could’ve panned out for the Wizards – and for opposing teams in the East – had he played all season. No matter, for even though they ‘lost’ the 2012-13 season, things look better than ever for 2013-14. Wall is still only 22 (!) and primed for his first All Star caliber season. Bradley Beal has the potential to become one of the best shooters in the league over the next few years. Trevor Ariza, Martell Webster, Nene and Emeka Okafor make for a decent surrounding core.

If they carry on the form that they caught early in the calendar year into next season, they could definitely make the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2008.

And the man in the middle is Wall, who – in his third season – has finally taken the leap to become a consistent star in the league.

NBA Legend Gary Payton is nominated at the Hall of Fame press conference during of the 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend at the Hilton Americas Hotel on February 15, 2013 in Houston, Texas. (Getty Images)

Yes, the internet did exist back in 1996, but my friends and I neither had access to it, nor did we know how to use it yet. For NBA fans today, it’s nearly unimaginable to believe that the game could be followed without instant Twitter updates, YouTube clips, play-by-play online updates or analysis.

But as basketball-addicted 11-year-olds, we found our way. We woke too at dawn to watch live games in India, we worshipped primetime shows like ‘NBA Inside Stuff’ and ‘NBA Action’, we passed around the single SLAM magazine for months between all of us, we adorned our hostel rooms with posters of Michael Jordan and Shaq, and we played with NBA trading cards.

That is how I discovered Gary Payton.

I was enamoured by the legend of ‘The Glove’ first before being enamoured by his game. I loved the idea of a tough-as-nails point guard who was the greatest perimeter defender of his time. He was also one of the greatest of all-time, who would also lead his team in points, assists, steals and minutes. I was obsessed with getting my hands on Payton’s #20 Green Supersonics jersey. I had the trading card, the SLAM cover and the posters. Yet, I had barely watched him play.

9 Feb 1997: Seattle Supersonics forward Shawn Kemp (right) and guard Gary Payton confer during the NBA All-Star game in Cleveland, Ohio. (Getty Images)

The legend, the personality, the trip to the Finals, the hell he gave Michael Jordan, the defensive awards, the alley-oops to Shawn Kemp, the trash-talking, the limited highlight reel videos, the few live games and the stats, all added up to create for me, a complete mosaic of the perfect player.

Thousands of miles away from any NBA market in a boarding school in the Indian Himalayas, I had already decided that I was going to become a Knicks fan (thanks to the mid-90s dominance, and largely later due to the 1999 Finals run). But Gary Dwyane Payton became my favourite player.

In the 16th season of his 17-season career, Payton finally won an elusive championship. It was third visit to the Finals, and the first successful one. He won it as a member of the Miami Heat, tracking along the coattails of a young and electrifying Dwyane Wade and a mildly-dominant Shaquille O’Neal. He hit a couple of massive shots in the Finals against the Mavericks in 2006 to seal his place amongst the legion of champions.

Michael Jordan #23 of the Chicago Bulls exchanges words with Gary Payton #20 of the Seattle SuperSonics during Game Two of the 1996 NBA Finals. (Getty Images)

He retired in 2007 as a Miami player. He played briefly for the Bucks, Lakers and Celtics. He has made indelible marks in his time as a high school star in Oakland and a college superstar in Oregon State.

But he will forever be a Seattle Supersonic.

Drafted second by the Sonics in 1990, Payton came into the NBA with high expectations after his college career. But he struggled mightily in his first two seasons, averaging just 8.2 ppg in his first two seasons. The breakout finally began in 1993, as his scoring average cracked double digits, and by 1994, he had established himself as one of the NBA’s elite point guards, making his first All-Star appearance.

Along with the explosive Shawn Kemp, Payton helped transform the Sonics into one of the most exciting teams in the league and one of the perennial contenders in the Western Conference. Over the next decade, he enjoyed regular All-Star status, made two appearances in the All NBA First Team, an incredible nine appearances in the All Defensive First Team and was named the Defensive Player of the Year – a rare honour for a perimeter player – in 1996.

1995-96 was a banner year for Payton and the Sonics. They won a franchise record 64 games and went all the way to the NBA Finals to play against Michael Jordan’s Bulls. Although MJ triumphed (as he usually did), Payton was his most formidable Finals opponent ever. It was a mythic head-to-head battle of mind-games, trash-talk and physical play between two of the most competitive players of all-time.

Payton guarded Scottie Pippen for the first two games as the Bulls cruised to a 2-0 series lead. By Game 3, Payton switched to Jordan, and from Games 4-6, Payton held Jordan to his worst Finals scoring output and shooting percentage. On the other side of the court, he made Jordan sweat on the defensive end as well.

It would all come to nigh, as despite a brief comeback by the Sonics, the Bulls won the series 4-2 for their fourth championship. But ‘The Glove’ – so nicknamed of the handicapping defence he played on opponents – had made his mark on the game’s biggest stage. Later that summer Payton won an Olympics gold medal for the USA in the Atlanta Olympics.

While he never put up gaudy, eye-popping numbers, Payton’s brilliance was in his consistency. In his 17 year career, he missed just 25 games and would go on to play over 300 consecutive games at a point. He averaged a career-high in points (24.2) in 2000, in assists (9.0) in 2002 and in steals (2.9) in 1996. He brought his trademark intensity and trash-talking style of play night after night to become one of the greatest two-way point guards in league history.

Gary Payton #20 of the Miami Heat holds the Larry O’Brien Trophy after the Heat won the 2006 NBA Finals after defeating the Dallas Mavericks. (Getty Images)

Midway in the 2003 season, Payton’s storied career with the Supersonics ended and he was traded to the Bucks. The following off-season, he found himself as a part of the Lakers’ ‘Fantastic Four’ squad, which teamed aging Payton and Karl Malone with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Despite on and off court drama, Payton’s own struggles to find his place in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, the team made the NBA Finals only to lose to the Detroit Pistons.

After just one year in LA, Payton moved to the Celtics and played another largely forgettable year in Boston before joining the Heat. After years of struggle and near-misses, his story finally had a happy ending. He was a champion.

Soon after Payton’s retirement, his beloved Sonics were moved out of Seattle and to Oklahoma City, where they have transformed into the incredibly successful Thunder. Payton dreams of having his jersey retired back in Seattle. With the future of the Sacramento Kings now up in the air and Seattle looking like a likely destination if the Kings are to move, Payton’s wish could well be fulfilled very soon.

Now, six years after his retirement, it has been announced that Gary Payton will be enshrined amongst the game’s greatest, in the Basketball Hall of Fame. It will be a well-deserved honour for one of the game’s greatest players. And we look forward to all the trash that he will talk in his acceptance speech.

My memories of being a Payton fan inevitably take me back to the simpler days of NBA fandom. Back when we used coat-hangers as baskets and rolled-up socks as basketballs to play ‘full-court’ imaginary All-Star games. Back when we made scrap-books devoted to our favourite players and teams from cut-outs of other basketball magazines. Back when my love affair with the NBA and with basketball first began.

So congrats to The Glove. One of the greatest at his position. NBA Champion. Hall of Famer. And my childhood favourite.

It’s the first day of April. So bring out your lamest jokes and stupidest quotes and let’s have a pick-up ball-game out of it, shall we? For one day a year, NBA reality inverts upon itself, and we get left over with some of the most intriguing breaking faking news stories of the hoops world. Catch up all before they’re vetoed for basketball reasons.

Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James  of the Miami Heat pose for a photo in the locker room after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA Championship in 2012. (Getty Images)

NBA Cancels Eastern Conference Playoffs:

In an expected move, the NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the entire schedule of the Eastern Conference Playoffs will be cancelled from April 20 to June 12, and the Conference title handed for the third consecutive year to the Miami Heat.

“We just thought, what the heck?” Stern told reporters on April 1st, “The Heat are 11.5 games ahead of second place Knicks. And the Knicks are only 11 games ahead of eighth place Bucks. What’s the point of the playoffs anyways? Let’s just save the energy, hand the Heat the title. We’ll see them in the Finals.”

The Western Conference Playoffs will be held as scheduled. At press time, it was reported that a total of 46 teams with a winning record in the West will miss the playoffs.

James Harden finally shaves his beard to reveal hidden treasure:

James Harden of the Houston Rockets finally shaved his beard! (Getty Images)

Houston Rockets superstar guard James Harden has shaved his beard, leading archaeologists to finally discover the 450-year-old hidden City of Gold, Paititi. The gold has since been redistributed to the Houston Rockets franchise and handed to Daryl Morey, who has made plans to spend the money on six more role players.

Harden, meanwhile has gone missing. Harden’s Beard was seen roaming the streets of Houston along with Jeremy Lin on Monday, holding on to last season’s Sixth Man of the Year award.

Knicks inject youth in aging squad by resigning Allan Houston, Patrick Ewing, and Bernard King to their roster

Hoping to inject a spurt of youth into their aging squad – the oldest in NBA history – the New York Knicks have brought back past legends Allan Houston (41), Patrick Ewing (50) and Bernard King (56) to their roster for a big playoff push.

“We are well aware that when we signed Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas, Rasheed Wallace and the NBA’s oldest rookie Pablo Prigioni this season that we were getting significantly older,” said Knicks coach Mike Woodson, “Luckily, with Allan, Patrick and Bernard back in the team, we will finally have some young legs for a big post-season push. More importantly, we will be able to build around these youngsters to challenge the likes of the Heat and Thunder for many more years to come.

Knicks legend Walt Frazier (68) declined a contract offer by the Knicks because he feared the rookie hazing he might receive from the veterans in the squad.

Clippers fan wakes up to realise last three years were just a dream:

A Los Angeles Clippers fan woke up this morning to report that he had the ‘craziest dream’ about this team, which is currently at the bottom of the Pacific Division.

“Seriously, it was like the craziest dream ever,” reported lifelong Clippers’ supporter Jim Montera. “I dreamt that Blake Griffin got healthy and won the Rookie of the Year Award, and then the next season, Chris Paul joined the Clippers! Can you believe that? Chris Paul! We became so good that we were even better than those Lakers! We even went on a 16-game winning streak this season and became one of the best teams in the league. It was the sweetest dream!”

Montera reports being extremely disappointed when we woke up on Monday morning to find that Blake Griffin is still suffering from his 2009 injury, Chris Paul is actually a Laker, and the Clippers have handed their three largest contracts to Hedo Turkoglu, Andrea Bargnani and Eddy Curry.

LeBron an alien: Cleveland Scientists

LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat is actually an extra-terrestrial being. Don’t be surprised. (Getty Images)

After what they claim to be ‘conclusive evidence’ following ‘exhaustive DNA testing’, scientists from acclaimed laboratory in Cleveland have claimed that LeBron James is indeed an extra-terrestrial being from a faraway planet.

“These genes,” said spokesman Dan Gilbert, “They’re definitely not human. Human? Are you kidding me? This guy nearly averages a triple double a game in the modern era of the game while defending the strongest player on the opposing team and logging heavy minutes every night. You’re kidding me, right? Our tests give conclusive evidence. LeBron’s DNA has been linked to the exo-planet HD 1988d878 (codenamed AKRON) around the Tryo Ettina star system around 13 light-years away from Earth. Our research tells us that this planet is full of genetically modified beings who have evolved naturally to excel in just one thing: Basketball. In HD 1988d878’s version of the NBA, LeBron is only good enough to come off the bench on a non-playoff team.”

LeBron is the second athlete in recent times to be tied to an alien background, after Barcelona’s Argentine football star Lionel Messi.

Michael Jordan un-retires to play for the Charlotte Bobcats

Frustrated with the continuous seasons of failure of the team he owns – the Charlotte Bobcats – Michael Jordan decided to un-retire from the NBA for the third time in his career to don a Bobcat jersey. Thrust into the starting lineup of the last place side along with Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Byron Mullens and Bismack Biyombo, the 50-year-old team owner has immediately begun leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, minutes played, field goal percentage and consecutive push-ups during practice.

Jordan’s return has sparked a sense of optimism for the 17-56 ‘Cats, who are only 18.5 games away from a playoff spot. “I feel really good about this roster,” said Jordan, who looked unfit and out-of-shape on his first day at practice, thus good enough to be the healthiest player in the team.

It’s now wildly being reported that Jordan is looking to add one last piece to the Charlotte championship puzzle to come for his seventh ring in the 2013-14 season. That final piece is Kwame Brown.

LeBron James #6 and Dwyane Wade #3 led the Miami Heat to a 27-0 streak. (Getty Images)

Take the 2012-13 Miami Heat, for example.

The 2012-13 regular season lasts 173 days, from October 30, 2012 to April 20, 2013, counting the All-Star break in between. In the course of these days, each team plays 82 games each and 1230 total games are played between 30 teams across the league. That’s about an average of 7.12 games played every single day for nearly six months. And we haven’t even started talking about the playoffs yet.

With so much action every day, it is kind of easy to lose track of how significant in history any given moment is on any given day, and how it should be noted. A big comeback win in Cleveland can be Twitter’s flavour of the hour. A powerful dunk by DeAndre Jordan can be the SportsCenter play of day. A big trade in Toronto could be discussed for a whole week. A surprising rookie in Portland or an unleashed rising star in Houston can be talked about for months. A dominating 54-point performance by Stephen Curry becomes the highest scoring output of the season.

There are current events, and then there is history.

What the Miami Heat did from February 1, 2013 – March 27, 2013, was the latter. For that period of 54 days, the defending champions did not lose a single game, winning all 27 of their contests and clocking in the second-greatest winning streak in NBA history.

What we witnessed, what every NBA fan and sports observer – casual or serious – saw over the past two months, was a team at the apex of its powers, a team doing what few others have done before. In 65 years of the NBA, we have rarely before come across a collection of 12-15 basketball-playing individuals that make together such a successful whole. Whether we like it or hate it, we should savour it.

Right now, this is a team that seems to be fulfilling its potential, fulfilling on the promise that they made to their fans and to themselves of becoming one of the greatest teams of all-time.

(L-R) LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh attend HEAT Summer of 2010 Welcome Event at AmericanAirlines Arena on July 9, 2010 in Miami, Florida. (Getty Images)

It all began in the summer of 2010, when a free agent coup that added reigning MVP LeBron James and All-Star Chris Bosh to a roster that already had superstar Dwyane Wade. Together, the Miami Big Three promised big things and promised them a little too early. They held a welcome party, arrogantly celebrating themselves, and promising that their union could bring together “Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5…” etc. championships to South Beach.

But of course, great players don’t necessarily make for great teams, at least not straight away. The Heat started off slowly, but soon began to gather pace in their first season together and were looking in championship form by the time the playoffs rolled around. They were still creases to be ironed: the Heat’s offense was too hap-hazard, relying on either LeBron or Wade to be creator while the others stood around waiting for magic to happen. Thanks to their talent, that magic happened often, but it would also lead them to certain roadblocks. This ‘unfinished’ team was still good enough – particularly on the defensive end – to reach the NBA Finals before they were exposed by the tactically better prepared Dallas Mavericks. LeBron had a nightmare series, and choked spectacularly on basketball’s biggest stage.

A year later, the Heat came back stronger, and LeBron had a season to remember in the lockout-shortened 2011-12. He won his third MVP award, affirming his position as basketball’s best player, and the Heat stormed back to the Finals again. This time, they  suffered no such setbacks against Indiana and Boston. And Oklahoma City could stop them in the Finals. LeBron didn’t choke, Wade showed up when it was important, and Miami even survived a few weeks without Bosh in the playoffs as they claimed a NBA championship last June.

And then they got better.

The Heat this season – short in size and slightly less intense on the defensive end – have nevertheless developed into a team that is no longer just the best team for a season, but one of the best teams for all seasons. This 27-game winning streak proved that. When the Big Three first got together in 2010, outlandish predictions were made for them, like how they could win more games in a season than the ’95-96 Bulls or have a ‘legit shot’ at the ’71-72 Lakers 33-game winning streak. Two and a half years later, this team is proving that they can belong in that conversation.

The Heat already have a championship, and with it, the confidence of knowing that they are winners every night this season. They already have the best player in the league – LeBron James – the man who is destined to win this fourth MVP award in five years. They already have the NBA’s best supporting star in Wade, a top five player on his night. Bosh has been more or less reduced to playing the role of a glorified role player, one which he is performing well. They have great shooters like Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, Shane Battier, and the newly added Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to maximise LeBron and Wade’s penetration in the paint. In Battier and Udonis Haslem, they have the type of role players who play to win every single night. In Haslem and Chris Anderson, they have players to protect the basket. In Erik Spoelstra, they have a criminally underrated roach that is making this all work.

When the Heat were in the midst of this streak and clicking at their absolute best, we saw the potential of having these players around LeBron and Wade. We saw the potential of a system where the best player in the league was offered the best possible supporting cast to fully maximise his talents and not negate anything from them. Unlike the previous two years, there was no confusion between LeBron and Wade on who would be taking charge. Things happened more smoothly, more organically. The offense became a thing of beauty and the Heat took over the top spot in the league in points-per-possession. They were passing well, they were outrunning opponents and whenever they were tested, they were coming back and finishing games.

The Heat are a near-perfect team that plays near-perfect basketball. Getty Images)

In the midst of this all, they came back from several double-digit deficits to win, including a 27-point deficit in Cleveland. No one was doubting LeBron’s clutch attributes anymore.

“I think the first year when this team was put together, we didn’t know each other the way we needed to, to really get through those tough times in the game.” said Wade after the Heat won their 23rd game in a row, against Boston, in Boston, after going down by double digits again, “Now, no matter what it is, we believe in each other.”

Miami had lost to Indiana on February 1. Against the Raptors in the next game, the streak began. The ‘Ws’ in the win column kept piling up. All of a sudden, they had gone the rest of February without a loss. A few games later, they were close to tasting 20 consecutive wins. Against Boston, they made it 23 and officially left behind the 22-game-streak by the 2008 Rockets. And then they won four more before finally dropping the March 27 matchup in Chicago.

Every team usually brings their best against the defending champions, but after around win number 20 or so, the race to be the first to ‘take down the Heat’ went into fever pitch. In an atmosphere of big egos and competitive personalities, everyone wanted their chance at the Heat, and one by one, they all failed. Philadelphia. Milwaukee. Toronto. Boston. Cleveland. Detroit. Charlotte. Orlando. Whether or not the Heat players even admitted it, they were writing history, and they were trying their damned best to make sure that their history went on. Their average win margin over the 27 games was 11.9 points.

When the Heat finally went down to the nitty-gritty Bulls, there was more celebration than disappointment. So yes, they had missed the mark of the 1971-72 Lakers, who won an incredible 33 games in a row. But they brought us as close as we could get to that feat in modern times.

We saw a team that put everything else happening daily across the NBA into perspective. We saw a streak that was bigger than Retweets, Breaking News Scrolls on SportsCenter, or front page headlines. We saw a team make timeless history.

Is another Championship on the cards? (Getty Images)

In the middle of all this dominance was LeBron. During their streak, the ’72 Lakers were led by Gail Goodrich in points, Wilt Chamberlain in rebounds and Jerry West in assists. The ’13 Heat in their streak were led by LeBron James in points (27.0 ppg), LeBron James in rebounds (8.1 rpg) and LeBron James in assists (8.0) (and for good measure, in minutes played, too). He shot at a fantastic 57.5 percent from the floor, and enjoyed an unbelievable streak of at least 30 points on at least 60 percent scoring in each outing for six consecutive games. With Wade also playing at a high level and the role-players all stepping up their games, this streak was obviously not a one-man show, but LeBron’s brilliance was otherworldly.

But now the streak is past. History has been written and recorded. They are now chasing the future, and chasing the chance to upgrade their memorable season into a legendary one.

Because to validate this streak further, and to truly validate their place amongst or above the greatest teams of all time – the 60s Celtics, the ’72 Lakers, mid-80s Celtics, mid-80s Lakers, 90s Bulls, early 2000s Lakers – they have to win another championship. Nothing short of that will do. It will be the perfect cap of the perfect year for a near-perfect basketball team.

It took this great run by Miami for us to recall again how great the ’71-72 Lakers were, how astonishing it was for a team to win 33 in a row and then go on to win a championship, and how astonishing it still is that it took over four decades for anyone to even creep close to that record. Now, it is Miami’s challenge to ensure that their future becomes memorable history, too. The type of history that we recall over decades of changing eras in the NBA. The type of history that will truly last forever.

For a young NBA player, having a coach who has been in their shoes before can be an added plus. Some of the greatest minds in the league have had the experience of the physical wear-and-tear and have gained tactical knowledge of the league first-hand as players themselves.

A few of the greatest player-turned-coaches of our generation are not in the head-coaching profession anymore, such as Phil Jackson and Pat Riley. We’ll focus on the present, and list the five best NBA players-turned-coaches. Some have been better players than coaches, and vice versa; we’ll judge them by their success in both the sidelines and on the court.

Many current coaches have spent a decade or more playing the league, including Larry Drew, Vinny Del Negro, Mike Woodson and Tyrone Corbin. Thunder coach Scott Brooks was part of the Rockets’ 1994 championship team. Kings coach Keith Smart barely makes the NBA player/coaches list, as he spent two games on the Spurs roster in the mid-80s, playing a total of 12 minutes! Lakers’ Coach Mike D’Antoni may have only spent one year in the NBA, but he has a glittering resume as a superstar playing professionally in Italy. Jacque Vaughn, now coach of the Magic, won a championship with the Spurs in 2007 and retired from the league just four years ago. But the most recent retiree is Lindsey Hunter, who spent 17 years playing around the league, winning two championships with the Lakers (2002) and the Pistons (2004) and is now the Suns coach. Matching him in longevity is Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who also had a memorable 17-year-career.

In no particular order, here are the top five players-turned-coaches. Jackson and Hunter were both great players, but because of their relative lack of coaching experience, they closely miss out this list. The biggest snub is 76ers Coach Doug Collins, who spent eight years in the NBA in the 70′s, also with the 76ers, and was an All Star four times.

The current Celtics coach enjoyed a long career playing in the NBA, suiting up for the Hawks, Clippers, Knicks and Spurs through a 13-year-stretch. His best year perhaps came with the Hawks, when he averaged 12.8 ppg and 10 assists a game back in 1987. But it is as a coach that Rivers has truly made a name for himself; he won the Coach of the Year award with the Magic back in 2000 and was hired with the Celtics in 2004. Rivers has been able to be a great motivating force in Boston, leading the team to a championship in 2008 and remaining in the conversation of the league’s best coaches since.

Scott may not be enjoying the sweet smell of victory too often in Cleveland these days, but the former sharp-shooter has revelled in his share of success in the past. Scott played in the NBA for 14 years as a part of some great Lakers teams, winning three Championships in 1985, 1987, and 1988. He also played for the Pacers, Grizzlies and the Lakers before leaving the NBA. Scott returned to the league as a head coach for the Nets in 2000. He was named Coach of the Year in 2008 for his work with the Hornets. Now, he has the challenge to help lift this young Cavaliers side to better days.

One of the rare few to have enjoyed championship success both as a player and a coach. Carlisle only played in the NBA for five years, and despite modest career averages of around two points and one assist per game, his experience set him up for greater things ahead. Carlisle played a bit part in Boston’s great 1986 championship team. He returned as a head coach in the league in 2001, and spent time working with the Pistons and the Pacers before moving to the Mavericks, where he is employed now. Carlisle won the 2002 Coach of the Year award in Detroit and a championship in Dallas in 2011.

Definitely the greatest player on our list, McHale is one of the game’s all time greats. A career-Celtic in his playing days, McHale played for 14 years in the league, winning three championships (1981, 1984, 1986), playing in the All Star Game seven times and retiring as one of the best offensive and defensive big men of his generation. McHale returned to coach the Timberwolves over a few tumultuous years in the past decade, but it is his work now with the Houston Rockets that is helping him make a mark in the coaching profession.

The leader of the NBA’s best defense in Memphis, Lionel Hollins, is proving to be a great coach. He was an even better player. Hollins was part of the Portland Trailblazers squad that won a championship in 1977. He played 10 years in the league and has had his jersey retired in Portland. While he has served in coaching positions for Arizona State, the Phoenix Suns, the Milwaukee Bucks and a few teams in other leagues, he has taken the head and assistant coaching positions several times for the Grizzlies since 1999-00. With good work this time around, fans will be hoping he’s there to stay.

Kwamain Mitchell #3 of the Saint Louis Billikens shoots over Sim Bhullar #2 and Renaldo Dixon #25 of the New Mexico State Aggies during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. (Getty Images)

Bhullar – a 20-year-old 7-foot-5 giant center from Toronto – helped carry his New Mexico State side into the NCAA Men’s Tournament only to be defeated in the opening round to heavy favourites Saint Louis. The tallest player in US college basketball this year, Bhullar didn’t have a great game and the Billikens easily outran his team to victory. Still, Bhullar’s combination of extraordinary size and improving ability had him trending on Twitter in the US and sportswriters fawning over his potential.

That was the beginning and end of the national attention this season for this unexpected team built around this relatively unknown big man. Relative to all the other hoopla surrounding college basketball this time of the year, this was a small step for Sim Bhullar (nicknamed now as ‘Sim City’). But the college freshman has the potential to turn it into a giant step for his own career, and for the growth of other Indian/South Asian basketball players around the world.

I admit that I know between little to nothing about college basketball in the US, tuning in mostly to pay attention to prospective future NBA stars. But this year was different: the rise of Bhullar, his WAC championship, MVP award and his chance to join the March Madness Bracket for one game added some masala into this year’s tournament. Sim – and his younger brother Tanveer – have been known names in these parts for quite a while now, but it has been his amazing improvement in his first year in college this season that could make a far-flung ‘Indian basketball superstar’ dream into a reality.

The dream began in Toronto. It began because Avtar and Varinder Bhullar migrated from Amritsar in India to live in Canada. Although neither parent had exposure to basketball (his father reportedly played kabaddi in Punjab growing up), they did the smart thing in enrolling their sons into youth basketball programmes in Toronto. Their two sons – Sim and Tanveer – started growing and didn’t stop growing. Sim was already 6 foot 3 by the time he reached sixth grade. And then they grew some more. They started making a name for themselves at the Kiski School in Pennsylvania, USA, and soon enough, big name colleges came calling for the older Bhullar.

Bhullar committed to Xavier University, but fearful that he wouldn’t receive full scholarship,chose to join New Mexico State instead. Weighing close to 400 pounds (181 kg) at the beginning of last season, Bhullar worked hard to get into shape over the summer, to ‘slim down’ to 360 (163 kg). That’s still a lot of weight, even for a 7-foot-5 guy. Early in the season, it was apparent that Bhullar was struggling to keep pace with the speed of Division 1 basketball, averaging only around 13.6 minutes per game in November for the New Mexico State Aggies in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). But as the season progressed, Bhullar’s conditioning improved. He played 28 or more minutes per game in the Aggies’ last 13 games, helping them to an 11-2 record in that stretch. He developed into a decent low-post scorer, rebounder and post defender in this stretch. And his efforts won him the WAC Freshman of the Year Award!

Finishing third place in the WAC, the Aggies played well in the WAC tournament Final Four and rose to win the conference championship for the third time in four seasons. In the final last week, New Mexico State rode on Bhullar’s dominating performance of 16 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks to defeat Texas-Arlington and enter the NCAA National Tournament. With averages of 15, 12.5 and 4 blocks in the semifinals and finals, Bhullar was named the WAC tournament MVP. New Mexico State’s gamble to bet on the development of a large Indian-origin player had paid off.

Their reward? A match-up against 4th place Saint Louis in the NCAA Tournament. Before the game, Saint Louis Coach Jim Crews heaped praise on the young big, saying, “He’s not just big — he’s good and big. That’s a real compliment to him because we saw some tape earlier in the year and how he has progressed has been really enjoyable to watch from a coaching standpoint.”

It seemed Coach Crews had watched enough tape, because his team was prepared to counter the big man. Saint Louis outran the Aggies to a blowout 64-44 victory yesterday, as Bhullar struggled to keep pace offensively or make a big difference planted in the paint on the defensive end. In his brief sojourn on the national stage, he had just 4 points to go with 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. That’s where his dream freshman season ended.

His positives and his negatives exposed on the national level, Bhullar now has to look ahead to come back stronger next season. As this year’s NCAA Tournament progresses, he will be largely forgotten, since there are so many other important teams and players playing at a much higher level around the country. But Bhullar should be encouraged by his progress as a freshman and how he burst into the scene. Now he is at his crossroads: either to continue getting in better shape and keep up his rapid development to stay in national consciousness for longer next year, or digress into a flash-in-the-pan player, someone briefly popular just because of his size and his Indian heritage.

Sim Bhullar #2 of the New Mexico State Aggies goes up over  Kwamain Mitchell #3 of the Saint Louis Billikens during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.(Getty Images)

With age and size on his side, there is no reason for Bhullar to not work towards the first option. His giant shoulders carry a lot of responsibility now, directly for his team and as a symbol for the Indian community around the world. No player of Indian origin has ever made a serious dent in the basketball world. With a successful college year, Bhullar has the potential to becoming the most important basketball player of Indian origin (word to Pasha Bains!). Because of his nationality, he will of course always be a Canadian first; but because of his heritage, he will be an Indian, too.

It seems that the young man embraces this. He was featured by the New York Times a few years ago, where, when asked about being poised to become the first prominent basketball player of Indian descent, he answered, “I think it would be a blessing to be the first from an entire country to go to the NBA and be a role model.”

Indeed. Like how he can be a role model to his own younger brother Tanveer, currently a high-school senior and a talented 7-foot-2 giant himself. Like how he could be a role model to another 7-foot teenager – Satnam Singh Bhamara – he who is truly Indian by nationality and has developed into becoming India’s biggest basketball hope. Like how he can be a role model and a symbol to hundreds of thousands of young Indians with hoop dreams.

In 2013, Bhullar took the first small step for a giant: a successful freshman year, a championship, an MVP award and a visit to the National tournament. But it could potentially be a giant step for Indian basketball. For his sake – and for ours – we hope that the big man can soon take a giant leap forward.

Rockets legends Yao Ming #11 and Tracy McGrady #1 led Houston to a 22-game winning streak back in 2008. (Getty Images)

When the clock struck 00:00 in the fourth quarter in Toronto, the members of the Miami Heat had achieved what few in the NBA history ever had. They had won their 22nd game in a row, thus tying second-place for the longest winning streak of all time. Between LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the rest of the squad, they had experienced everything, from a championship last season to MVP awards, numerous All-Star appearances, gold medals and a further trophy-cabinet full of individual and team nods. But this… this was new. The last time they’d lost a game was February 1st, 44 days ago. None of them had experienced this before.

None, except for Shane Battier.

Battier is what scouts and reporters around the league like to call the NBA’s ‘model citizen’. He’s the ultimate glue guy, a small forward who brings limited defensive and perimeter shooting skills but a whole lot of intelligence and leadership qualities that make him an ideal role-player for a great team. Miami wins mostly because of the brilliance of James and Wade, the occasional star-turn of Bosh, the shooting of Mario Chalmers, Ray Allen, Mike Miller and Rashard Lewis, the post defense of Udonis Haslem and Chris Anderson, and the underrated coaching of Erik Spoelstra.

But also because of the presence of Shane Battier.

Tracy McGrady #1, Bonzi Wells #6, Shane Battier #31 and Yao Ming #11 along with Luis Scola and Carl Landry (not pictured) forced the core of the Houston Rockets squad from 2008. (Getty Images)

Battier is the only one that has been there before. If the Heat can defeat the Celtics in their next game, they will surpass the record of 22 consecutive wins held by the 2008-08 Houston Rockets to be the sole holders of the second-greatest streak in history behind the 1971-72 Lakers (who won 33). That Rockets team unfortunately never lived up to their potential, but in winning 22 straight, they forever etched their name into NBA folklore. They had Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. They had Battier, Luis Scola, Rafer Alston, Bonzi Wells, Bobby Jackson, Carl Landry, Luther Head, Steve Novak and Mike James. And they had Rick Adelman directing the show.

How did it happen? How did a team, riddled with injuries and without transcendent rosters like the 71-72 Lakers, of the 12-13 Heat, boast of the longest modern day winning streak? How does a team go seven full weeks without a loss despite being a mid-table side?

The Background

Carroll Dawson left behind an interesting roster for Daryl Morey, who took over as the Rockets’ General Manager in May 2010. Built around Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady – both of whom won All NBA 2nd Team nods – the Rockets won 52 games, ended fifth place in the West, but were knocked out dramatically in a seven-game first round playoff series to the Jazz. As a result, Coach Jeff Van Gundy was fired and in came Rick Adelman, another master tactician. They signed Argentine rookie Luis Scola and traded for rookie Carl Landry and they brought back washed-up but sentimental favourite point guard Steve Francis. Yao seemed to have recovered from an injury-riddled season and the surrounding core of Alston, Battier, Head and Mutombo was kept intact.

After a good start to the 2007-08 season, where the Rockets won six of their first seven games, the team began to stutter, losing their next six in a row and failing to find any sort of consistency till the end of the 2007 calendar year. January was a much better month for the team, as Yao seemed to enter his prime, and McGrady – who was inconsistent in his playing time due to injuries – was still good enough to be a major boost to the team. They won nine of 12 games until January 25th.

A home loss to the Jazz on January 27th gave them a 24-20 record, which was still only good enough for seventh place in the loaded Western Conference. Out East, Boston – with their newly acquired big three – were dominating. But from top to bottom, this was perhaps the toughest year to be in the West: Hornets, Spurs, Lakers, Jazz, Suns, Mavericks, Nuggets, Warriors and Rockets all within reach of the top seed.

The Streak

On January 29th, Yao had 36 points and 19 rebounds as the Rockets defeated the Warriors 111-107 at home without McGrady. And so it began.

McGrady returned for the next game and the Rockets – who had already hit good form of late – began to soar as February began. Elsewhere in Los Angeles, the Lakers became contenders again by trading for Pau Gasol from Memphis. Meanwhile, a balanced effort in the next game led by Landry took the Rockets to a win over the Pacers. McGrady exploded for 33 in a win over Bucks and 26 to beat the Timberwolves. For a four-game home-stand, Yao averaged 25 a game as they defeated the Cavs, the Hawks, the Trailblazers and the Kings. The win against the Kings was the closest, as Novak came off the bench to make a three – his only shot of the game – to seal win number eight.

Yao played in the All-Star team, but the break in the season didn’t slow down the Rockets when he returned to Houston.

Once playground legend turned NBA point guard, Rafer ‘Skip To My Lou’ Alston, led the team with 22 points in a road win over the Cavs. They won their 10th straight against the Heat. The next day, they beat the West-leading Hornets away from home to make it 11 and all of a sudden, the whole league was paying attention.

On the same day, the Rockets sent Bonzi Wells and Mike James to the Hornets in exchange for Bobby Jackson.

Tragedy struck after their very next game, a home win to Chicago, when a left foot injury ended Yao’s season. Houston had been on a roll with Yao, but still found themselves at seventh place in the tough West. Dikembe Mutombo – already in his 17th season – replaced Yao in the starting lineup.

 Dynamic Duo: McGrady  and Ming #11 of the Houston Rockets. (Getty Images)

Thanks to McGrady, the Rockets kept winning, taking the next three against Wizards, Grizzlies and Nuggets to win 15 straight and finally started to rocket up the Western Conference. Mutombo and Battier formed a strong defensive core to give this team its identity while McGrady carried them offensively. Rookie Landry also stepped up in Yao’s absence. In another return to New Orleans, McGrady exploded for 41 as Rockets beat Hornets by 10. Win number 20 came in Atlanta. Number 21 came against the Bobcats. Snubbed from the All-Star Game due to his injury-riddled start to the season, McGrady was now unstoppable.

On March 16th, the Rockets hosted the newly-boosted Lakers, featuring Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Behind a 31 point scoring outburst by Alston, the Rockets dominated to win the game by 12 points. It was their 22nd straight victory, and for the first time, they stood alone at the top of the impossibly-difficult West.

The next game was going to be their sternest test. In came the Boston Celtics, leading the East with stifling defence in a match-up of conference leaders. Boston’s brilliance turned this firecracker of a match-up into a walk in the park. The Celtics held the Rockets to just 74 points and led by Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, blew out Houston by 20 points. On March 18, 2008, 51 days after their last loss, the Rockets lost again. The streak stopped at 22.

The Rockets had made history, winning more consecutive games in the same season than any other team apart from the 71-72 Lakers, in history. Using tough defence, they held 19 of their 21 opponents in this streak under 100 points and 13 of them under 90. They won 14 games by double figures on an average margin of 12.36. Only three games were decided by six or fewer points. Making the most of a relatively favourable schedule, they won 15 at home and seven on road. They won 10 without Yao.

The Aftermath

The Rockets remained strong, but never rediscovered their top form again. They finished the season 11-7 and dropped to fifth place in the West with a 55-27 record. The West was so tough that, by the end of the season, the eighth-seeded team (Nuggets) were only 6.5 games behind the top-seeded team (Lakers). The Warriors finished 48-34 and still missed the playoffs, becoming the team with the best record ever not to be in the postseason since the eight team playoff format for each conference.

By the end of the season, both Yao and McGrady were named to the All NBA Third Team, Battier to the All Defensive Second Team, Scola in the All Rookie First Team, and Landry to the All Rookie Second Team.

For the second consecutive year, the Rockets faced the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Jazz defeated them. In a season where the Rockets made rare history they only survived for six games into the postseason. The Celtics – who had stopped the Rockets in their historic tracks back in March – went on to win the championship that season.

The next year, the Rockets added the artist formerly known as Ron Artest to the mix of McGrady, Yao, Battier, Alston, Scola and Landry. They also traded for Kyle Lowry later in the season, as Morey continued to show that he was one of the smartest GM’s in the game. Yao was healthy, but this time, it was McGrady who suffered, playing only 35 games in the year. The Rockets finished fifth in the West again and this time, went to the second round of the playoffs. Without McGrady, they were able to stretch the Lakers (who turned out to be eventual champions that year) to a seven game series before being knocked out in the Second Round.

Shane Battier #31 of the Miami Heat was part of the Houston Rockets streak as well. (Getty Images)

2013

Five years later. Morey is still in charge, but the Rockets’ roster bears no resemblance to the 2008 side. This squad is coached by Kevin McHale and starred by James Harden, Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik and Thomas Robinson. Aaron Brooks, who was a rookie in the 2008 team, returned to Houston after playing in Phoenix this season, but played just one game before being shipped off to Sacramento.

Yao has retired from the league and now owns a team in China. McGrady left the NBA too, and found himself playing for a different team in China. Scola moved on to Phoenix. Alston moved around the league before also going via China and ending up in the NBDL. Landry now plays in the Warriors and Adelman is now coaching the young Timberwolves.

And Shane Battier is in Miami, where he won his first championship last summer and is now enjoying his career’s second 22-game winning streak.

When asked to compare recently the two winning streaks between the surprising Rockets of 2008 and the world-dominating Heat of 2013, Battier replied, “That was so different, because that streak was pretty organic. It came out of left field and no one could explain it. We couldn’t explain it. It was a bunch of journeyman and role players doing it.”

“It kind of came out of nowhere,” recalled Rick Adelman of the streak, “Our guys got on a roll and they had a lot of confidence and they played with it night after night.”

Battier’s ‘organic’ comment is what makes the Rockets’ achievement all the more special. Miami were already blessed with one superstar in Wade and forced the stars to align for themselves when they signed LeBron and Bosh in 2010. Veteran players like Miller and Battier signed with them to take a ride for the championship, and former All-Stars like Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis padded up this year’s team. Unlike the Heat, who would be the top team in the East this year regardless of a historic streak, the Rockets had to win all those games in 2008 just to stay in the playoff hunt. The Rockets were also blessed with two stars in Yao and Mcgrady, but because of injury struggles, relied more on the efforts of the underrated journeyman in their streak. But by the time they playoffs began, the lack of supporting star power to McGrady ended their season early.

 Miami Heat stands a chance of overtaking the 33-game streak established by the LA Lakers in 1972. (Getty Images)

The 2013 Heat will have the chance to move ahead of the 2008 Rockets if they win Game Number 23, which is tonight at Boston, the same opponent who ended the Rockets’ streak back in the March 18, 2008. As fate would coincide it, this game is exactly five years after the game when the Celtics blew out the Rockets in Houston to end their winning streak at 22. Garnett and Pierce are still in Boston, but with the Celtics weakened and the Heat on fire, it seems likely that Miami will most probably go on to win this one. If they do so, they have the Cavs, Pistons, Bobcats and Wizards on the menu next, and they could easily inch closer to the 71-72 Lakers’ 33 unbeaten games. They could make more history. And unlike the Rockets of 2008, they are likely to get much closer to crowing this great season with a championship.

But still, we mustn’t forget that magical spring of 2008, when Yao, Tracy, Shane, Skip, Carl, Luis, Luther, Bonzi, Rick and the rest of them lifted an underdog side into greatness. The 2013 Heat have ‘caught’ 22. But the 2008 Rockets will never be forgotten from the history books.

In addition to India, the broadcast will also be shown in South Asian neighbouring nations Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives. Altogether, this will take up the total number of nations with official Euroleague Basketball broadcasts to 199!

The Olympiacos Piraeus players and staff celebrate victory with the trophy at the end of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four Final match against CSKA Moscow at the Sinan Erdem Dome on May 13, 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Ulf Duda/EB via Getty Images)

If you’re uninitiated to the Euroleague, you need to definitely start paying some attention. The Euroleague is basketball’s version of Football’s UEFA Champions League. Now officially called the ‘Turkish Airlines Euroleague’ thanks to their sponsors, the league has existed since 1958 and involves basketball clubs from up to 20 different countries in Europe, who are members of ULEB. The most successful Euroleague teams in history have been Real Madrid (Spain), CSKA Moscow (Russia), and Panathinaikos Athens (Greece).

The reigning champions are Greek side Olympiacos, who defeated CSKA Moscow in a thrilling Final last year. Current Minnesota Timberwolf, Andrei Kirilenko, was the Euroleague’s MVP last season for Moscow, and Olympiacos’ Vasilis Spanoulis was the Final Four MVP.

This season’s Euroleague began on October 11th. 24 qualifying teams were divided into four groups of six (Groups A-D). The top four teams from each group then move on to two more groups (E-F) for the top 16-stage of the competition. We are currently in the Top 16 stage, and the top four teams from each of those groups will move into the Quarter-Final play-offs. Quarter-Finals are held in a best-of-five series.

And that’s how we get to the Final Four, which is the most exciting and popular aspect of the league. The Final Four this year will be held at the O2 Arena in London, England, and will be a straight do-or-die 1-game knock-out.

So far this season, two Spanish sides more popular for their footballing prowess, look like favourites to dominate the basketball world too. Real Madrid and Barcelona are leading Groups E and F respectively, with both teams holding on to a 9-1 record in the Top-16 stage. Also looking strong is Turkish side Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Holders Panathinaikos currently find themselves in the last qualifying spot in Group E.

So who should you watch out for? Although it doesn’t match the NBA when it comes to superstar attraction, the Euroleague nevertheless boasts some fantastic individual talents. Former NBA player Bobby Brown has been the leading scorer in the league so far for Italian side Montepaschi Siena. Another American Shawn James, a threat in the post, has been the star man for Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv. CSKA Moscow boast of two of important stars in the Russian Victor Khryapa and Serbian Nenad Krstic. Barcelona’s Ante Tomic of Croatia has been the most recent MVP of the month for the league, while Real Madrid field well known Spanish stars like Rudy Fernandez and Nikola Mirotic.

But if any of you are enthusiasts of the international game, you’ll know that it’s not really the individuals who make a big difference, but the play of the entire team as a whole. A lot of Europe’s best teams use balanced attack and defense and boast a number of different threats. If you love the fast-paced unselfish style of play, you’ll definitely enjoy the Euroleague, which boasts the cream of the crop of European clubs.

Until a year ago, Ten Sports/Ten Action and Sony SIX/PIX (of MSM India) co-owned the rights to show live NBA games in India. Which was great, because fans like me got to watch a game nearly every day of the week on either one of those two channels. But this season, Sony SIX earned exclusive rights for NBA broadcasts in India, and Ten Sports was left behind. SIX upped the ante even further when they signed a deal to show Liga Endesa – Spain’s top tier basketball league – in 2012.

Finally, it seems that Ten Sports will be getting some basketball back. It isn’t the NBA and – with just one game a week – it isn’t that often, but it’s a start.

The first game on Thursday night was between Maccabi Tel Aviv and BC Khimki Moscow Region on Thursday, two sides battling for the 4th and final qualifying spot in Group F. Maccabi edged Khimki 80-79 in that contest.

The quarter-finals will be held from April 9-25, 2013, and the Final Four in London will be from May 10-12, with the Final slated for May 12, 2013. Hopefully (they haven’t clarified at this point), hopefully all of the Final Four games are shown live in India (and rest of South Asia).

Between Vlade Divac, Drazen Petrovic, Toni Kukoc, Bob McAdoo, Mike D’Antoni, Anthony Parker, Arvydas Sabonis, Manu Ginobili, Dominique Wilkins, Juan Carlos Navarro and Luis Scola, a whole host of big name basketball players have made a name for themselves in the Euroleague. Make sure you catch the league this season so you don’t miss the next generation of stars and dominating teams from Europe.

But we shall not speak of them any further. We shall focus our attention on some of the league’s lesser-known names who do not get the stats or the individual accolades, or who do not play in a big enough market to make a name for themselves. We shall turn to Stats.NBA.com to find the league’s advanced stats heroes, who are quietly making a big difference for their team.

Here are five unsung heroes of the advanced stat:

Mike Conley Jr.

Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies have the best defensive squad in the league, and this defense has led them to a top four spot in the Western Conference. The usual suspects behind this elite defensive effort have been Tony Allen, who has been named to the NBA’s All Defensive teams in the past and Marc Gasol, a former All-Star. But one of the most crucial parts of their starting five is point guard Mike Conley. Although at face value his averages of 13.6 points and 6.1 assists per game might not impress too many, take a closer look at his influence on the court – especially on the defensive end – and you’ll see his value.

Conley has a defensive rating of 94.5, meaning that he allows opponents on average to score just 94.5 points per 100 possessions against him. Of players who have played at least half the games this season, Conley’s rating is especially high considering that he plays 33 minutes per game. In Conley, the Grizzlies aren’t just blessed with a stable player to bring up the ball, they have one of the fiercest perimeter defenders in the league.

Mario Chalmers

Mario Chalmers #15 of the Miami Heat.

Yes, so the Miami Heat have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and yes, all three score a lot of points and are the team’s backbone. But one man who perhaps gets lesser credit for his efforts (unless he’s crediting himself) is Mario Chalmers. Thanks to the fact that Chalmers gets to pass the ball to some of the best offensive players in the world, his own offensive rating in the limited minutes he plays on court (26 minutes per game, compared to 38 and 34 for LeBron and Wade) is the highest in the team. It is actually the highest in the league for qualified players. When Chalmers is on the court, his team scores 114 points per 100 possessions. Call him a man at the right place at the right time but Chalmers (who only averages 8.2 ppg himself) is making the most of his time on court.

Thabo Sefolosha

Thabo Sefolosha #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Another beneficiary of a fantastic group of talents around him, Sefolosha is game-changer when he’s on the court. What makes him unique as a player is that he’s the best perimeter defender for the Thunder but he is also employed as a part of the Thunder’s five-man unit when the team score the most points on their opponents. Together, Sefolosha enjoys one of the highest net-ratings in the league, which is the point-differential that the Thunder have over opponents over a stretch of 100 possessions.

Jose Calderon

Jose Calderon #8 of the Detroit Pistons.

When Kyle Lowry went down for Toronto, Jose Calderon stepped up and he was so good that the Raptors actually worried about how they would reward the Spaniard and satisfy the returning Lowry at the same time. They solved this ‘problem’ by trading Calderon to Memphis and he was then sent to Detroit. No matter the change of scenery, the 31-year-old has done what he does best: protect the ball and make plays. Not enough point guards get credit for avoiding turnovers to give their squad more quality possessions. Calderon ranks ninth in the league’s assist standings with 7.4 assists per game, but he is second only to Chris Paul in his assists-to-turnover ratio, a stat that counts how often his pass leads to points for his team as compared to a pass that loses the ball.

JJ Hickson

The NBA introduced a new stat to measure the overall value of a player to his squad. This stat is PIE, or player impact estimate. PIE measures a player’s overall statistical contribution against the total statistics in games they play in, yielding results which are comparable to other advanced statistics (such as Player Efficiency Rating). What this means is that we will be judging a player’s influence on the game per game. Some games are faster, some are slower, and some require a player to be on court for a longer time than others. With PIE, a player’s influence from his scoring, to the efficiency of his scoring, to the rebounds he collects and the right passes he makes, his influence on the defensive end and more can be taken into account.

J.J. Hickson #21 of the Portland Trail Blazers.

The cream of the crop rises when we check the NBA’s PIE ratings. The top names are the ones that we could fully expect to see there: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. After scouring long and hard for a lesser-name player who has played enough minutes in enough games, the unheralded PIE hero is Portland’s JJ Hickson! Hickson has a 14.3 percent influence on his team, and while he does collect 13.4 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, he has a bigger impact with his presence on the floor to through defense, spacing, passing, scoring at a high percentage and helping out his team-mates get better.

These are only but a few unsung heroes. There are many more, like hidden gems around the league, who make a difference every time they step on court. Not all of them will grace the billboards or sell sneakers. Their genius might even go unseen at times until you take a deeper dig to find their value in numbers.

Kobe Bryant’s legend isn’t finished yet

As NBA fans for well over a decade, my older brother and I naturally have endless debates about the league, like all fans and friends do. But with the big bro, the discussions are slightly stranger. We argue less about the best players of moment or the favourite to win the title this season; we spend more time constantly reconstructing the bigger picture: Who are the Greatest of All Time? Which players – throughout NBA history – would make the most unstoppable offensive lineup? Who is your All Time ‘intimidating knucklehead’ starting five? And so on and so forth.

But how do you quantify and compare talents across different generations on the same platform? What measuring-stick do you use? Do you rank players by the number of championships they’ve won? Do you rank them by their MVP, Finals MVP, DPOY, All Star appearances and other individual accolades that they collected? Do you only focus on their stats? Do you worry about intangible things like what the player brought to the team’s chemistry, toughness, or that thing we sports writers like to call ‘heart’? How about theoretically matching up players against each other – in their peak years – to see who would do better? Do you take their loyalty to a franchise into account?

If you’re a true geek, you’ve had these conversations and pondered about these questions yourself. And many-a-times, you may have eased the debate by putting players in different categories (e.g.: Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James are the best statistical players, bit Bill Russell and Michael Jordan are the best winners). Do we focus on a player’s talent at its absolute peak or do we take their entire career’s body of work before deciding which one is better?

The answer perhaps lies somewhere between all those different questions. To rank, say, your top 10 greatest players of all time, you probably use a bit of everything. You count the rings, you count the stats, you rate their talent at their peak, you worry about the fuzzy definition of ‘a will to win’. The big bro and I have done this over and over again and it never gets boring. We drop names like Jordan, Magic, Russell, Kareem, Oscar, Shaq, and Wilt like we’re dropping names of our oldest friends. It’s addictive, it’s maddening, and as we change as fans, our lists are constantly changing too.

One of these days, I’ll freeze my list and write about it, justifying every position on the top 10 (Spoiler Alert: Number 1 is this guy). But today is not that day. Today is a day that we concern ourselves with a great who’s still getting greater before our very eyes, a legend whose legend is still unfinished, a name that can be as easily mentioned amongst the Jordans, the Magics, and the Russells as it is mentioned amongst the LeBrons, the Durants, and the Melos.

Today, we speak about Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers are an interesting bunch. Never has there been a team with so much talent that is battling not for a championship but for the 8th spot in the playoffs. It’s hilarious to watch them struggle and at the same time Kobe Bean Bryant has ensured that it’s absolutely necessary to watch them. Despite struggling around a .500 record, this team provides drama every night. Every game is an event. And recently, every event has been the Kobe Bryant Show.

Even past the age of 34, Kobe continues to play at an astonishingly high level, so high that he would’ve been a top three nominee for the MVP award if his Lakers were doing a little better. He’s been playing this game at the pro level for 17 years, so there’s a lot that we already know about him. We know that he’s one of the most technically gifted players of all time. We know he works his a** off. We know he’s a great shooter and a fantastic scorer. We know he’s won an MVP award, five Championships, two Finals MVPs, and is fifth in the NBA’s All Time scoring list (the only active player in the top 15). We know he once scored 81 points in a single game. We know that he has a reputation – earned or exaggerated – of being one of the greatest clutch performers in league’s history.

But this season, while his team struggles for respectability, Kobe has taken his game up yet another level. Here is a guy who forced his way into conversations of the NBA’s elite since the late 90s. A guy who has seen different eras pass and has been the league’s most successful and popular player for a decade and a half. He has played with and against everyone, from Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady, down to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, and Dwight Howard. And yet, year after year, he keeps coming back for more, coming back for greatness. The only other players who have remained in the conversation as elites through the same (or longer) time period are Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.

And as one era passes into the next, everything else changes, but Kobe remains elite. I have joked on numerous occasions that if the only certainties in life are death and taxes, then the only certainties in NBA basketball are the Spurs being great and Kobe being Kobe. Every year, we expect the Spurs to be too old and slow to contend, and every year, they keep coming back for more. Similarly, as Father Time fights to slow him down, we say annually that this season would be Kobe’s last as a top-shelf player, and every year, he proves us wrong. The mentality doesn’t change. The hunger doesn’t change. The Lakers could go from being championship contenders to lottery contenders. But Kobe stays Kobe-like.

He was supposed to be done by now. When Dwight Howard joined the Lakers, I had predicted that Kobe would take a secondary role in the team, playing as the closer and seeing his scoring averages fall to around 22-23 ppg. I had compared the Dwight-Kobe duo to the Garnett-Pierce duo for the Celtics in 2008: Garnett was the team’s MVP, but Pierce was the x-factor and the one who stepped up in the championship series to take the Finals MVP award. I’d expected Kobe to be like 2008 Paul Pierce.

Of course, that didn’t happen. Howard’s taken way too long to find his confidence and his health (which might still be an issue) and has struggled for most of this season. Kobe on the other hand, has been fantastic. This season, Kobe is averaging his career-high field-goal percentage (47.5 percent), and his highest assists output in eight years (5.7 apg). He is still a top three scorer in the league (27.8 ppg). He is still dunking on folks like it’s 1998. He briefly transformed into ‘facilitator Kobe’ before switching to ‘scorer Kobe’ and then putting all the good Kobes together on the floor. And since the All Star break, he has become even better, averaging 32.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 7.1 apg on an incredible 53.1 percent shooting in the last ten games. In the same stretch, the Lakers have gone 8-2 and finally cracked the top eight of the West. Of qualified players this season, Kobe’s efficiency rating is only third below the league’s current most transcendent talents: LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

Even with the Lakers written off by many, Kobe guaranteed a playoff finish for them, and now, he is doing everything to ensure that his season doesn’t end too early. He’s playing injured, he’s playing with ‘old-man cramps’, he’s dominating like it’s 2006 all over again, he’s snatching victory from jaws of defeat, he’s making bit shots like they’re practice free throws, and he’s absolutely refusing to give up.

Kobe has an impossible-to-quench thirst for success, and one thing is for certain: no matter how the Lakers do this season, no one in their right mind would proclaim that the Mamba is anywhere close to being done. At this point, it looks like he has several more elite years left in him.

All of this got me wondering: where would I rank Kobe in my pantheon of greatest ever players? It’s tricky because unlike many others in the pantheon, he’s still putting in work and still rising. When it’s all said and done, how will we judge Kobe?

Will we count his Championships? He won five, but three of them came playing a secondary role to one of the greatest players of all time, Shaquille O’Neal.

Will we count his points? He has scored a lot of them. He’ll be one of the greatest scorers of all time. But these days, scoring isn’t enough. You have to rebound. You have to assist. You have to have a higher shooting percentage. LeBron James has raised everyone’s standards of statistical expectations.

Will we count his individual awards? Kobe is an All Star and NBA First Team regular, which means that he’s always amongst the top five players in the league. But he has only one regular season MVP award to his name, that too which was given to him more of a ‘career recognition’ award than for actually being best player in 2008 (when I felt that Kevin Garnett should’ve won it; my brother felt it should’ve been LeBron). Despite the long span of his dominance, Kobe has rarely been the absolute number 1 best player in the world. I’d say he probably was the clear best in the world from 2005-2007.

Will we measure him for his absolute peak? That peak was perhaps the 2005-06 season, when, surrounded by a bunch of ragtags in Laker uniforms around him, Kobe went berserk. He averaged 35.4 points per game, his career high. He scored 81 points in a game. He scored 62 points in three quarters against the Mavericks. He averaged 43.4 points through an entire month of January. Struggling in a mid-table side, he was not named MVP (Steve Nash was), but this was his finest year. How does his peak rank against the peaks of other greats? Of Michael Jordan’s many dominant seasons between 1987-1993, of Shaquille O’ Neal in 2000, of Tim Duncan in the early 2000s, of LeBron James the last few years, etc?

Because of his transcendent, era-defying career, Kobe is becoming harder and harder to place. In many ways, he has played a secondary role to other players: being second to Shaq for most of his Championships, finishing second to Nash and LeBron in many MVP races, being second only to the greatest player of the game Michael Jordan in his approach to the game, collecting five Championships, ‘only’ two so far as the team’s best player (I say ‘only’ when relative to the likes of Jordan, Magic, Bird, etc.). Being second to LeBron in statistical dominance. So what does he do – and what does he keep doing – that makes him one of the greatest players of all time?

The answer dawned upon me when the Lakers faced the Thunder last week. The surge of Kobe’s ever-improving performances and his never-say-die attitude was adding up. The legacy was being padded, game after game after game. Early in this contest, Kobe hurt his elbow and had to take a trip to the locker room to get it checked out. Minutes later, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, he came back on the court to dominate the game. This wasn’t even that serious of an injury, but it marked just another day in the life of the NBA’s finest warrior. We had seen him do this before: seen him play through injury more than any other player of his time, seen him come back and finish games, seen him turn defeat into victory, seen him keep taking the hit and stay standing. The Lakers lost to the unstoppable Thunder that day but Kobe still finished with 30 points. A few games later, he had 42 points and 12 assists in a mesmerizing comeback win over the Hornets. A game later, he had 41 points and 12 assists in an equally memorable comeback win over the Raptors.

But it was that night against the Thunder that I realized that, when we make our ‘greatest ever’ lists and discuss Kobe, we won’t just talk about his Championships, his scoring records, or his individual accolades. We’ll talk about what truly makes him great: his drive to keep coming back, keep reaching higher, of staying hungry to get better, and better, and better; believing that – no matter his age or his health – he can defeat any given foe on any given night.

I feel like I’ve written the obituary of a career completed; but of course, Kobe isn’t close to being done yet.

When it’s all said and done, we won’t just count Kobe’s rings or his points. We’ll count the number of times he’s refused to back down.

And in Kobe Bryant’s unfinished basketball symphony, we’re still counting.

Yes, your superstars can be the difference between a win and a loss in a close fourth quarter finish, but the majority of the work is done by how the unit on the floor performs as a whole on both sides of the floor. In basketball, five players on the court have to work as one single entity: passing, scoring, defending, rebounding, and even fighting together as a group.

Take a look at the league’s best records, and you’ll see that in the following order: the Spurs, Heat, Thunder, Clippers and Grizzlies are currently the best teams in the NBA. But thanks to the magic of advanced statistics, we can answer more complex questions about the individuals who are a major reason behind their team’s success.

One of those questions is, which five-man unit makes the biggest difference when they play together on the court? If the ideal system of a basketball team uses all five players on court to work as one efficient winning unit, which unit in the league is the best right now? Taking the point-differential (+/-) as a reference point, let’s countdown the top five lineups in the league that have been the most effective when they are set together on the court this season.

5. Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies) – 114

Too bad for Memphis. Although they have picked up their pieces since trading away Rudy Gay to Toronto and gone on a decent 8-4 streak, they broke up one of the best lineups in the league in Conley, Allen, Gay, Randolph and Gasol. It was a starting five that featured players who could easily create their own shot from the perimeter and from the post, and players who could play tough defense both on the inside and outside.

It’s no surprise that this lineup led Memphis to one of the top records in the West early in the season. Gay has since been replaced with Tayshaun Prince, who makes the team stronger defensively but robs them off their best natural scorer from the perimeter. The Memphis defense is still good enough for them to remain an elite team, but they may suffer in the playoffs without a scorer like Gay on their side.

4. Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter (San Antonio Spurs) – 123

The good news: the Spurs are the best team in the league, and have a lot of effective lineups. The likes of Manu Ginobili, DeJuan Blair, Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson give them a lot of flexibility off the bench, but it is their starting five of Parker, Green, Leonard, Duncan and Splitter that have played the majority of the minutes together in blowing the rest of the league away. Both Parker and Duncan have played at the All-Star level, and Splitter is a nice balance to Duncan on the post. But it is the rise of young Leonard and Green as perimeter defenders who also help to spread the floor that will keep people in San Antonio excited for their future.

The bad news: Parker – who briefly heard his name in the MVP conversation – went down with a sprained left ankle against Sacramento and is destined to be out a month. The Spurs have been fairly successful without him so far this season (4-1), but they will miss their floor general if they have hopes of keeping their fluid offensive machine running at a high level.

3. Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem (Miami Heat) – 127

No shocks here.

We couldn’t have a conversation about the best five-man unit in the league without talking about the new and improved Big Three. Usually known for their defensive identity, Miami’s offense has been great this season, as they are in the top five in the league in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and points. Their best unit features the man who is currently the league’s top MVP Candidate (James), one of the most efficient superstars in the league (Wade), and another All-Star (Bosh). It features a hustling rebound machine (Haslem), and a decent 3-point threat (Chalmers).

No wonder Miami’s on a 14-game winning streak. No wonder they are looking like favourites to win another championship.

2. Russell Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins (Oklahoma City Thunder) – 204

These guys like to score. A lot.

The Thunder are the NBA’s top scoring team, and their starting five of Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka and Perkins the highest scoring five-man unit. Having a three-time scoring champion in Durant, and the NBA’s most athletic and scoring guard in Westbrook, doesn’t hurt of course. But what is truly impressive is that this line-up is also one of the NBA’s best defensively. Sefolosha, Ibaka, and Perkins are all defense-first players. The combined efforts have put the exciting Thunder at second-place in the West.

1. George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Paul George, David West, Roy Hibbert (Indiana Pacers) – 257

Yes, the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, and this underrated line-up is a major reason why. Together, Hill, Stephenson, George, West and Hibbert are the toughest group in the NBA to score against. The loss of Danny Granger opened up a space for Lance Stephenson – a forgotten former star – to bring his gritty game into the starting five. The Pacers are now the second seed in the East. Paul George became an All-Star for the first time, and both him and Hibbert should be in the All-Defensive Team contention at the end of the season.

The line-up does pretty well offensively too, as they have the second-highest points total of any five-man line-up in the league (behind the Thunder). Granger has since returned from injury, but plays from the bench for now, behind this remarkably well-functioning starting unit. Quietly, Frank Vogel has created a powerhouse in Indiana who can potentially pose as Miami’s biggest threat in the East come play-off time.

Miami Heat – deserving winners last season?

Although I sweat and bleed (and blog and tweet) the NBA, I’ve always been a football fan. And as every football fan knows, ‘league standings don’t lie’. In each of the top leagues around the world, 20 teams battle it out playing each other twice home-and-away through the season until the team standing at the top when the season ends wins the championship. There’s a beauty in that simplicity. If you were the best through the season in that year, you won that year. That’s it.

Of course, our beloved NBA doesn’t work that way. The regular season league itself is only a precursor; a set-up to merely designate each qualifying team’s seeding and match-up for the real season: the knock-out playoffs. The regular season – which lasts six of the possible eight months of the NBA calendar – is then reduced to being nothing but an appetizer for the main course ahead.

That main course – the playoffs – is the Champions League Knockout Stage of the NBA. They’re exciting as hell, they test the real character of what some teams and players are made of, and a knockout format provides the fantastic scenario of do-or-die situations.

Now, in no way shape or form am I against the playoff format. I love it – both in the NBA and in the Champions League (also the reason why the Champions League is my favourite club football competition). But sometimes I wonder: what would NBA History look like if champions were crowned for the work they did over the dominating six month period of league play instead of just the final two months of playoffs? I mean, isn’t that fair? Year after year, we hear of teams who play fantastic basketball in the regular season (like the Bulls in the past two seasons), only to be exposed and defeated over a grueling best-of-seven playoff series. On the flip side, we see teams who are underdogs in the regular season but are able to put together a magical run (see: Dallas Mavericks 2011) to the title in the post-season.

This is what I did: I checked the team with the best regular season record from each year of the NBA since its inception in 1947 to compare with the team that actually won the championship that year. You’ll be surprised to hear that 36 times out of the total 66 NBA seasons (that’s 54.5 percent) the league and playoff champions have been different. That’s over half the time! That means that, over half the time in NBA history, the ‘best’ team of the league that year didn’t win the knockout stage.

Of course, there is a major discrepancy when it comes to judging league champions in NBA with football or other similar league sports. In the NBA, during the regular season, each team doesn’t play the same number of games with every other team. Western Conference teams play more against each other than the East and vice versa, Atlantic Division teams play more against each other than with other divisions, etc. That’s just a clause we will except in our analysis today.

First, here is the list of NBA Champions as we know them, with the number of titles they have won over their history. I am counting all the franchise’s titles through the different cities that have hosted them and their different nicknames:

Number of NBA Championships

• Boston Celtics: 17
• Los Angeles Lakers (previously Minneapolis Lakers): 16
• Chicago Bulls: 6
• San Antonio Spurs: 4
• Philadelphia 76ers (previously Syracuse Nationals): 3
• Detroit Pistons (previously Fort Wayne Pistons): 3
• Golden State Warriors (previously Philadelphia Warriors): 3
• New York Knicks: 2
• Houston Rockets: 2
• Miami Heat: 2
• Washington Wizards (previously Baltimore/Washington Bullets) Atlanta Hawks (previously St. Louis Hawks), Oklahoma City Thunder (previously Seattle Supersonics), Portland Trailblazers, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings (previously Rochester Royals), Baltimore Bullets*: 1 each.

*(There have been two different ‘Baltimore Bullets’. The first one won a title in 1948 and folded in 1954. The second one – which exists as the Washington Wizards today – was formed in 1963).

Eternal rivals Celtics and Lakers form the top two winners, and have together won exactly half of every NBA title available. The Celtics did most of their damage in the Bill Russell era over the late 50s and 60s, when they won 11 championships in 13 years, including eight in a row. Bird and McHale brought back some more success in the 80s and they won their last championship five years ago with Garnett, Pierce, Allen, and co. The Lakers won five championships in the 50s in Minneapolis before moving to Los Angeles and having several different eras of success, including the early 70s, 80s, early 2000s, and late 2000s. Third in the list of champions are the Bulls, who won six all with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The Spurs have won all four of their titles since 1999 with Tim Duncan. The 76ers, Pistons, and Warriors have won three each: the city of Philadelphia has hosted championship teams in both the Warriors and the 76ers.

Now, take a look at what the tally of NBA titles would’ve been if champions were crowned at the end of the regular season itself. I have listed only the modern names of current franchises here (sorry Seattle, Minneapolis etc.). In the case of teams with a tied record, a tie-breaker was held that season to determine the best record – like a tie-breaker game, previous head-to-head record, or by virtue of having a better conference record. All except 1955 when both Syracuse Nationals and the Fort Wayne Pistons were adjudged to have the same record.

Number of ‘Regular Season Championships’

• Boston Celtics: 18
• Los Angeles Lakers: 9
• Philadelphia 76ers: 6
• Chicago Bulls: 5
• San Antonio Spurs: 4
• Sacramento Kings: 3
• Detroit Pistons: 3
• Golden State Warriors: 2
• Washington Wizards: 2
• Milwaukee Bucks: 2
• Portland Trailblazers: 2
• Phoenix Suns: 2
• Cleveland Cavaliers: 2
• Washington Capitals, St. Louis Bombers, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks: 1 each.

So as you can see, the Celtics still rule; even more dominantly this time around. The Lakers, despite their illustrious history, have only been regular season champions nine times. That shows that they have truly been a team to flip a switch in the playoffs and go from being good to great (except from 1959-70 years, when they got to the Finals eight times and lost all eight times). The 76ers were a true force before the NBA/ABA expansion and would’ve been champions six times by 1983. Justice has been done to the Spurs and Pistons, who have been regular season and playoff champions roughly the same number of times.

Jordan’s Bulls – who won six championships – only were the best regular season team three times in the 90s.

The Miami Heat would’ve had no titles at this point. But LeBron would’ve already had two in Cleveland in 2009 and 2010. Now isn’t that crazy? There would’ve been no ‘Decision’, no backlash, and the regular season’s best team would’ve been crowned.

Along with the Cavaliers, the Washington Capitals, St. Louis Bombers, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, and Indiana Pacers would’ve all been champions in this reality. The Kings would be sitting pretty on three right now, including a crowning moment for the fantastic Chris Webber era in the early 2000s. Both Charles Barkley and Steve Nash would’ve won championships for Phoenix. The Stockton and Malone era would’ve gotten its deserved due.

And while we are living in a time where the Miami Heat are defending champions, things would’ve been different if the title was handed at the end of the regular season. The most dominant team in the league would’ve been the Chicago Bulls, who finished with the league’s best record over the last two years (tied with Spurs in 2012, but they won their head-to-head matchup). Instead, the championships those years were won by the Mavericks and the aforementioned Heat.

Unfortunately for Bulls fans, NBA history only remembers the championship winners, and, unfair as it may sound to fans of ‘league sports’, having the best record means little once the post-season begins.

So what have we learnt today? That the Celtics are the bosses of NBA history whichever way we look at it. That the Lakers have been pretty good at switching gears in the post-season. And that, in recent years, the Cavaliers and the Bulls wasted away two fantastic ‘championship’ seasons with playoff disappointments.

Coming into the current season, while the Heat may once again be looking like favourites to repeat for a title, the team at the top of the table is actually the Spurs. Will San Antonio add a fifth title to their fifth first-place regular season?