Off We Go

Every year at about this time, I'm a little bit excited. The NBA season has just started, and if you don't know it about me, I'm a fan.

I'm one of those fans who just likes watching a game, any game, doesn't matter who's playing. It's just the basketball itself I enjoy.

And yes, I'm not much for the college game, even though the kids might play harder and the games might mean more and there might be more emphasis on teamwork and defense. Sue me, I've just always preferred the pro game. I love the amazing individual talents of guys like LeBron, Kobe and Gilbert. I love watching Caron Butler or Tayshaun Prince play defense. The Spurs aren't one of my 25 favorite teams, but the way Tony Parker can always get a shot off through three guys twice his height and have it somehow drop in is astounding to see. And it might be true that some pros don't hustle, but no college player ever worked as hard as Kevin Garnett or Allen Iverson still do every night, 12 years into their careers.

I didn't know I was going to write all that. I just wanted to say that I'm excited about the NBA.

The Wolves are still my team, even without Garnett, and I'm really going to enjoy watching them this year. In their first four games, they've surprised me. They are doing a lot of things well and clearly enjoying playing together. Their defense is solid, they rebound well, and when they run their plays they're hitting the shots they're supposed to hit. Guys like Greg Buckner, Rashad McCants and Theo Ratliff are giving them more than was expected, and Al Jefferson is looking very promising. Of course, they're extremely young. They will make a lot of mistakes and they will lose a lot of games. They've lost all four so far, but lost none of them by double digits. [Edit] In the interest of accuracy, I should correct myself. Their fourth loss was by 14, but for most of the game they were much closer. [/Edit] They don't have nearly the potential to be a good team that Garnett's Wolves did, but last year Garnett's Wolves gave nowhere near the effort that this team does, and fell far short of their potential. This team is going to be as good as they can be.

As cool as that is, the funnest thing about this year will be watching KG in Boston. At 4-0, they are the only undefeated team in the League. Their three All-Stars seem to fit together flawlessly on the court as well as in commercials, Eddie House is actually making shots, Rajon Rondo is getting better every game, and James Posey is sitting there just in case one of the future Hall of Famers decides to take a breather. Nice. Oh, and Garnett's numbers in the first four games? 24 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists? Ridiculous.

So that's what I'm up to these days.