As college football winds its way down to an inconclusive conclusion some of you may just now be turning your attention to the NBA.  Here are some notes to clue you in.  These notes will not be filled with the usual one-eyed man at a peep show perspective that you receive from Stuart Scott in his never ending man-love for Kobe and LeBron.  The league is filled with other talented players that fall outside the mother ship’s tractor beam.

With roughly 30 games in the books let’s take a look at what we now know…

Contenders:  Six teams are capable of challenging the Lakers.  Three in the east – Boston, Orlando, & Cleveland.   Three in the west – Denver, Dallas, & San Antonio.  Sorry to Atlanta and Phoenix who are on the edge but lack the size it will take to win four playoff series.

Point Man: The 2009 NBA draft has given us four very talented point guards on teams that desperately need stability.  Tyreke Evans, Johnny Flynn, Stephen Curry, and Brandon Jennings look to be difference makers.  Evans beats out Jennings for the Cliffs Notes rookie I would most want on my team.  Their stats and team records are very similar but Evans NBA build and IQ give him the edge.

Big Apple:  With all the frothing at the mouth in NY over the 2010 free agent class, one would wonder if Donnie Walsh should focus more on the draft. After missing most of last year, 2008 First Round pick Danilo Galinari can be described as inconsistent offensively and limited defensively at best. Perhaps Eric Gordon or Brook Lopez would be a better building block.  And 2009’s drafting of Jordan Hill is jaw dropping given the performance of Jennings in Milwaukee.  I mean I know you have Chris Duhon and all, but seriously don’t you have lone building block David Lee at power forward?  NY would definitely look more attractive to 2010 big fish with a talented young pg and/or a skilled low post center.  At least NY doesn’t have to worry about this year’s John Wall sweepstakes since their unprotected First Round pick is going to Utah to complete the Stephen Marbury deal made 27 years ago.  Phoenix then sent that pick to Utah in a deal for Tom Gugliotta.  Isaiah Thomas: the gift that keeps on giving.

Best teams to watch:  Oklahoma City and Houston.  Franchises should emulate what Thunder GM Sam Presti has done.  Clearing cap space, accumulating draft picks, and nailing each lottery pick have the Thunder on the precipice of being a dominant team for a long time.  Kevin Durant is a superstar and is surrounded with outstanding complementary players in Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.  OKC will go through growing pains but they get after it with inspired team ball each night.  Houston lost its two “best” players with injuries.  Yao has foot issues and Tracy McGrady is just a big puss.  T-Mac falls into the rare category of “get away, we are better without you” players, universally known as the Milton Bradley Doctrine.  Other members include Barry Bonds, TO, JR Rider, and the current edition of Shaq (please prove me wrong).  The team play of the Rockets is a throwback to the Kings of the 90s.  Who was their coach?  Carl Landry is the Cliffs Notes Sixth Man I would want on my team.

Still Waiting:  This past off-season featured top teams tweaking their rosters to get them a ring.  Those moves have had mixed results.  Rasheed Wallace, Shaq, Vince Carter, Shawn Marion and Ron Artest have all seen their numbers dip but their respective teams have the top 5 records in the league.  Still waiting to see which move(s) pay off when it matters most.

That doesn’t go there:  What has happened to the 76ers?  Two years ago Philadelphia was building a nice foundation around Andre Iguodala with the acquisition on Andre Miller and jettison of ball hog AI.  Their late-season push included a very hopeful playoff series against the second seeded Pistons.  Fast forward two years…Eddie Jordan is running the Princeton offense after Andre Miller was allowed to walk, nobody can figure out how to get Elton Brand the ball in the post, and what the?  (Rubbing my eyes) Is that AI back out there hogging the rock?  Meanwhile, Miller is a fish out of water in Portland.

King Kong Bundy & the Prison Warden: The Warriors are a soap opera and the NBA’s version of the Browns in terms of management.  But what I want to know is who is dressing Don Nelson in those form fitting shirts?  One has to stare at his torso in the same way you do Charlie Weiss’ mid-section in khaki pants.  And have you seen the guy coaching the Hornets?  Certain people look like coaches – Jerry Sloan, Doc Rivers, Nate McMillan.  And some look like they should be working in a correctional facility.  Welcome to Shawshank!

Three Dots:  I wouldn’t want to face Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, and the rest of the Bobcats in the First round of the playoffs…I expected more out of Utah, Washington, and Toronto…Who thought Vinny Del Negro had the enough experience to be a head coach and why does he still have his high school hair cut?…Sasha Vujacic may be having a down season on the court but he deserves some sort of award for his off-the-court scoring.  His 1.9 ppg courting of Maria Sharapova gets him an “at-a-boy”…I think If I’m Joe Dumars, I have to be disappointed that my reward for clearing cap space is two guys who should be my sixth man…I think Delonte West, Josh Howard, Jameer Nelson and Rajon Rondo will determine whether any of their teams can beat the Lakers…

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Troy Herrod is the newest member to The Sports Union writing staff.  He brings an extensive knowledge of books, swing sets, and dinosaurs (though his extensive knowledge of dinosaurs is matched by his 3-year-old son, who is waaay smarter and has his mom’s good looks – thank God!) … oh yeah, he knows a little about the game of basketball.  Let’s just say he has counted every “pebble” on a basketball, twice.  He also petitioned the NBA to reduce the number (9,342,059) of pebbles by seven to make it more shooter friendly.  He plays defense like the Phoenix Suns and shoots like AI – every time he touches it.

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