Shifting of Power The argument could be made that the Western Conference has dominated the NBA over the past ten years. Sure there have been a few champions from the eastern conference, but you’re talking about a great team here, a great team there.

The western conference has been eight teams deep for quite awhile, making their regular season a much more difficult route to the playoffs. There have been recent seasons where the eighth place western conference team had a better record than the fourth place team (with home court) in the eastern conference.
Over the summer however, after a few transactions and key player injuries being healed, the eastern conference is become a force once again. The Lakers are still the team to beat until someone goes out there and does it. Just like the Celtics, Heat and Pistons were not so long ago.

With Garnett getting healthy and the addition of Rasheed Wallace the Celtics, only two seasons from dominating the league, have gotten better. Last years early season favorite already sporting The King of the NBA have added a beast, albeit an older beast, in Shaquille O’neal. Lets not forget last years eastern conference champions replacing Hedo Turkoglu with Vinsanity to play along side Superman.

It makes for some exciting matchups throughout the season and TV stations drooling over potential ratings come playoff time.

East vs West:

- The Eastern Conference All-Stars lead the all-time series 35–24

- The Eastern Conference leads in total championshihps 70-56


Posted on September 1,2009 by NY Sports Maniac


The Greatest of All Time The lock of the century.

Legends like Michael Jordan deserve more than the Hall of Fame. On September 11th we will watch the greatest basketball player and possibly the greatest athlete ever inducted into a fraternity he will justifiably become the leader of. From the young kid with a ton of talent, to the superstar, to a champion, to the logo, Jordan exemplifies the transition of taking ones ability and turning it into an international brand name.
Having talent is great, but using it to better the team is a hard lesson to learn, one which Jordan struggled with as a youngster.

By the end of his career however, with all the individual accollades he might be best known for making everyone around him a better player. There are countless guys who have played and won with Jordan only to have moved on and never achieve those individual heights again. This is a testament to the all around player Jordan strove to be.

In the midst of achieving his goal Jordan became so much more, giving us all so many memorable moments. He gave us all the excitement (championships) and the disappointment (hi Knick fans), but we will always respect the talent, the player and the teammate.

Jordan highlights:

- 6 time NBA Champion & 6 time Finals MVP (never lost in the finals)

- 5 time Most Valuable Player

- 10 time Scoring Champion

- 14 time All-Star

- 9 time All Defensive Team

Posted on September 4,2009 by NY Sports Maniac