I think OKC Thunder just shot themselves in the foot by getting rid of James Harden. They just broke up another big three then and there just like Boston. At least Boston will stay strong without Allen.

Kage Negra : Yeah I agree; although I think that Boston also shot themselfs in the foot getting rid of Allen also. At least they got depth at the PF (Sullienger) and Center (Fab Melo) to helpout, but that is a tough conference to play in with Brooklyn, Philly, and NYK (who now lost Amarie for a good amount of time). I would have said that Toranto would be challenging since they went 6-1 in preseason, but preseason games don't matter and they are still rebuilding.

Minutes away from the REAL tip off of the NBA season.

I'm sorry Washington/Cleveland fans, but move over for the big boys in the Celtics and Heat.

This should be a rather interesting game, and definitely one worthy of night one gameplay.

lol LA Fakers.

The Bulls looked pretty ok last night. Maybe they'll do fine after all without Rose... Could be a darkhorse in the playoffs

I'm so pissed that I missed the game. A real FML moment for me.

I see Clippers outdoing the Lakers this season. Lakers still can't seem to win a game with their new lineup.

Oldschool41 :

I'm not "terribly" surprised. Had I known the Rockets would acquire Harden, I would have had to retool my playoff predictions a little.

The Thunder fall to 4th, and the Clippers and Spurs move up to 2nd and 3rd, with the Rockets climbing up to 7th, and the Grizzlies falling completely out for me.

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Just happened, just now, but Kevin Durant scored his 10,000th career point. (as well as his 10,001st)

He is the 2nd youngest player to 10,000.

legacyme3 : They didn't make too big a deal about it on the broadcast of the game, but it truly is amazing how quickly Durant has got to 10k points. And what's even crazier is that he would probably be there a LOT sooner if he didn't have to share baskets with Westbrook!

James Harden is averaging 41.0 PPG already. 37 the first game and 45 this one. WOW Just WOW!

Azul Fria : I agree. If Harden continues to play at the level he is playing at then the Rockets might make a lower seed playoff spot. Again they played on 2 games, so its early; but looks like the Rockets are getting the better end of the trade so far. Also Lin is showing that he isn't a fluke.

Ya killing me Lob City, what happened to ya'll spark that boosted you to the top of the Western Conference earlier?

This season hasn't gone the way I thought at all...well for the most part.

First, I never thought that Memphis would lead the west. I knew they had a great team but i thought they wouldn't be able to lead elite teams such as the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Lakers.

Speaking of Lakers, how is a team that has such a powerful roster so bad? This team was projected to be the best, possibly even better than Miami, yet they're struggling to stay above .500 (I am aware that Steve Nash is injured before some of you make any statements). Of course being a Celtics fan, I do like seeing the Lakers struggle.

Speaking of Celtics, WHAT THE HELL! I mean they're doing very bad as an overall team (I understand that they are an old team and come from a fairly strong division, but they're doing as bad as the Lakers at this point). And they're 4th in the division. FOURTH! Behind the Nets, Knicks and Sixers.

While I'm on the topic of the Atlantic Division, I knew it'd be good but not THIS good. I mean four of the five teams are in the top seven for the Eastern Conference, probably the best in the history of the Atlantic Division (don't take my word on that I'm not so sure about that).

In other news, Pacers don't have Granger which is screwing them over, a team I thought would be in the top 3 is barely in playoff contention. Also, the Heat lose to the Wizards for the third straight time. when I saw that i literally laughed so much that my stomach hurt to the point where I thought it would burst. And the Bobcats are doing pretty good.

But it's only the beginning of the season and things are bound to change right? I guess as the season goes on I can give a better analysis on how I think teams are doing.

Just wanted to mention my prediction for the NBA Finals this year...

Spurs vs. Knicks

Sounds like a plan to me!

I'm honestly surprised with the Golden State Warriors. Similarly to the Nets, the Warriors have made a drastic improvement from last year. Winning 8 of their last 9 games including the first 5 games of a seven game road trip. Pretty impressive. If they keep this up they may end up being a serious threat in the playoffs.

Was just going to comment on the Bulls getting throttled by the Rockets right now. Wow what a difference not having the best point guard in the league makes! Now the Bulls are a solid team I can't tell if they are just sluggish because of the holidays or if the Rockets are doing it to them...I'm a  big Harden fan and the Rockets IMO will be a contender at the end of the season...once everyone learns to play together and they get in the flow of it I think they have enough young talent to be that OTHER team in Texas for the future. Now, I don't think Lin is going to be the super star player he once was his and Hardens game are pretty similar (slasher/shooter/scorers) so of course you will deffer to Harden he is obviously one of the best offensive players in the game at a very young age BUT, I do think Lin has what it takes to be a VERY VERY solid point guard in the NBA he needs to work on his turnovers and polish his game a little but once the rockets come together I think they will have the BEST backcourt in Texas (yes i said it). Tony Parker and Ginobli are one of the best duo's in the game and I think Lin and Harden have that same chance. Harden for sure has the chance to be better than Ginobli if he isn't already and Lin has what it takes to be a great team player and individual performer. 

The sign of what would've been the 2012 apocalypse has been completed. Clippers completed a perfect December.