4 Things You Need to Pay Attention to This Season in the NBA

It's been a LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG time since I've written anything. There are many reasons for that. Among them: apathy, stress at work, writing other places, apathy...
But, with the NBA season underway, and the NBA being my favorite of all seasons, it's time to throw out some thoughts. So, here are 4 NBA thoughts that you should pay attention to.
Why only 4? Because it's my damn site and y0u'll take what I give you and like it. (this will not be particularly funny. that may or may not be surprising to some of my reader(s))

1. R.O.Y. Brandon Jennings - the kid is good. Very good. And, after his Rookie of the Year season he's going to be an outstanding argument against the "go to college" plan for elite young players.
I'm in favor of education. However, "going to college" and "getting an education" are not the same thing. Elite young ball players (the "one and done" guys) are not going to college to get an education or to expand their minds. They're going to college because the NBA won't let them in yet. Pretending to be a student for a year is not at all beneficial to kids who have spent the past 10 years of their lives doing nothing but working toward getting into the league. If anything, it hurts them by forcing them to spend an extra season playing against inferior competition and being treated like a god on campus.
For some jobs, college is required. Doctor, lawyer, business executive... Joining the league of the 320 best basketball players on earth is not one of those jobs. I want to see Jennings succeed, and the first 3 weeks of the season suggest he's got a damn good chance of doing so. I'll expound upon this at a later date.

2. Shaq. RIP. He's done. He makes Zydrunas Illgauskas look quick. This is not an easy accomplishment. If the Lebron's win a title this year, it will be despite him. He's among the top centers in NBA history, but it's been at least 3 years since he was among the best in the league. He's lost his quickness, he's lost his drive...all he's got left is his ego. And that's not enough to be useful. The Cavaliers look best when he's on the bench, and that's not likely to change. It will be mildly amusing to see how he finds a way to blame Lebron for his worthlessness this season (much like he's done with Steve Nash, DWade and Kobe in years past).

3. The Oklahoma City Thunder. Kevin Durant, despite weighing only 83 pounds, is awesome. He's already among the top 10 players in the league. Here's the fun part: Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green aren't far from being among the top point guards and forwards, respectively, in the league. This is a fun team that a lot of people won't ever see. Whenever possible, watch them. They're a legitimate playoff threat this year, and a team that every basketball fan needs to watch.

4. Young Point Guards. Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Brandon Jennings, Louis Williams.... there are an assload of hyper-talented PG's in their first or second seasons who might make the leap to Superstar status this season. As many hoop-o-philes will say, point guards make games (watchable). This will be evident in this season's group of 1's. Don't miss an opportunity to witness it.


Closing Thought: Watch the NBA! Despite the arguments of a huge number of ignorant assholes, there's absolutely nothing about the college game that is better than the League. College basketball is 80% awful, and 20% march madness and Duke v. UNC. Sorry, fuck off college ball. At it's best, it doesn't come close to Celtics-Lakers, Spurs-Mavs, or even Warriors-Clippers. You suck, college basketball, and you're angry that Brandon Jennings is proving it to the world.