Twilight 2-3 Zone

To quote a good friend, "All this Marchness is maddening." Something in the air just ain't right. The barrage of Schiavo coverage makes me definitely think that we're about to be bombing North Korea and OJ Mayo will be declaring for the 2005 NBA draft. Duncan has gone down again, invigorating me, and sparking re-interest in the Western playoff race for the first time all season. Oddly, however, the buzz around this story has been nearly non-existent. Like people are too scared to mess with their early/mid-season predictions or aren't willing to admit that Derek Jeter/Tom Brady doesn't exist in the NBA. The Cavs have fallen completely off the map, and Paul Silas has been fired, which inevitably generates finger-pointing towards an invisible-since-the-all-star-game, Lebron James. James also dropped 56 against the Raptors and lost. The Magic have a six-man roster, and the Nets could make the playoffs. If there is an NBA-God, he will grant me a seven-game first round series of Bulls vs. Wiz, complete with Curry-Haywood 'bows thrown, playoff-deprived(and hungry) cities, and a Gordon vs. Gilbert 4th quarter showdown for the ages. The Timberwolves still suck and will almost certainly draft Taylor Coppenrath in the second round. The Webber-AI experiment has gone horribly awry. Erick Dampier hasn't played for years, and Andrei Kirilenko's website (must see..."electronic?" ) has been updated. The Kobe-Shaq feud died before it started. Yao Ming is averaging .8 assists per game. The Warriors boast the best on-paper squad in the league. Oh, and the Bulls vs. Sonics game last week provided an adquate amount intrigue: Danny Fortson fouled out in literally six minutes, Rashard Lewis out-freaked KG, Matrix, and Odom in one of the best do-it-all performances I've ever seen, and Johnny "Red" Kerr lip-sanc the words to Frank Sinatra's "Chicago" pre-game. Mark my words, Andres Nocioni will win a championship before Lebron James will. Joel Przybilla is turning into a monster before nobody's eyes. Steve Francis has lost his marbles. Charlie Villanueva is looking like he will be an awful NBA player while Danny Granger will be a great one. Vince Carter/J-Kidd are good for a worthless 30 points and 10 assists per night. Four black coaches now (including Michael Cooper) have been fired this year. George Karl--definitely to be outdone by Larry Brown's incredibly awkward Tampa Bay Lightning/Brooklyn Dodgers -wearing playoff news conferences last year--wore a Nuggets JERSEY with his name on it for throwback night. And you thought the season started OUT weird? I'm ready to go bold here:

NBA Finals:

Rockets vs. Heat.


I won't have it any other way.