It’s crazy how March Madness has taken over the headlines in the middle of one of the best NBA seasons in a long time. When was the last time we seen a playoff race that had 6 games separating 1st seed from 9th seed? How long has it been since, although the West has long been the superior conference, the top 3 seeds in the East actually own winning records against the West. How long has it been since we seen the Celtics dominate the league? When was the last time the NBA saw a winning streak of 20+ games? All these questions and more add up to what I believe is shaping up to be the best era of competitive professional basketball since the 80’s. No offense to Bulls/ Jordans fans, but they didn’t really have any legitimate competition….did they? I mean, did they really?
No.

So now, here we are with a few weeks left before the playoffs. The Wild Wild West is still shooting it out. The 5th seed last week, is now the number one seed…and in the words of John Witherspoon “#### #### #### #### ####” (A Vampire in Brooklyn)….uh oh….Dirk Nowitski goes down. But who really cares? I mean Dallas hasn’t done anything since the Cowboys won the Super Bowl in ’95…and even that game is still under investigation (Neil O’Donnell was said to have been spotted in Yuma, sipping Tequila sunrises and counting a su####iously large amount of money shortly after).
The saying has long been that you make your name in the season, but you get your fame in the playoffs. That’s because the playoffs require players to transcend the normal levels that most play at for 82 games. It takes a different type of inner strength, physical strength, and ice water….in the veins that is. So is there anyone who would argue that the Mavericks are nothing more than regular season decorations? Pretenders….but not contenders?
I say the Hornets will lock up the top seed in that division, and it’s interesting to know that they just came off a nice win over the Celtics (causing 20 turnovers), who just swept thru the lonestar state…taking victories in San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. And please don’t give me any #### about Boston coming off this tough week. Professionals need to know how to adjust and win big at all times. No excuses!