02-18-2009

It's my birthday. Last year I wrote a post on my birthday, so I decided to this year to make it a tradition. Though it has been an eventful year for me in many ways, I am particularly proud of the story I've been telling here since October. This blog has been a real challenge for me, and I am enjoying every post that I'm able to make. It's true that I thought I would be able to post more chapters, more often, but time management has been a serious struggle. I have had to make adjustments to both my approach and my personal expectations regarding NBA Dramatique, but learning those things through trial and error has been an essential part of the process. I think my story-telling will be greatly improved over the remainder of the season because I've worked on solving the issues that led to diminished posting.

I really want to thank all of you that have read my work here, and those of you that have taken the time to comment on the posts. I honestly smile every time I find a new comment on my blog, regardless of what you have to say. I greatly appreciate the feedback. I know there are some readers that have made requests and I haven't gotten around to delivering on those, but I haven't forgotten, and I will be looking for ways to work in your favorite team or player.

If anyone is wondering - yes, I do plan on doing this again next year, and I expect it to be even better. I'm not sure yet if it will be a continuation of this year's story, or if I'll find a completely different approach with the same underlying concept, but I've had a lot of fun and I want to keep doing it.

As far as the real-world NBA season goes, I have to admit that it really hasn't been what I expected. I thought a number of teams were going to be better than they have been, and despite being last year's finalists, I didn't think the Celtics or the Lakers were going to be as good as last year. I wanted to see better things from the Wizards, the Sixers, the Grizzlies, the Bucks. I thought the Heat would be better, and that they'd make more impressive personnel decisions than they have thus far. The Hornets are doing worse than I expected, but I'm glad. I am surprised at how Detroit has underperformed. I will say though that, in my opinion, the Pistons aren't losing because of Iverson. They're not losing because of Michael Curry. I feel that the Pistons are losing because Ben Wallace left. Doesn't seem to make sense, does it, considering how he's played since? But my feeling is that Ben and the other starters from the '04 champs and the '05 almosts were a crew, a gang, a brotherhood in the way that they were better as a group than they ever could be apart. The Cavs and the Trailblazers are both making me happy, winning about as much as I thought they were going to. At this stage, I'm expecting a Spurs/Lakers Conference Finals, and a Cavs/Celtics Conference Finals. I think that's pretty much what everyone is expecting now. Here's the order in which I'd prefer to see Finals combinations:

Celtics/Spurs - the match-up I hoped for but we didn't get to see last year.
Cavs/Spurs - An '07 rematch, but certainly no sweep this time.
Cavs/Lakers - LeBron's team and Kobe's team all in. That seems entertaining.
Celtics/Lakers - eh. Doesn't do much for me.

Tomorrow is the trade deadline. I'm going to hold off on any commentary on the trades that have already gone down until the deadline has passed, but I do have one request to make since it's my birthday. Please, please, please, Basketball gods, do not let the Spurs send Mason and Hill away in return for Vince Carter. Vince is not cool. Hill and Mason, cool. Oberto and Bowen are guys that I've liked, but they've seemingly reached the end of the road. I even thought Udoka was going to be a solid player, but his mojo appears to have defected. I don't care if Pop loses any of those three, but I think George Hill is going to be awesome, and Mason has earned his spot. The Spurs don't need Carter. Not for that price. Please don't let it happen. While I'm at it, Portland doesn't need you either, Vince. Stay away from my teams!