1. Linsanity. The whole world knows who Jeremy Lin is. His rise to fame came in late January and lasted over a month until a knee injury sidelined him. He carried a Knicks team without Carmelo and Amare during his peak (with the help of an easy schedule and lack of scouting from opposing teams) and now the Knicks are in the playoffs. A proof that Lin is a trending topic/player: his jersey sales are among the top 5 in the NBA. The other four jerseys? Rose, Kobe, LeBron and Carmelo. By the way, he can play. Lin was very fortunate to be in an offensive system that utilizes his skills and talents. I am convinced that he will be in the All-star team next year (voted by fans as a starter). Can you imagine that?
2. The Indecision. So Dwight Howard decided to stay with the Orlando Magic for another year... And then the drama and intrigue will start again next season on where he will play in the future. The constant changing of his mind to be traded or to stay in Orlando was embarrassing. He tortured the home fans with emotionless and lackluster performances on the court. Even his teammates felt upset and distracted with the drama. Plus, his coach Stan Van Gundy revealed to the media that Howard wanted him fired. Howard has suddenly earned a reputation as a malcontent and coach-killer. His icing on the cake? A season-ending back surgery that has killed Orlando's chance in the playoffs and Howard wont play in the Summer Olympics.
3. Lamar Odom. The mercurial Mr. Odom went from the Sixth Man award winner last year to not even being on the bench for the reigning champions, Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs decided to still pay Odom millions to stay at home and sit on his ass instead of being with the team. His attitude and mood were becoming detrimental to the team's success and Odom was seen arguing with team owner Mark Cuban more than once. It was an easy decision for the Mavs because Odom was averaging career lows in all of major statistics and you could see his lack of effort and focus on the court. Lamar has been known to be a sensitive person and Im guessing that his trade from the Lakers contributed to his downward spiral back to depression and self-loathing. Odom has also taken himself out from playing with Team USA.
4. Artest Elbow. I refuse to call him Metta World Peace when Ron Artest does things that are not promoting peace. His elbow to the head of James Harden was downright sick and vicious. There is no way in hell that it was "unintentional" and "bad timing" according to Artest. Ron even tried to explain to the referee that he was celebrating and pounding his chest. Nobody was buying that excuse. Harden received a concussion for that head shot and could be limited when the playoffs start for OKC. Meanwhile, Artest received a 7-game suspension (I think he should have gotten more). His elbow could affect the Lakers and Thunder negatively in their playoff drives
5. Trade Veto of CP3. Even before the season started on Dec 25, the NBA was making headlines with the trade of Chris Paul to the LA Lakers... then the trade veto by David Stern bringing Paul back to the New Orleans Hornets.. then Paul being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. That was a wild ride for the teams involved and Chris Paul. The NBA and David Stern earned a black eye for their mishandling of the trade and situation. The league may have lost some credibility when they decided to the trade initially. Lucky for them, things worked out well for the Clippers (in the playoffs) and more highlights from Blake Griffin from CP3 may have quieted the conspiracy theorists.
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