The Daily Gamecock

Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Sports

Austin Smallwood, Second-year finance student

The winter months usually mark a dead time for sports fans with the NFL in the offseason and Major League Baseball two months away; however, the sudden jolt of energy into the NBA has made professional basketball an outlet for those fans thirsty for sports.

Tuesday marked the start of the second half of the NBA season, which promises to be one the best in recent memory. Currently, the top seed in the Western Conference and the eighth and final playoff seed are separated by only four games. The Western Conference is as competitive this year as ever before because a team that wins 50 games will likely miss the playoffs.

In order to get an edge in the highly competitive Western Conference, teams are pulling out all the stops to make sure they obtain home court advantage. This season has seen two future Hall of Famers in Jason Kidd and Shaquille O'Neal and another high caliber player, Pau Gasol, traded to Western contenders who felt they needed a playoff push.

Kidd offers the Dallas Mavericks a true floor general and distributor who will set up the other players on team. The Mavericks also hope that Kidd will bring some mental toughness to a team that has choked in the last two postseasons.

The acquisition of Shaq or, as he now calls himself "The Big Cactus," gives the Suns a true interior presence on both the offensive and defensive end. O'Neal will allow the other big man on the Suns to spread the floor more and stay out of foul trouble.

The Lakers started this trend of blockbuster trades when they traded for seven-footer Pau Gasol. Gasol gives the Lakers an intelligent big man who will fit in well with Kobe Bryant and the triangle offense.

Though these three teams felt that they needed to make trades, other teams, such as the defending champion Spurs, felt content with their roster and how it will perform in playoff time.

The presence of 9 to 10 strong teams in the Western Conference will not only make the race for the postseason exciting, but the postseason itself. This sudden parody will eliminate the first round sweeps that are almost customary in the NBA and will replace them with a long series that will reveal which teams are the best.

Once one team separates themselves as the cream of crop in the Western Conference they must face the winner of the Eastern Conference (most likely the Pistons, Celtics or Cavaliers).

The Celtics have been a team on a mission this season, earning the league's best record before the All-Star break. The acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have made the Celtics a balanced team with three superstars starving for a championship.

The Pistons and Cavaliers also present tough matchups, with the Pistons presenting a balanced team attack and the Cavaliers led by All Star MVP LeBron James.

So, while traditionally there is no remedy for the dry period between the Super Bowl and March Madness, this year's sudden parody in the NBA brings new excitement to a season that is so often forgotten. The NBA put on a great show at this year's All-Star Game, and there is no reason to believe that the excitement will end any time soon.

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