Views from the Couch: Entering the Dragon...

Alas, the National Basketball Season is over the horizon. Finally. I just want to check in with a few thoughts on the aforementioned campaign while eagerly awaiting that 12 p.m. tip from Madison Square Garden tomorrow.

How do I feel about this year's incarnation of the Boston Celtics?

Let us be realistic for a moment. I love the Celtics. I want the Celtics to win the Lawrence Francis O'Brien Jr. trophy each and every year. Having said that, I do not think the Celtics have the legs to bring home the bacon this year. If titles were won on experience and leadership, the Celtics would be in the finals every year. This will be the ultimate test of wills this year. For example, the Green will be playing six games in the first nine days of the season, that stretch ending with three games in four days, from December 30-January 1. Those first six games opponents?

December 25: New York Knicks @ MSG

December 27: Miami Heat @ South Beach

December 28: New Orleans Hornets @Bourbon Street

December 30: Detroit Pistons on Causeway

January 1: Washington Wizards @ The Capital

January 2: Washington Wizards on Causeway

That is a GRUELING stretch on the legs of Pierce, Garnett, and Allen. Jesus Henry Christ. Expect the Big Three to skip that first Washington game altogether, and play minimal minutes against the Hornets and the Wizards (game two). They are going to have to find it in them to gut out those two tests against the Knicks and Heat.

Brandon Bass is an upgrade over Glen Davis. I was never a fan of the Large Infant. Two years ago, I attended a Celtics-Cavaliers tilt with ZHawk, and I got into an argument with Balcony Gino about how much I hated Glen and thought that he should be run out of town.

Finally, he is gone. A short, fat power forward who can't rebound? Good riddance. Gimme some Bass! He'll be a good banger along with Chris Wilcox, and give the Celtics some strength in an area where they are at least semi-soft.

Keyon Dooling is maybe the sixth or seventh best player on the Celtics this year. That is not a sentence I thought I would be uttering prior to this season.

Marquis Daniels will be the X-Factor coming off the bench this year. He will get at least 75% of the minutes that Paul Pierce leaves aside for rest days. Who knew that he would be not only back in Boston, but even playing basketball, much less walking, after that scary spinal injury last year.

JaJuan Johnson will take time to develop. Working under Garnett and (mayyyyyyyyyyybe) Jermaine O'Neal for a year will definitely help.

E'Twaun Moore and Avery Bradley will get minutes this year. I like Moore. Still need to see something from Bradley.

Lord help us if Sasha Pavlovic sees meaningful minutes.

On to the next one...

*I am increasingly excited for the Lob Angeles Clippers this year. There is a new sheriff in town out in Hollywood. That team is going to set the record for SportsCenter Top Ten spots this year.

*Chauncey Billups has got to be the most well-traveled good player in NBA history. His career stops include: Boston, Toronto, Denver, Orlando (where he never played a game), Minnesota, Detroit, Denver again, New York, and Los Angeles. He has played in eight cities. Holy hell.

*One last thought on Lob City: Thank god no one decided to use a variation of the ill-contrived Miami Heat Welcome Video.

*Mark Jackson's "Hand down, Man down" Warriors will probably suck this year.

*The true test that this season will have? The marriage of Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian. Will they stay together? Does E! have the finances for "The Kardashians Do Dallas"? There's no way she moves to Dallas right?

*I am so glad America gets to watch the Mavericks receive their rings in front of the Miami Heat on Christmas.

*I know this question has been mused several hundreds of thousands of times already, but why did Kobe decide to rock the same infidelity goatee as Tiger Woods?

*Speaking of the Mamba, you know you are one hell of a player when you have Jon Barry scoffing at the fact that you ONLY scored 23 points per game in the NBA playoffs last year.

*Ron Artest has got to be the first person in NBA history to go from the top of a team's roster page to the bottom of that same roster (Artest to World Peace).

*A last thought on the Lakers: They might have the build of an awful team this year. Their roster other than Kobe? Matt Barnes, Steve Blake, Andrew Bynum, Derrick Caracter, Devin Ebanks, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Andrew Goudelock, Jason Kapono, Ater Majok, Josh McRoberts, Troy Murphy, Luke Walton, and Metta World Peace (Ron Artest). That's not a terrible team, but it also isn't eye opening by any stretch of the imagination.

*Next year the Brooklyn Nets will be interesting, but will they get Howard as the new face of their franchise? If they don't, Deron Williams is gone too.

*After the Knicks smooth idea of thinking they could trade for Chris Paul (WHO would they give up?), they have no backcourt. The Baron Davis signing helps a little, but not enough to make this team competitive. Oh, sure, let's pick up Chauncey's option then amnesty him. Sounds like a plan. How long before Mike D'Antoni is fired?

*As Bill Simmons has pondered before, Westbrook and Durant is the epitome of a real life Avon Barksdale/Stringer Bell scenario. Who is the best player on that team? Everyone will tell you Durant, but what about Russ West? Where's his love? Come on, man. It's getting close to being time for the Thunder to have to choose one or the other.

*"I ain't no suit wearin' bidnessman like you, I'm just a gangsta I suppose. And I want my corners" describes both of those relationships perfectly. Yin and Yang. Oil and Water. They work because they are so different. But who is the more effective to his operation?

*The Maloof Brothers need to sell. The Kings need to move to Seattle (not Anaheim), and build their own fresh brand as the new SuperSonics.

*Speaking of the Sonics, any franchise that has won an NBA title should not be allowed to move. Plus they have this: