They are all smiles in Cleveland and hiding their heads between their legs in Boston. Meanwhile, everyone in the West is holding their breath as every win and every loss changes the experts opinions on who stands a chance against the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs. After another week of action, some people are getting some grades, no gold stars this week though. 

Yes, those are the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they are #1 in the East.

A - The New King(s) in the East – “The King” LeBron James now needs to share his title with the rest of his team, for the time being. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been so close for so many years, even when they went to the 2006 NBA Finals nobody outside of Ohio thought they actually had a chance to win. With LeBron playing out of his mind, he is putting up big numbers and making his teammates better. The Cavs are on track to set the record for most throwback jerseys worn in a single season. They have more jerseys in their lockers then high school girls have mini-skirts in their closet.

B – The Western Conference - This year has been a coming out party for a few Eastern Conference teams, so much that some say that the East has surpassed the West. Although the East has arguably three of the top four teams right now, top to bottom the West is superior. Much like last year, the Western Conference is stacked with stellar teams. The Lakers are all alone in the top spot, but only three games separate the second through ninth seeds. In the East you could argue that not every game counts, you can get away with letting a few slip, but not in the West. Once the East has a team with a winning record in their 8th spot, then we can really start debating about which conference is better. 

C – Potential All-Starts Pandoring Votes - We’ve had a healthy dose of politicians graveling for our votes this past fall, now we are getting it from NBA players. Last year Chris Bosh made a video and posted it on his website trying to get the few hundred fans in Canada and thousands everywhere else to vote for him to make the All-Star team. Now several other players, including Amar’e Stoudemire, are following suite. I don’t think these players have mastered the thought process of NBA fans. Fans will vote for players that play for their local team, are from their local area, or ones that they just enjoy watching. Nobody takes the time to watch “campaign videos” and subsequently vote for you, especially if the videos are as corny as children sitcoms on the Disney Channel.

D – Chuck’s Alcohol Problem - Charles Barkley loves to be the center of attention. Whether it’s throwing poeple through bar windows, kissing Dick Bavetta on national television, making his gambling problem public, or showboating on the set of “NBA on TNT,” Charles relishes the spotlight. Like a kid starved for attention, Charles went out and did something drastic to take the spotlight, he got pulled over driving under the influence in Scottsdale, Arizona. The legal limit in Arizona is .08, Sir Charles had a blood alcohol level of .149. Where was Kenny Smith when Charles needed a designated driver? Probably gone fishin’. What about Charles’ “Fave 5?” I don’t think he has any, talk about false advertising…

F – The Formerly Historic Celtics - What happened to the Boston Celtics was in no way a Christmas miracle. If you will recall with me, heading into their Christmas day matchup with the Lakers, the Celtics had won 19 straight and were on a historic path to have the most wins in a single season in NBA history. The Celtics lost, no big deal, the Lakers were not that far behind them in wins, but then the Celtics went on to lose six of their next eight. The Celtics can still set the mark of most wins in a single season, now they just have to win 43 straight…

Tags: NBA

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