NBA Basketball---Please SAVE us...

As of right now everyone is feeling the effects that Football season is over, right? This in and of itself is extremely sad. In addition, meaningful baseball doesn't start until April, while March Madness doesn't begin until, well, Mid-March... This means we have a month or so of a gap in sports, correct? Sure, we have the Olympics to hold us over. I mean, who doesn't like Bode Miller being the biggest bust that no one's ever heard of, or having another avenue for hockey to become popular, but still no one cares. But despite the Olympics, some can even argue that Mid-April through June are light, as well, since baseball season is still too early to get crazily involved. Well sports fans, that's where the NBA comes in. Less than 10 years ago, there was no such thing as a gap in sports. It simply went football, then basketball, then baseball. However, and admitedly so, the NBA changed its image and in the process lost a LOT of fans. Combine that with the fact that New York City(at one time the Mecca of basketball) features two teams that are god awful, and you come up with this notion of a 'gap' in sports. Unfortunately in Sports, once a notion exists that an individual (Eli) or team (Clippers) or sport (hockey) is not good, it is extremely hard to shake that off. In my opinion, that is why the NBA seems to be struggling, as those fans who have left, simply aren't coming back. Well, to those fans who have left the NBA, I simply say "It's your loss". Up to about 4-5 years ago, you may have had an argument with why the NBA was not relevant. Unfortunately, that no longer holds any weight. Sure, the game has changed, but all sports have to re-define themselves. Look at our beloved NFL, it went from hardnose run and defense, to finesse and offensive passing. The NBA went from designed offensive sets and great defense, to athletism and the transition game (it got faster). That doesn't mean it's a bad thing, simply put, it is just different. The game has become more individualized, as well. Initially, I thought of this as a negative, but it's actually a positive when you consider the talent that exists today. Overall, and perhaps the most intriguing reason why the NBA is back and should be a force to be reckoned with is because of this high level of talent that exists. As of right now, there are arguably 2 of the top 3 basketball players ever, playing today. In addition, the talent gap between the West and the East has been closed in the last 4-5 years (once bball became relevant again), creating more parity. Sure there are still god awful teams, but every sport has those (Pirates, Browns, etc.). On any given night in the NBA, you can see an individual's performance carry his team to victory, or better yet, to a playoff birth. To me, this makes the game more exciting to watch because there are different stars to watch on a nightly basis. The whole other spectrum with the NBA are the playoffs. To me, the ONLY knock about the NBA playoff system is that it takes forever to complete. However, other than that, the quality of play within the games are fantastic, and it provides a chance for those great individual players to raise their level of play to unforseen heights. So, while the NBA is a long way from correcting its thug image, we need to stop writing off the sport just because of this. Rather than read up on the NFL rumor blogs or take up bowling during the aforementioned gap and lull periods within sports, turn on TNT and catch Lebron and Kobe cultivate an audience. Danny Dueces