Isn’t it such fun when the kids go off to camp?
They get to meet counselor Scott or counselor Phil, who’ll have them running and jumping and figuring out how to make baskets. Some of the kids get to go to sleepover camp in places like Charleston, S.C., Durango, Colo., Mankato, Minn., and Boise, Idaho, and this year in Paris and Moscow, though most of them are just at day camps, like in Deerfield and Indianapolis. They get neat uniforms and get to work on crafting their art.
Heck, it’s so much fun that after a week or so of this they get to play games for the next nine months.
And we pay them.
Go figure.
Yes, NBA camps officially open Tuesday, and it appears there will be plenty of good times along the way. Such as in . . .
– New York, where there’s going to be court talk everywhere. The Knicks look like they’ll be better (how could they not be?) with a Suns-like wide-open attack, though the word out of the Chicago summer games was not good; Knicks assistants traveled to Chicago less for the stuffed pizza than the stuffed center. Reports have Eddy Curry not quite ready for his bunkmates. The Knicks are in arbitration with former coach Larry Brown on his contract and heading for court on the sexual-harassment claim against coach/general manager Isiah Thomas.
– Charlotte, where they have part-owner Michael Jordan and rookie Adam Morrison, the high-scoring, frequent shooting, trash-talking white guy who can’t grow a good mustache. Wise guys ask what they call trash-talking white guys in the NBA: Lunch. Morrison has faced down every doubter before.
– New Jersey, where Jay Williams has faced more doubts than anyone in an amazing return from his horrific motorcycle accident in Chicago. He’ll compete with rookie Marcus Williams for the backup point guard spot behind Jason Kidd. Will he be Bobby Hurley or Bernard King?
– Golden State, where coach Don Nelson is back and still trying to reinvent the game. He has been lobbying for Troy Murphy to make the All-Star ballot as a center because that’s where the perimeter-shooting forward is slated to play. Apparently, Keith “Mr.” Jennings was unavailable.
– Phoenix, where the big question is Where’s Amare? It remains perhaps the big puzzle in the NBA and the missing piece for the Suns’ chance to be true championship contenders. If Stoudemire is recovered from knee surgery, the Suns could fast-break their way to glory. There’s concern, though, whether Stoudemire will be ready to open the season as a regular.
– Houston, where the Rockets may not only be wincing over Tracy McGrady’s unending back ailments. They picked up Bonzi Wells, who should enjoy coach Jeff Van Gundy’s treatises on unselfish play and team unity.
– Cleveland, where LeBron James is becoming the monster of the NBA besides being a tremendous player. There were whispers of James being somewhat difficult to handle on the U.S. world championships team this summer, and then there was Gilbert Arenas’ comment during last season’s playoffs that Larry Hughes felt like someone just bringing in plays. James is nearing the point at a younger age than Jordan about whether he will trust his teammates.
– New Orleans/Oklahoma City, which was the big spender in the summer for Tyson Chandler, Bobby Jackson and Peja Stojakovic. George Shinn? Heck, with those contracts he might have been able to rebuild New Orleans. Let’s see if he can rebuild a team.
– Sacramento, where Ron Artest comes into the previously fateful post-honeymoon period, during which Artest discovers, well, whatever it is he discovers. Duck! Third time is supposed to be a charm, though.
– Toronto, where American players are now considering going when their NBA careers are winding down. What, it’s not in the Euroleague? It’s going to be an interesting experiment, and if the Raptors are good it will be a chance for the first true world championship when the NBA champions play the international Raptors.
– Philadelphia, where they basically tried to trade everyone on the team but Andre Iguodala and failed, so they’re now trying to sell the team. OK, you guys win. And Larry Brown has moved his family to the Philadelphia area. Would anyone in the Philadelphia media speculate on that one? Nah.
– Miami, where Shaquille O’Neal wants to officially petition the NBA to start the season after the All-Star break. Heck, Pat, we did that last season and won the championship.
– Los Angeles, where you’ll want to pay to listen to Kobe Bryant’s response when told that Vladimir Radmanovic was the off-season answer.
– Dallas, where it’s not going to be easy to get back to the Finals after that historic collapse. Yes, they were ahead 2.9 games to none and lost in six. Expect owner Mark Cuban to ask for instant-replay review after every foul call.
– Denver, where coach George Karl and Kenyon Martin haven’t quite worked it out yet, which leaves only three words: Steel cage match.
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Yes, the NBA is back. And doesn’t that bring a smile to your face? Oh, and for the games too.
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