Now that the regular NBA season is officially over, I’d like to take a trip back down memory lane and reminisce about this past season… The good, the bad, the ugly…

The Lake Show

After being embarrassed by the Boston Celtics in the 08 NBA Finals, everyone knew that the Lakers would come out even harder this year. I can’t think of a single person that had the Lakers projected as less than #1 on the West, and if there were, they’re stupid.. Haha, just kidding (not really).. Playing without Andrew Bynum for 32 games in the season, the Lakers were still able to emerge as the top dogs of the West.

But who could’ve imagined that the Cleveland Cavaliers would be the owners of the best record in the NBA this year? We all knew the Lebron would emerge as an even greater dominant force this year, but to top the Lakers and the Celts? That’s quite an achievement.. which is the main reason why Lebron “The King” James will end up as this year’s MVP.. There were also other teams like the Orlando Magic, who we all thought would be pretty good, but showed that they can compete with the league’s elite..

But in the midst of greatness, there were also countless disappointments…

B Diddy came to Clips thinking he'd be playing alongside EB...

The Clips brought over B Diddy in the offseason, hoping that bringing another star to play with Elton Brand would lead them to the playoffs once again.. However, Elton Brand pursued elsewhere, and landed in Philly.. but where is he now? Injured worse than ever, and has sat out most of the 08-09 NBA season.. (that’s what you get, traitor!) Of all of the teams in the NBA, the Clips were the busiest in terms of offseason pick-ups and trades mid-season.. You will notice that the only 2 players from last years’ Clippers’ roster are Al Thornton and Chris Kaman..

They are also the most notable, as the biggest disappointment of the 08-09 season, although the Clips are my team… The Clips were not able to recover after losing EB, though they picked up Marcus Camby in the offseason, and traded for Zach Randolph during the season.. With a lineup featuring B Diddy, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Zach Randolph, and Marcus Camby, it’s kind of hard to imagine that they didn’t make the playoffs… by a great margin might I add… The only thing that can be said is that the Clips never really got a chance to play all together, as two or more of their starters were consistently out with injuries for extended periods of time..

Biggest impact trade of the year...

When this trade took place, I actually believed the Detroit had gotten the better end of the stick.. Boy was I wrong.. The general conception was that Billups would not be able to adjust to the offensive mindset of the Nuggets team, and that Iverson would flourish once again, as Joe Dumars had given him the “green light” to take as many shots as he’d liked, and to score at will.. This was exactly opposite of what actually occurred during the season.. Billups transformed the Nuggets and the style of basketball that they play, from all offense – no defense, to being careful about their shot selection as well as clamping down on defense. On the other hand, Iverson could not adjust whatsoever to the Pistons style of play.. After sitting out a few weeks with a back injury, his role was shifted to a player that comes off the bench.. Now, this is AI we’re talking about here.. He is NOT a bench player! He’s led the league in scoring multiple times, as well as taking his Sixers team to the NBA Finals against the Lakers back in the day… Of course he’s gonna say.. “I’d rather retire than play off the bench..” That’s like sending Kobe Bryant to the Magic, and telling him that he’d be playing behind Courtney Lee. It just doesn’t fly that way..

Now besides all the trades and transactions, the biggest disappointments of the year would have to be the number of injuries that were faced by star players.. Amare Stoudemire is probably the biggest name that went out for the season, and in turn, his Suns are out of the playoffs (another disappointment).. Other big names like Elton Brand, Al Jefferson, Michael Redd, Gilbert Arenas, Tracy McGrady were all deemed as ‘out for season’.

All in all, it was a great NBA season… PLAYOFF TIME BABY!