If a tree falls in the woods, can it be heard from afar ?

If a tree falls in the woods, can it be heard from afar ?

As the NBA season now enters the final dozen games of the NBA. regular season schedule, there now seems to be an inevitability about the year for several teams . There are likely to be some tumultuous off-season moves , with quite possibly one or two executive upheavals and perhaps two or three head coaches, losing their current positions. Such is the price of failure, that if the success sought , is not with the immediacy of here and now , then the decision is made for the executive or head coach to jettisoned from that organization.

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With Phil Jackson , having accepted the position to become the Head of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks , the widespread feeling around the league , is that head coach Mike Woodson and several members of his coaching staff will not be asked to return next season. Moreover, Jackson , is now likely to use these final few games of the Knicks’ regular season to assess the makeup of the roster and what are likely to be the team’s overall needs , as they head into the off-season, in preparation for the 2014 NBA Draft .

Phil Jackson has been extremely critical of the New York Knicks and their play , and that is in spite of the team’s recent ten-game streak , during which they posted an 8-2 record . This however, came to an abrupt end, when they succumbed to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers with a four-point 100-96 loss and then follow-up that abomination, with an even more embarrassing defeat , in losing , in a thirty-one point blowout loss 127-96 on Tuesday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles California , to the Los Angeles Lakers , who currently have one of the worst records in the entire NBA. Yet , in recent days , because of this run, there have been some idiotic rumblings amongst Knicks’ fans and analysts alike, that the team might just be capable enough of mounting a credible run , leading them to gain a playoff berth .

Were it not for the pragmatist in me , I would resoundingly state that these fans have lost their minds, but in reality to find an intelligent New York Knicks’ fan nowadays, is somewhat like trying to seek out a completely honest member of Congress or better yet, someone within that hallowed chamber as befitting their intelligence, who is actually capable of succinctly telling and explaining to the public, how the economy still remains in a quagmire in spite of the claims and the statistics yielded by the Commerce Department and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Knicks are simply not good enough to mount serious challenge, whereby they can jump ahead of the eighth placed Atlanta Hawks (31-38) or seventh placed Charlotte Bobcats( 34-37) , two teams with a five and two game lead over the ninth placed New York Knicks (29-42) .

With eleven games remaining on the New York Knicks’ regular season schedule , of which four of those contests , at their home venue of Madison Square Gardens in New York City, New York, for which that stage has been a less than pleasant domicile, as a place for the Knicks to defend their home turf. On the road , they simply fare not much better , but somehow , there we have many, singing the praises of a team with a sub.500 record , as if they are a major contender for this season’s NBA title. As absurd as that sounds , it is something one has come to expect of the franchise , who still have ideas of grandeur way above their station. With Phil Jackson, now firmly on-board and looking to entrench himself in the day-to-day workings of the organization, supposedly working alongside GM Steve Mills , it will be interesting to see the dynamics that will take place between Jackson and his subordinate .

The biggest issue Phil Jackson is likely to have , will be seeking to dissuade Carmelo Anthony from opting out of the final year of his existing contract to ‘test’ the free agency market. In knowing that he can obtain a more lucrative contract by resigning with the New York Knicks, I do firmly believe that unless , the front office can prove to the player that it is their intent to bolster the roster. I do fully believe , that he is likely bolt and make a move to a major contender within the NBA. A team such as the Los Angeles Lakers , with a great deal of money under the cap, are likely to try and entice Anthony to make the move to the West coast to play alongside Kobe Bryant , who would undoubtedly welcome the Knicks player’s presence in taking the burden off his back as being the franchise’s primary offensive weapon . Yet , the Lakers too , are not without their own internal problems and struggles , with their being mounting criticism coming from within and outside of the organization.

Former players, Magic Johnson , James Worthy and most recently Byron Scott , have been extremely critical of GM Mitch Kupchak and senior executive Jim Buss , de-facto managing partner of the venerable franchise , where his younger siblings , Jeanie Buss , SVP of Business Operations and Johnny Buss , assistant Head of Scouting , all having significant roles within the organization. Jeanie Buss, the fiancée of Phil Jackson, now has a decision to make, as to ultimately, where her loyalties may well lie. Does she remain in support of Jackson, standing at his side ? Also, what happens when the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks face off in a regular season contest , never mind the fervor likely to be raised , were the two teams to meet in a future NBA title series contest , with the couple on opposing sides of the court ?

Not to be left out of the controversy of the inward struggle within the Los Angeles Lakers, has been Kobe Bryant’s vocal dissent and the very fact that the franchise did not seek to lure Phil Jackson back to an organization. that he coached to five NBA titles during his two tenures with the team. It now makes you wonder what the current intent may well be of Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak, as they seek to engineer a turnaround of a franchise , that for the most part has been mired in mediocrity all season long .

With Kobe Bryant, seeing his season come to an early end, with a recurrence of an earlier injury, curtailing the shortest playing spell of his extraordinary career . The player has been left strolling the sidelines, watching his teammates , labor for the greater part of the year, under the impression, that they were capable of playing a great deal better , than they have been. Granted, the shellacking of the New York Knicks, provided one of the few positive respites of what has been otherwise, a simply monstrous season, under a clueless ‘ Mike D’Antoni and his beleaguered coaching staff ! With their clearly being no real thought process, as to how he prepares his players for each ensuing contest , one has to wonder what the hell, the Lakers’ head coach feels that he may have achieved , during this season of adversity ?

A Thursday night contest against the struggling Milwaukee Bucks (13-58) at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , is simply another sign of how far the Lakers have fallen, as their continued swoon, is proving to be so fateful. Not that the decline, likely to continue to the point, where the franchise would become one of the array franchises, deemed a lottery pick in seeking to avail themselves of the number one draft pick , in the upcoming NBA Draft. It has been a considerable period of time, where the Los Angeles Lakers were placed in a position where they had a first round draft pick, that was inside the top five of any draft in recent NBA history.

Before the Brooklyn Nets’ billionaire owner, Mikhail Prokhorov entered the NBA , purchasing the franchise for what appears to be an astonishing sum and along the way simply opening up his check book like a rich benefactor. The capricious spending, amongst NBA team owners , was once led by the Dallas Mavericks’ , Mark Cuban , as the franchise chased after that elusive first NBA title. Having been able to achieve that feat, while feeling the wrath of former NBA Commissioner David Stern , the Mavericks’ owner has paid over $2.5 million in fines levied by the former league executive for the continued criticism of the league itself , as well as the officiating . With the former commissioner , now having stepped down , to be succeeded by Adam Silver, it will certainly be interesting to see the dichotomy of the relationship between the self-absorbed and publicity seeking owner and that of the somewhat taciturn Silver.

Silver has yet to bring about many major edict, as he seeks to stamp his own identity on a league that for almost three decades, was simply viewed as David Stern’s fiefdom, to do with as he pleased . Stern’s dictatorial rule, would make the likes of Pol Pot, Idi Amin , Muammar Gaddafi and even Saddam Hussein shudder. Things were either done to his liking, or you would somehow, feel his wrath directly or indirectly. As to this repeated idiocy, that the commissioner, built the NBA into what it has become. The league’s explosion, into a global phenomenon had more to do with the charisma of Michael Jordan and the marketing ingenuity shown by Phil Knight and his then fledgling sports’ apparel company Nike Inc , with Stern riding in on the coattails of the five-time League six-time Finals’ MVP .

For the Dallas Mavericks, since their decisive series’ victory over the Miami Heat in the 2012 NBA Finals, the franchise has sought to regain that sort of form. An aging Dirk Nowitzki , around whom the team is still centered , has now become somewhat more athletic , with Rick Carlisle and his coaching staff presiding over the player personnel changes and the revamping of the roster, altogether. GM Donnie Nelson has seen fit to be fiscally responsible paring down the team’s payroll to a manageable size , yet at the same time , the front office executive has his eyes on the upcoming free agency period, where there will be a litany of players , that he feels might be able to assist the organization in winning a second NBA championship.

With the likelihood that this will be the last year with Dirk Nowitzki leading the Mavericks, the task of steering their way through the Western Conference and specifically the conference playoffs , within the conference , will be the toughest thing for the team to achieve. The conference and the divisions themselves, are truly competitive , unlike the morass of mediocrity that the fans have been subjected to within the Eastern Conference and the divisions there. The Miami Heat , as defending NBA champions, might well be everyone’s favorite at present, but in recent weeks, the team has looked far from infallible . If anything, Erik Spoelstra’s players, have looked nothing like NBA championship caliber material, much less defending champions.

As the eighth seed in the Western Conference and if things are to remain as they are, until the end of the regular season . Then, a first round match-up, between the Dallas Mavericks and their instate rivals, the San Antonio Spurs would provide the conference with one of the more enticing contests . That, is not to suggest, that the other prospective clashes are any the less meaningful. Bragging rights, as to who ultimately is said to be the best NBA franchise in the state of Texas will be up for grabs and while fans of the Houston Rockets might beg to differ. I would suggest that the fans there, simply ask themselves the question, when was the last time your team made a deep run into the NBA postseason?

The Mavericks’ recent victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder , was certainly a morale booster for the franchise, as they look to wind down their regular season schedule , in the run-up to the playoffs.

Sixteen consecutive seasons and counting , with the likelihood that this season, once again the San Antonio Spurs (55-16) will make it to the NBA Playoffs for a seventeenth consecutive year . It will be an unprecedented feat , but somehow it will be lost on the rest of the NBA, while not even being appreciated by the league hierarchy or the league’s fan-base . The franchise is simply not seen as one of the NBA’s more glamorous teams or organizations. Granted, there remains a healthy respect of head coach Gregg Popovich , his achievements, while he seeks to win a fifth NBA title as the head coach of the Spurs . Yet, Peter Holt, RC Buford and the rest of the organization are simply viewed as an afterthought around the league and in no way , were they even thought of as a likely contender for this season’s championship. Now with the best record in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference, as well as the conference and league overall . What are the fans, much less the odds-makers to make of another astonishing season from the Spurs?

A fifteen-game win streak has pretty much summed up, why record-wise, the San Antonio Spurs have been the best team in the NBA over the time-span covering this streak and might one now suggest the best team in the NBA all year-long ? Fans and analysts alike, over the season, have been gushing about the Golden State Warriors , Indiana Pacers , Los Angeles Clippers , Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder . On balance, it will be pretty tough to now suggest, that the Spurs will actually come out of the Western Conference playoffs unscathed . The competitiveness within the conference, is far greater than that of their Eastern counterparts , and the consensus remains that the conference champion within the Eastern Conference will come through, far fresher and ready to compete at a far greater preparedness , than their Finals’ opponent.

A five-point win over the Denver Nuggets and leading their season series’ meetings 2-0 , Popovich will take the San Antonio Spurs to the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado on Thursday evening , seeking to push that mark to 3-0 , after Wednesday’s home victory over the Nuggets in San Antonio , Texas at the AT& T Center . The Spurs’ head coach has in recent games, been using his triumvirate of All Stars sparingly , in order that Tim Duncan , Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker are ready for the arduous postseason sojourn . Parker at present , remains the team’s biggest health worry , having missed several games over the season , with some form of a malady . A Finals’ MVP in the Spurs’ most recent triumph in the NBA Finals , where a return to that form , would certainly help the franchise in their quest for a fifth title and what would be Parker’s fourth with the team , having part of their success in 2003 , 2005 and 2007 .

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What, to your mind, has been the biggest disappointment within the NBA this season ? In light of the previous question, which team and player do you believe have to be legitimately taken as serious contenders during this postseason ? ? Simply leave a comment as you see fit, on this and anything else you believe pertinent to the subject matter .

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Picture and slideshow details below .

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(1) Larry Drew , head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks , whose season has been mired in mediocrity with the team currently holding the worst record within their division , conference and the league . Team owner , Herb Kohl , while seeking to sell the franchise under the understanding that the new owner would retain the team the city of Milwaukee , may well now have to consider the on-court issues of the franchise and what may well be necessary, in order to resurrect the fortunes of the team. The firing of Drew and his coaching staff , is likely to be considered amongst the number of options at the front office’s disposal . Getty Images / Keith Ferguson ….

(2) Milwaukee Bucks’ general manager , John Hammond is seen here alongside head coach Larry Drew . After a tumultuous season with the Bucks’ current record of 13-58 , makes it extremely difficult at this late a stage of the season to see how Drew can bring about some semblance of resiliency to what has been a very dysfunctional team . Getty Images / Mark Hurst ……

(4) LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 27: (L-R) Assistant coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers is congratulated by former Laker champions James Worthy and Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper , after receiving his 1988 NBA Championship ring before the season opening game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center on October 27 , 2009 in Los Angeles, California. In recent weeks , Johnson , Worthy and Byron Scott have been extremely critical of the Los Angeles Lakers’ organization and the lack of direction under GM Mitch Kupchak , team managing partner and owner Jim Buss . Copyright 2009 NBAE /Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images …..

(5) Dallas Mavericks’ GM Donnie Nelson is here alongside team owner , Mark Cuban . The rambunctious owner always an attention seeker , has been overly critical of the franchise’s all-time leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki, claiming his lack of productivity has been one of the main causes behind the Mavericks’ lack of success this season . AP Photo / Tim Riggins …..

(6) San Antonio Spurs’ GM RC Buford is seen here with team owner , Peter Holt at the AT&T Center in San Antonio , Texas . Buford has been the main architect of the franchise’s three most recent triumphs in the NBA Finals, having been a been a behind the scenes front office executive before ascending into his present position . For the Spurs in making the postseason this year, this will be their sixteenth straight appearance in the NBA Playoffs since 1997, an NBA league record in terms of consecutive postseason appearances . The team’s head coach Gregg Popovich is the longest continued tenured head coach in the NBA and one of the longest tenured coaches in each of the four major professional team sports covering baseball , football (NFL) , hockey and the NBA , itself . AP Photo / Chris Hodges …….
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That’s not a crossover dribble .

Definitely not a part of either Bucks or Lakers’ team film watching after regular season losses .