Despite shortened season, NBA has been full of stories

John Frierson

DM Senior staff columnist

The NBA regular season is now down to its final month and things are not looking quite as bleak as many anticipated at the beginning of this lockout-shortened season. While the league lacks some of the magic that it possessed in years past thanks in large part to the departure of Michael Jordan and the level of play is still down from last year, there are quite a few interesting stories that keep fans coming to the arenas and tuning in at home.

The most intriguing story of the season thus far is the play of the Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers are leading the Western Conference and currently have the best record in the league, but I challenge most anyone reading this to name five players on their team. The Blazers are winning with defense and with a balanced offensive attack that features Isiah Rider, Damon Stoudamire, Rasheed Wallace, Brian Grant and Walt Williams. There is not much flash to Portland's game, but thus far it has been very effective. However, questions still remain about how this team will perform once the playoffs begin because it has very little playoff experience.

Another interesting story from this season has been the exceptional play of many of the league's rookies, namely Vince Carter, Paul Pierce and Jason Williams. Carter is leading the Toronto Raptors in scoring at 17.7 points per game and is also contributing 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists each night. While his overall play has been great, it has been his high-flying dunks and overall athleticism that have gotten fans all over the league excited. Thanks to Carter's fine play, the Raptors have a winning record late in the season and are battling for their first ever playoff spot.

Paul Pierce started out the season on fire and while he has cooled off a little, he is still averaging 15 points and six rebounds a night on a Boston Celtic team that has underachieved all season long. Jason Williams has helped bring a whole new attitude to the Sacramento Kings, but that hasn't always led to more wins for the young team. Williams, who is averaging 12.5 points and 5.5 assists per game, has brought a style and flair back to the point guard position that the league hasn't seen since the retirement of Magic Johnson, and his fancy dribbling and outrageous passes have given the fans in Sacramento to cheer about for the first time in many years.

The Los Angeles Lakers are far and away the most perplexing team in the league this year. After a less than stellar start to the season, they fired Coach Del Harris and brought in Kurt Rambis. Along the way, they brought in Dennis Rodman and Glen Rice to a team that already features Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. With all that talent, they still trail Portland and Utah by a considerable margin and are in jeopardy of losing the home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. When Rodman has been on the court with his head on right, the team has performed quite well, but the Lakers have a problem in that Shaq, Kobe and Rice are all trying to average 20 points a night and there are just not enough shots to go around. The Lakers currently have the talent to dominate the league, but they lack the discipline and mental toughness to make it all the way to the top.

At this point in the season, Vince Carter appears to be the leading candidate for rookie of the year, while the race for league MVP is still up for grabs. Gary Payton, Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett are among the leading candidates, and each is playing as well as anyone in the league. Garnett and Iverson have made tremendous strides in their games and are becoming the players that everyone thought they could be.

As this lockout-shortened season comes down the homestretch, the NBA seems to be surviving the delayed start to the season and the retirement of Michael Jordan quite well. Attendance is not great overall, but in the cities with winning teams, the fans are as loyal as ever. The best thing about this season is that a new crop of young stars seems to have emerged and they will be the ones to carry the torch into the next century.