This has been the hardest NBA season to figure out in a long while.
Every week something different happens that sends you circling wondering what is going on in the Association.
There have been noticeable effects on the league from the shortened and condensed season.
Sure, there are only 66 games, but all of those games are also rushed and so close together that fatigue has taken a huge role in this year’s season.
It’s pretty obvious who the best teams are. The Oklahoma City Thunder, the Chicago Bulls, The Miami Heat, etc.
But even the top teams are having issues this season. What happened to the Miami Heat? They have lost a lot more game than they were expected to this season.
Earlier in the year they had a three game losing streak and have had other two game losing streaks as well.
Teams they should beat, they fall to. Although, they still have the tendency to win the big game when it matters, you can never really keep them out.
Many are convinced that the Heat are coasting through the regular season with their eyes tightly focused on the playoffs.
Currently they are in second in the Eastern standings, last year they were second and still made it to the NBA Finals, so they probably aren’t too worried about that.
The Bulls might be using that same strategy. They have been resting Derrick Rose for a while now, knowing that they are poised to finish first in the East they definitely want to have him ready for the postseason.
But at what cost for teams to make such decisions? The Heat and Bulls have both lost to teams that they should have wiped the floor with. Is it really a good decision to go 70-80% in the regular season just to conserve energy for the postseason?
Usually I am hesitant to agree with this philosophy, but I feel as if there is a need to focus on only the postseason this year. Obviously, just for teams such as the Bulls and Heat that are sure to make the playoffs and be top seeds.
With the season being condensed you have to accurately decide when to try your hardest. Every team has or will have to play three games in three days this season, something that is very uncommon for NBA teams.
The Bulls and the Heat have the right idea, because even at playing 70-80% they are still better than most other teams.
Now the Oklahoma City Thunder on the other hand have shown no signs of slowing down. They seem to be playing their hardest every single game of the season.
Granted, they are much younger and can probably afford to play with that mindset. We will have to see which one pays off when playoff time rolls around.
This season has definitely been more exciting for fans, it seems like every team plays every night with this condensed schedule. But I am sure that the players are not the biggest fans of it.
The lockout has been over for a while now, but its effect on this season has been quite obvious.
Tyler Rollason is a Winder-Barrow High School graduate and mass communications major at the University of West Georgia. You can e-mail comments about this column to tyrollason@yahoo.com.
