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Friday, January 20, 2012 By TJ Fitzell & Charlie Allard
- Murray State
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Finally, after 149 days the NBA and the Players Association have come
to an agreement over many disputed issues within the NBA. With the
lockout now over, the season began on December 25th with high quality
match-ups. Among those games was a rematch of the NBA finals featuring
the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. Many fans were excited about
the season actually happening. But, some people seemed to have lost
interest because they were getting tired of waiting for three months. “I
was not even aware the lockout was over,” said Planning Room Adviser
Marc Maiolo, “I don’t even plan on watching the NBA.” The season will be
shortened to 66 regular season games, stated the NBA commissioner David
Stern. The season which is normally 82 games will be shortened by 16
games. Since the season is shortened, people are wondering how it will
affect an older team, such as the Celtics. Normally the Celtics start
off strong at the beginning of the season and progressively slow down
due to the wear and tear of the long schedule. On the other hand, teams
with younger players won’t be able to build chemistry fast enough to be
in full swing by the start of the season. Also a problem was the free
agent frenzy. With only a month to sign players and get them to
pre-season camp some players might have been left behind and some might
be over-paid. “The player’s agents are going to have a major role in the
signing of their clients and how much money they get.” Another problem
coming with the lockout over is who can come back after signing in other
countries to play basketball. Players such as Deron Williams, who
already had NBA contracts, were able to have the option of leaving their
contracts from other countries. On the other hand, players such as
Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith are locked in their contracts with Chinese
teams because their contracts were over in the NBA. Overall, this has
been a NBA fanatic’s greatest Christmas present. “This NBA season is
going to be a slam dunk and what a better way to start on Christmas.”
Said sophomore Mark Kelleher.
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