Seeing as the lockout seems to be finally over, and the new NBA season is only a month away, I think it's time for a new thread.

Any discussion of Olympic basketball, college ball, Euro-ball, and the always-action-packed NBL can go here, too.

Can LeBron finally win a title? Can Bogut finally make the All-Star team? Can Rondo finally hit a jumpshot?

you forgot to mention gordon.

I haven't been to a NBL game in about 20 years and was thinking lately that I wouldn't mind some b-ball action.

Is it as shit now as I'm led to believe?

Whom should I waste $30 seeing?

Do they still have half time school jazz bands?

I have working television in my house again so look forward to catching some NBL/NBA soon.

I also enjoyed reading that the players and owners had agreed to a CBA. About time the Cairns Marlins got their chance at the big time.

Do they still have half time school jazz bands?

This would be an improvement

This would be an improvement

That's a shame. My schools big band used to do the half time entertainment for the womens league, quite enjoyable playing on a court with 7 people watching you in 1991.

Ha! What did you play?

Maybe you should head along to a game just to witness the shit that passes for entertainment. the t-shirt cannon/slingshot (regional differences apply) is probably the high point. The NBL seems hell-bent on sticking with what worked in their early 90s glory days, soundtrack and all.

As in instrument or music? Instrument was Baritone Sax, music was mainly movie soundtracks, 50's rock standards and Mack The Knife if we were really bored.

what worked in their early 90s glory days, soundtrack and all.

I look forward to clapping out We Will Rock You in that case.

heyyyyyyyy eyyyyy bayyyby
i wanna knoooooowww
will you be my girl?

I'm in the right type of mood (repeat)

I watched two NBL games on TV over the weekend. The halftime entertainment at one game seemed to be an opera singer belting a few numbers out at halfcourt while a purple anthropomorphic beverage cup capered around nearby. The other was a game featuring dwarf and midget players, some of whom were not bad.

Apart from that, though, it's much as rawr said - there's a weird cargo cult mentality of trying to recreate what they think worked in the 90s. They seem to think that the NBL was popular back then, not because basketball was in fashion and people enjoyed watching the game, but because they provided a colourful ''family entertainment package'' with loud music and mexican waves and cheerleaders and cavorting mascots and so on and so on, so that the wife and kids would always have something colourful to look at and wouldn't get bored.

Having said that, the standard of the game is actually pretty decent. It's certainly not the NBA (especially the overall level of athleticism), but there are some very good players, and it's generally entertaining to watch.

If you reckon you can manage to refrain from stabbing anyone when they play ''I like to move it move it'' multiple times, or announce some idiot kids' birthdays over the PA, I'd say it's worth catching a Sydney Kings game. They've got a bunch of good local players, and one of their imports is Horace Grant's nephew Jerai, who averages about 6 high-flying dunks a game.

anyone else buying a league pass this year?

Sydney Kings it is. Thanks for the low down unvisible, i'll take the ipod along.

I do enjoy a good mexican wave though.

I'm thinking about taking my kid to NBL games when he is old enough, because it seems like a pretty cool family type thing to do - and its gotta be less harmful than taking him to a rugby league game.

do people still shout DE-FENCE.(clap clap clap). DE-FENCE..(clap clap clap). DE-FENCE.(clap clap clap) ?

yep. and in the more upmarket towns, the big screen displays a picture of a D, followed by a picture of a fence. i think. i may be getting confused with NBA.

you have a kid C.I.C.?

what happened after the last lockout in 98-99? Was everyone scrappy, out of form & throwing up air balls?

shawn kemp ballooned in that off-season. still managed 20 points 9 rebs though.

what happened after the last lockout in 98-99? Was everyone scrappy, out of form & throwing up air balls?

According to an article I read today, shooting percentages and game pace were down, but only slightly.

The season didn't start until February 5 after the last lockout, too.

has anyone read this?

Have just started it. Simmons is always an entertaining read. Looking forward to when he starts laying into Kareem.

So is paddy mills gone from the trailblazers? will he stay in China?

Will Le Bron James have developed any sign of a post game over the break?

( I wrote Wade instead of Lebron. oops)

pistons. ugggg

I know there have been a million false alarms on this thing, buy Houston are reportedly about to amnesty Scola to make room for Dwight Howard et al.

How did I only just find out that Ray Allen has gone to Miami??!!!

Has anyone seen the doco 'More Than A Game' about lebron's high school team? If not, grab it now. So good. Even my non-basketball loving friends loved it. Really good.

yeah i watched it. Let's you in a little on his personality. He's been surrounded by hangers on and media since he was 15 or so. The scrutiny is ridiculous.

The Knicks let Jeremy Lin go to the Rockets. This will wind up costing the Knicks far more money than potentially paying him 15 mil in 3 years would have. Sheer idiocy.

Lin to the Rockets??? Geez, where's the future for the Knicks PG wise? Kidd's 39, right?

And thanks tigers for the recommendation for the b-ball doco 'More Than A Game.' Just finished watching it and loved it. Coach seems like such a lovely dude. Romeo still has a bit of an attitude even after all those years, but his line was classic. ''The others were playing basketball cos they loved the game. I was playing it to get girls.'' What was that other line that went something like..''We were getting real popular. People were bringing babies up to us and we were holding 'em. It was great.''

unvisible... you read the contract was backloaded and would've cost the knicks 30 mil in the third year because of luxury tax?

you read the contract was backloaded and would've cost the knicks 30 mil in the third year because of luxury tax

Yeah but when has money ever been a problem for the Knicks? Of all times to be a tightass its now? Doesn't make sense. It can't be a money issue because he would of made so much money in advertising/merch etc etc etc etc. This is the team that signed the following household names to max contracts: Eddy Curry, Jerome James, Stephon Marbury, Jared Jeffries,

Then they go and get Raymond ''Donut'' Felton?

This explains the financial side of things

http://basketball.realgm.com/article/222473/Linsane_In_The_Membrane_Linsane_In_The_Brain

found a link if anyone wants to watch some olympic basketball

olympics

Cool link, thanks very much. My housemate's got Foxtel on the Xbox so I've got 8 channels of shit to watch, but this is convenient too!

oh man - looks like Dwight's a Laker

Does that get them close to Miami?

You'd have to think so. Their starting five will be Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace and Dwight Howard. That's pretty scary.

Bronze medal game on now live. Check the link above to watch it. Link 3 is NBC commentary.

Anyone got a link for a feed with Australian commentary? It's not the same without Andrew Gaze.

(Honestly, Gaze and the other guy have been MUCH better than the BBC/NBC commentators. He occasionally trips over his words, but he actually knows the rules of basketball and who the players are.)

john casey, you mean?

Does that get them close to Miami?

i still like OKC in the west.

I can't stand Andrew Gaze commentating! He's so fucking shit! And the amount of times he says 'real good', 'real strong', 'real tough' etc each game edge toward 100.

I caught the second half of the USA v ESP game last night. Durant has a long and awesome career ahead of him if he can avoid injury. What a player. No weaknesses in his game.