The NBA lockout officially ended the day after Thanksgiving to the delight of hoops fans and of course the players, teams and owners.
With the return of the NBA on Christmas day there will be quite a few big stories and stat-chasers heading into the shortened 66-game regular NBA 2011-12 season. All the teams will be intact for this season, as far as their locations. Personnel may change as the free agency opened on december 9th. Also, several top caliber players can move up higher on major stats lists, some surpassing NBA legends and Hall of Famers:
- Dwayne Wade is looking to surpass Alonzo Mourning for the all-time "games played" list as a Heat Player. Wade needs forty-some games out of the 66 this season.
- Jason Kidd is closing in on 2nd place on the all-time steals list. He'll be passing a guy nicknamed "Air" Jordan if he can tally just 38 steals in this short season.
- Paul Pierce can pass Larry Bird for 2nd all-time on the Boston Celtics scorer's list.
- Kobe Bryant is close to passing Shaquille O'Neal at 5th on the NBA's All-time scorer's list.
The other storylines will revolve around players and teams. For example, will this be an easier season for the Dallas Mavericks to repeat as champions, or will it benefit the Miami Heat?
There was more time spent on labor-negotiations and revenue sharing meetings than there was in training camps for the upcoming season, but many fans are just happy they'll have the sport they love back for another season. Games start December 26th, 2011...let's ball!
What will you be looking forward to the most as the 2011-12 NBA season gets started on Christmas Day?
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