There were two lingering questions for the Celtics coming into this, a season where they are widely expected to contend for a championship. The first was the status of Kevin Garnett's knee which appears to be just fine. You can notice a very slight hobble by Garnett after an ill-advised dunk, but that could just be reverberations from the accompanying unnecessary screaming.
The other was the contract status of Rajon Rondo, who was working on an extension to avoid entering restricted free agency by remaining with the Celtics. Talks had slowed, and Rondo was making comments to the effect that it was possible he wouldn't end up in Boston.
Bad news for the rest of the league: he will end up in Boston. Early Monday after a fortunate extension from the league for all teams in negotiations, the Celtics and Rondo reached an agreement on a 5-year, $55 million extension, according to ESPN.
You're going to have to forgive us here in the early season for a bit. If we don't report on trends that are developing, we're ignoring what we're seeing. If we do tell you what we see, we're over-emphasizing games that are so young in this season that they can't even legally get into a screening of New Moon.
Basically, that's my way of imploring you to remember that we do take these things with a gigantic mountain of salt, but here's what happened. And trust me, the Spurs are going to want to brush this one off.
On Thursday, a memo from the NBA to all 30 teams was leaked and subsequently reported on by Chris Sheridan of ESPN and tweeted about by Chris Mannix of SI. The purpose of the memo was to reiterate a "no-tipping" policy regarding officials and arena or locker room personnel.
Long story short, backstage personnel have long done favors and personal errands for officials before and after games, and in the latest CBA negotiations, a policy was put in place to end it. The memo clearly states that the league does not feel the pre-existing actions have tampered with games, but a conclusion was reached to eliminate it regardless.
"This is an important change to the CBA," the memo states, as reported by ESPN. "While we do not believe that the pre-existing practice of tipping locker room attendants has affected the integrity of the officiating in any way, it could be perceived in a negative light, and it is therefore best to eliminate this practice."
The NBA isn't just made at Staples on Sunday afternoons under the lights, or in a Friday night showdown at the Garden. It's every night, players stepping up and making plays.
It's guys that will eventually be answers to trivia questions making huge shots that endear them and their teams to the hearts of young fans who first make a connection with this crazy, random, beautiful game.
The heroes aren't just the guys on posters and All-Star ballots, sometimes they are journeymen who show up every day, don't shoot a great percentage and get the job done.
Rome was not built in a day. But in two days, the NBA's version of Camelot sure has looked like the barbarians are at the gate.
OK, I'll try not to lob anymore historical metaphors at you. But you might want to get ready for a whole lot of consternation from the great state of Ohio, because the team with the best record in the league last year has started out 0-2. The Cavaliers fell to the Raptors in Toronto 101-91 to remain winless, and the same problems that surfaced Tuesday night in their loss to the Celtics reared their head again.
First, the guns. Then the unexcused absences. Now we can add a domestic violence report to the recent events section of the Delonte West dossier.
WOIO.com reports that Saturday night, West drove his wife to the Cleveland airport where an "incident" occurred. Reportedly the incident started at the couple's home where the Cavs' small guard tried to take her wedding ring off. After the argument continued to the airport, West's wife filed a domestic violence report with authorities. Police told the station there were no signs of abuse or injury.
Well, then. As long as he's managed to put all that trouble behind him.
FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.
The market on Jamario Moon has been all over the place since he arrived in the NBA from various minor leagues and the D-League. At the tender age of 27, he was a Rookie of the Year candidate in 2007. Then he was a struggling sophomore at 28. He was traded to Miami and seemed to be a favorite target for Dwyane Wade for halfcourt alley-oops. But injury and a lack of cohesiveness with the Miami offense led to frustrations along with the Heat's first-round exit at the hands of the Hawks.
And now, four years after playing for the Arkansas RimRockers, a D-League team no longer in existence, Jamario Moon finds himself the reserve for a King.
Brothers and sisters, repent your sins. Cry unto the Lord that he will be merciful and spare you rebounds and point differential. Lo, the Spurrian nightmare has indeed returned, and the Earth will quake when they cry vengeance.
That's a fancy way of saying, "Dude, the Spurs are really good -- again. Check yourself."
Looking at how the Spurs responded from their most embarrassing playoff exit since the turn of the century is inspiring. To see a team's owner commit to paying the luxury tax in a massive economic downturn is impressive. To see a management group aggressively pursue a multi-positional upgrade through trading older established assets is what every team's fans want to see. And to see a team take a flyer on a player passed up by every other league thanks to injuries makes you happy to watch basketball be played.
The operative phrase here is "with plenty of time to spare."
The Blazers and LaMarcus Aldridge had been working on an extension, the second of the big two the Blazers needed to lock up to ensure stability in their young, contending core (the other being Brandon Roy). The two had until October 31st to get a deal done in order to avoid Aldridge becoming a restricted agent next summer.
There had been rumors that Aldridge was unhappy about how long it was taking, given the Blazers' hyper-eager approach to Roy's five-year, $80 million deal. With Oct. 31 just 10 days away, the clock was ticking. Both sides were confident a deal would get done, but you couldn't blame Blazers fans for getting nervous.
I would say this is poor timing for the Bobcats, but really, is there a good time to have any of your players tear a wrist ligament? Because to me, what Raja Bellsuffered this week, a partial tear in his left wrist in a preseason game against Utah, is not something that's ever good.
But the implications are more than just "lost a veteran player" for the Cats. This injury impacts them on multiple levels and springs more than one leak on the good ship Bobcats.
There were two lingering questions for the Celtics coming into this, a season where they are widely expected to contend for a championship. The first was the status of Kevin Garnett's knee which appears to be just fine. You can notice a very slight hobble by Garnett after an ill-advised dunk, but that could just be reverberations from the accompanying unnecessary screaming. 
You're going to have to forgive us here in the early season for a bit. If we don't report on trends that are developing, we're ignoring what we're seeing. If we do tell you what we see, we're over-emphasizing games that are so young in this season that they can't even legally get into a screening of New Moon. 
On Thursday, a memo from the NBA to all 30 teams was leaked and subsequently 
The 
Rome was not built in a day. But in two days, the NBA's version of Camelot sure has looked like the barbarians are at the gate. 
First, the guns. Then the unexcused absences. Now we can add a domestic violence report to the recent events section of the 
FanHouse previews 
FanHouse 
The operative phrase here is "with plenty of time to spare." 
I would say this is poor timing for the 
