Early thoughts on the 2007-08 NBA Season..

The fact that I know this probably tells you something.. but there's 80 days til the NBA season opens up with Greg Oden and the new-look Portland Trailblazers tipping off against the reigning NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.. also on opening night, the new-look Houston Rockets ft a probable starting lineup of Steve Francis, Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier, Luis Scola (think a smaller, more mobile and more rugged version of Vlade Divac) & Yao Ming get to take on the LA Lakers (who might also be sporting a new look - without Kobe Bryant) as the 2nd part of the TNT doubleheader..

there's still a ton of time during the off-season for additional moves to be made, but as it stands - this has already been the most surprising off-seasons in recent memory.. the Boston Celtics have transformed themselves from being perennial losers to an instant contender with their drastic roster overhaul.. GM Danny Ainge pretty much saved his job (temporarily) by selling off all of his expiring contracts and underdeveloped-but-talented youngsters for all-world players Kevin Garnett & Ray Allen.. throw in a guaranteed 20-5-5 (worst case scenario numbers) with Paul Pierce and you can see why the NBA's most storied franchise has all of a sudden become relevant again for the first time since their dynasty in the mid-80s.. Eddie House and underrated rookie Glen Davis can come off the bench and provide a spark, Scot Pollard and Kendrick Perkins should have enough weight (and fouls) to throw around against most teams' bigs.. as long as Tony Allen is healthy, he should have enough athleticism to fill up the remaining wing minutes backing up Allen & Pierce.. then throw into the mix, potentially, the greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history in Reggie Miller coming out of retirement at 42? :/ k, well the last point should strike you as being odd, but as one of my favourite players of all time, Reggie Miller deserves a chance if he decides he's still able to compete as a role player on a championship contender..

also in on the coming-out-of-retirement act, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway has decided to give it a shot at age 36 with the Miami Heat.. i understand the Heat don't have a lot to lose in giving a former 3-time NBA All-Star a non-guaranteed contract, but considering the fact that they've already lost sharpshooters Jason Kapono and Eddie Jones to free-agency (with James Posey likely to follow suit shortly), it hardly seems like 05-06 World Champs have upgraded since last year's disappointing finish - being swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by an upstart Chicago Bulls squad in convincing fashion.. but hey, as a Miami fan, there's always hope that a healthy Heat squad can get rolling at the right time and surprise a lot of teams in the East..

oh yeah - Allan Houston at age 37 also wants to make a return. last I checked no NBA teams had shown confirmed interest in the ex-Knick.. surprised? hardly, but with the way things are going this off-season, nothings impossible in the "new-look" NBA :/

PS. Josh Smith says he's been focused this summer - if it's true, it'll be scary. Same with Luol Deng aka the boring-est player to watch, but possibly the most annoying player to have to defend in the NBA.