And the NBA is officially back.

[Doobie]

This was my best Christmas gift by far. It was awesome. I work soon but atleast I got to see my Knicks win. Hopefully you guys enjoy the games today, and I'm so happy to finally be watching NBA basketball again.

[Mavs4Life]

Same here, the Mavs raising the banner was beautiful and the Knicks/Celts game was great, Rondo was a beast.

[Andrew]

It's great to have the NBA back, though Heat/Mavs has been underwhelming so far as the Mavs have just looked terrible while the Heat are on their game. Hopefully they can make it a little closer in the second half.

[koberulz]

And LeBron is still a flopping piece of shit. If you're going to make a completely shit call, it's usually best not to follow it up by ejecting the guy you made the call against for being understandably pissed.

[Andrew]

Agreed, horrible decision by the referees to eject him. I was hoping that nonsense would've settled down a bit after last season.

[hova-]

Definitely a tough game by the Mavs. It shows what a lockout season is all about. Clicking quickly - the Heat look like they have a game plan, the Mavs not.

Recently I read that the last lockout season was the worst field goal wise, Mavs are a good example for why this could happen this season again (while the Heat may prove the opposite)

[koberulz]

He didn't even have a tech prior to that, did he? I wasn't paying that much attention, so I didn't see what he did, but seriously, it can't have been that bad. And if that same play sequence happens internationally, it's LeBron that's getting hit with the tech.

[Andrew]

Pretty sure that was his first tech but it is at the referee's discretion to immediately eject a player if the situation warrants it. In this instance, better judgement was definitely needed.

[Mavs4Life]

I can barely watch. I mean, I thought the Heat had a good chance of winning, but by this much, and the way the Macvs are playing....

[koberulz]

This is going to run for most of the LAL-CHI first quarter, too. Debating whether or not to give league pass another shot...

[Andrew]

Shame they can't make the call to just ditch the rest of the fourth quarter in favour of crossing over to Bulls/Lakers on time. The Mavs are playing with a little more fire at the moment but it's going to take a miracle rivaling every Christmas special ever made to make this one competitive.

[koberulz]

Looks like Bulls-Lakers is being delayed or something. It was meant to start 15 minutes ago and appears not to have done so yet.

[Andrew]

We may be in luck.

[Andrew]

Well, Mavs/Heat ended up closer than it had any business being. Hopefully Bulls/Lakers will be better, seems we're not going to miss a minute either.

[Mavs4Life]

yeah, Mavs/Heat ran a little late, the Lake SHow should start in 5-8 minutes. Atleast the Mavs cut it to 11, glad it didn't end the way it was.

EDIT: Starting now.

[Houndy]

Mavs were fucking horrid today, shamed to see it like that

[Andrew]

Bulls/Lakers is shaping up to be better in the early going.

[Chino]

Looked at Mavs/Heat scoreboard and Brian Cardinal is +16.

[Andrew]

The Custodian, cleaning up.

Kobe looked a bit tentative early on but the wrist is looking alright at the moment.

[Cleveland wins]

Celtics vs Knicks best game of the week so far, Carmelo showed up big time for the knicks, although there was lack of rebounding on Chandler's part. I guess Amare made up for the Chandler's lack of rebounding and the knicks still got the win, looking forward to tonight's game between clippers and warriors.

[The X]

Come on Lakers. Beat the Bulls. Lakers looking more likable this season

EDIT: Kobe is a choker. Handed Bulls the game on a platter.

[Sideshow Bob]

Damn whata fuckin GAME!!! Rose for MVP!!!

[koberulz]

Can the 'Kobe should pass the ball more' crowd kindly shut the fuck up? What a moron.

[The X]

I only watched the 2nd half, but Rose was invisible for it, outside of one or two plays down the stretch. The Bulls owe the win to Deng & Noah.

[Mavs4Life]

2 close games, loving it. I feel like OKC will destroy Orlando, though, unless Dwight can really focus and Jameer or Turk shoots really well.