What was to be a Christmas gift for all pro hoops fans happened on December 25th. Like Santa Claus, the NBA returned to town. But unlike Santa Claus, this Faux NBA was not as gifted and gift-giving as the real NBA.
The lockout produced a truncated, compressed National Basketball Association schedule that at times seems as it was thrown together without any concerns about game quality, player's health, fan's remorse. Perhaps Chicago's Derek Rose says it best: "Every game now seems to be like "a back-to-back game."

Back in the day as some are apt to say, I was interviewing and writing Red on Red. It was the autobiography of the legendary coach of the New York Knickerbockers ­ Red Holzman. He is still the only coach to ever win an NBA title with the Knicks, in fact he won two.
Red was a walking history book when it came to pro basketball. He was especially informed about league trivia. He also knew had to spin a tale.

Atlanta, Ga. – November 7, 2011 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season was scheduled to start November 1, but a labor dispute caused the postponement of all games until now. With one week gone, Poll Position wanted to know if Americans are missing the NBA. The clear answer is no!

In a national telephone survey, 76% of the people said they are not missing NBA games, 12% are, and 12% did not have an opinion.

- NBA Store, NBAStore.com Have Highest Sales Year in History with a Combined Increase of 20 Percent Over Last Year -

NEW YORK, April 28, 2010 – The Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant once again tops the NBA’s list of most popular jerseys, where he has reigned as No. 1 since the start of the 2008-09 season.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
1 LA Lakers over 8 Oklahoma City in 6 -- If you think the Lakers aren't worried about a tough and potentially long series, then consider why Phil Jackson is working the officials days before the games even start.

NBA Commissioner David Stern was beaming with dollar signs in his eyes last night in his reassuring interview on CBS 60 Minutes with regard to the New Jersey Nets now being owned by a Russian, shall we say “businessman” Mikhail Prokhorov.