by Khendra

• Damn, Blake Griffin is good.  I know many of us were tempted to write him off as another Greg Oden when he missed the entirety of his 2009-10 rookie season, but dude has serious athleticism and skills on the offensive end that Oden only dreams of having.  His post moves are already well-developed, and he’s a beast on the boards.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see him putting together 20/10 seasons for years to come provided that he stays healthy.

• How the hell did the Spurs start out so good?  I am pretty sure I’ve said “they are finally done” for, like, four straight years, and they keep plugging along somehow.  On paper, their bench looks like crap – outside of George Hill, every guy is old (Antonio McDyess), ho-hum (Matt Bonner), or totally obscure (James Anderson, Tiago Splitter, and rookie Gary Neal) – so it just boggles my mind all the more.  For all the accolades Phil Jackson gets, and most of them are deserved, I’m going out on a limb and pronouncing Gregg Popovich the greatest coach in the game.  Phil may be a master at balancing star egos, but could he win as much with *this* type of squad?  Nah – I don’t think any coach in the league could take this current Spurs team to the level they are at now except for Popovich.

• It’s a matter of days before LeBron returns to Cleveland.  I read an article on ESPN recently stating how Cleveland will have extra security, even going to the point of banning anti-LeBron gear in the crowd.  I think this is a good thing.  I’ve been on enough Internet sports forums through the years to know that most fans get WAY too emotional and PMS-like over their teams.  So, I just hope no one pulls any stupid stunts that put people and the extra security at risk during the LeBron return.  Boos are fine, and I’m sure we’ll hear a record deciblel level of them, but hopefully no one throws cups and stuff (*cough* Detroit fans and Ron Artest *cough*).