NBA Mid-Season: The Dinosaur Days of Winter

The following are a collection of thoughts I've had on the NBA season so far, while spending a majority of my Friday catching up on Dvr'd items.

- Half a season and a handful of games have passed, all-star teams have been announced and it's time for some reflection on what we've seen of this 2013-14 NBA season.

- It sounds like Andrew Bynum is signing with the Indiana Pacers. Now that he's actually (potentially) playing for a real NBA team, he might play like a legitimate NBA player with a third ring on the table.

- Did you hear that? That's the sound of Heat fans panicking.

- Some teams have disappointed (Grizzlies, New York in general, Pelicant's), others have stunned with their legitimacy (Raptors, Suns, Trail Blazers).

- Injuries have been depressingly plentiful AGAIN (Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Manu Ginobili, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Marc Gasol, Nate Robinson, etc.).

- Rajon Rondo returned for what I can only assume is for trade-value reasons while reporters won't stop questioning Kobe about boring topics like the other Lakers who nobody cares about and his all-star ballot (that does not include himself).

- All-star snubs include Kyle Lowry, Lance Stephenson, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, and Arron Afflalo. I would personally only throw on Stephenson, removing Joakim Noah and Davis, removing Kobe for obvious reasons. Considering Chris Paul will also likely miss the game, I guess I could give his spot to Goran Dragic.

- Remember how I said that the Grizzlies would be in the finals, representing the West vs. the Miami Heat? I'm ready to change that to Thunder-Pacers today. I'll most likely change it before the end of the season but just let it be known that I'm convinced these Pacers are better than Miami right now. They might not have Lebron, but they have the third best player in the league this season in Paul George and a ridiculous supporting cast.

Leaders in the Wiggins-Parker-Embiid-Exum-Smart-Randle-Harrison-Harrison sweepstakes
1. Milwaukee Bucks (WE <3 GIANNIS!)
2. Orlando Magic (Definitely tanking with all that talent)
3. Boston Celtics (These Expiring Contracts can't expire soon enough)
4. Philadelphia 76ers (No please Nerlens, don't come back yet)
5. Shaqramento Kings (Boogie wants a legit teammate!)
6. Cleveland Cavaliers (If Kyrie leaves, there won't be any hope ever again)
7. Los Angeles Lakers (Just trade Pau already!)
8. Utah Jazz (We need any all-star)

- "The Slim Reaper"? It's pronounced "Durantula". Come on ESPN, just because you didn't invent the "Durantula" nickname, doesn't mean you have to create your own.

- Rudy Gay looks semi-rejuvenated after being traded from the Grizz to the Raptors to the Kings. Hopefully, he stays in Sacramento.

- Speaking of the Raptors, My favorite team so far? The Toronto Raptors. Who saw this coming? Answer: Nobody. Sure, I could have seen them slightly above .500 46 games into the season but fourth in the East? I only had them predicted to finish eighth. That's pretty cool. This team's roster is made up of guys who it's hard not to enjoy watching...

(Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports)
Jonas Valanciunas, Kyle Lowry, and Amir Johnson have been quietly improving into a better team than much-hyped teams like the Nets, Knicks, and Pistons

Kyle "Snub?" Lowry: He's finally become the player we all thought he could be. Great passing, good defense, and the ability to score. No longer a coach killer either.

DeMar DeRozan: Former Dunk Contest competitor turned all-star.

Terrence "Tyrannosaurus" Ross: This is the best nickname I've come up with in the past two seasons. He recently blew up for 51 on the Clippers and has shown sporadic flashes of why he was selected eighth overall in 2012.

Jonas Valanciunas, Greivis Vasquez: Hooray European dudes!

Amir Johnson: Quietly awesome defender whose three point shot is being worked on.

Tyler "Psycho T" Hansbrough: Self-explanatory

Chuck Hayes, Patrick Patterson, Steve Novak, John Salmons: All quietly having successful redemption seasons.

My Mid-Season MVP Ballot
1. Kevin Durant
2. Lebron James
3. Paul George

Trades that I want to be made: Pau Gasol to the Heat (because it wouldn't make any sense at all, I just want Pau out of that hell-hole before he's completely washed up).

Rajon Rondo or Ricky Rubio to the Knicks (At least give us SOME semblance of a reason to keep watching these nationally-aired Knick games)

Kyrie Irving to the Heat (Won't happen but it's fun to troll Cleveland)

O.J. Mayo to the Suns 

Thaddeus Young to the Nets

Gordon Hayward to the Celtics (THE BUTLER-COMBO EFFECT)

Ryan Anderson to the Rockets (Houston doesn't shoot enough threes, sarcasm very much noted)

J.J. Hickson to the Bobcats

- Now that they're the eight seed, can we please see some Bobcats? I'm very curious about them and have no frame of reference for this mystery team owned by Michael Jordan)

IN REVIEW: I like the Pacers over the Thunder in 7 today. Tomorrow, I might just like the Heat again. They're incredibly interchangeable at this point in the season. Luckily, there's a whole 35-40 games left for me to figure things like this out. Pau Gasol needs to go ASAP and the All-star lineups draw no major disagreements from myself except for Kobe's respect-votes. 

Good luck to the NBA on staying healthy and Adam Silver on the new gig. It'll be a great second half and a fun all-star break.