NBA Update

So the last time we checked in on the NBA, the aged Dallas Mavericks had stunned everyone -- especially LeBron James -- by beating the Miami Heat 4-2 to capture the 2011 NBA title.  Here's what happened since then:

1.  Phil Jackson retired.

2.  Because of a lockout, the regular season was shortened from 82 to 66 games.

3.  ESPN got very excited about Jeremy Lin's success in his first few weeks as point guard for the Knicks.  But Lin was eventually injured and is now out for the year.

4.  The even-more-aged Mavs scraped into the playoffs as the number 7 seed in the West, where they will take on this year's It team -- Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder.

5.  Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace -- although his game hasn't changed very much.

6.  The Indiana Pacers, who are coached by a guy who was a student manager for Rick Pitino at the University of Kentucky, and whose lineup consists of Danny Granger, David West, Roy Hibbert, Paul George, and Darren Collison -- went 42-24 to take the number 3 seed in the East.

7.  The Charlotte Bobcats lost their last 23 games to finish 7-59, giving them the lowest winning percentage for any NBA team in history -- but a good chance of getting Anthony Davis.

8.  Both John Wall's Washington Bullets (20-46) and DeMarcus Cousin's Sacramento Kings (22-44) won fewer games than the Kentucky Wildcats (38-2).  This was not the fault of Wall or Cousins.  Wall averaged 16.3 points and 8.0 assists per game -- although he did go 3-42(!) from three-point range.  Cousins was even better, averaging 18.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per game -- and making 70.2 percent of his free throws.

9.  The New Jersey Nets played their last season.  On April 30, the team will officially become the Brooklyn Nets, and they will start playing in Brooklyn next year.


10.  Derrick Rose was hurt for most of the year, but the Bulls still went 50-16 to finish with the best record in the East.  The Spurs are still relying on two really old guys -- Tim Duncan and Manu Genobili -- but they went 50-16 to finish with the best record in the West.

11.  A final between the young guys from Chicago and the old guys from San Antonio would have a certain charm.  But Vegas thinks that Miami and Oklahoma City are more likely to make the finals.

Here are your match-ups for the First Round of the playoffs, with each team's regular-season record and Vegas odds of winning the title:

EASTERN CONFERENCE
(1) Chicago (50-16) (3 to 1) v. (8) Philadelphia (35-31) (100 to 1)
(4) Boston (39-27) (15 to 1) v. (5) Atlanta (40-26) (100 to 1)
(3) Indiana (42-24) (40 to 1) v. (6) Orlando (37-29) (100 to 1)
(2) Miami (46-20) (3 to 2) v. (7) New York (36-30) (18 to 1)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
(1) San Antonio (50-16) (6 to 1) v. (8) Utah (36-30) (100 to 1)
(4) Memphis (41-25) (25 to 1) v. (5) L.A. Clippers (40-26) (20 to 1)
(3) L.A. Lakers (41-25) (12 to 1) v. (6) Denver (38-28) (50 to 1)
(2) Oklahoma City (47-19) (4 to 1) v. (7) Dallas (36-30) (40 to 1)

Because the NBA playoffs include too many teams and are far too long, it would be foolish to cover them in detail.  As we did last year, therefore, we will check in from time to time as events warrant -- particularly when one of the teams with a real chance to win the title is on the verge of elimination.

Finally, here are the results of the NBA Finals since Michael Jordan retired, with the MVP for each Finals:

1999:  San Antonio 4, New York 1 (Tim Duncan, S.A.)
2000:  L.A. Lakers 4, Indiana 2 (Shaquille O'Neal, L.A.)
2001:  L.A. Lakers 4, Philadelphia 1 (Shaquille O'Neal, L.A.)
2002:  L.A. Lakers 4, New Jersey 0 (Shaquille O'Neal, L.A.)
2003:  San Antonio 4, New Jersey 2 (Tim Duncan, S.A.)
2004:  Detroit 4, L.A. Lakers 1 (Chauncey Billups, Det.)
2005:  San Antonio 4, Detroit 3 (Tim Duncan, S.A.)
2006:  Miami 4, Dallas 2 (Dwyane Wade, Mia.)
2007:  San Antonio 4, Cleveland 0 (Tony Parker, S.A.)
2008:  Boston 4, L.A. Lakers 2 (Paul Pierce, Bos.)
2009:  L.A. Lakers 4, Orlando 1 (Kobe Bryant, L.A.)
2010:  L.A. Lakers 4, Boston 3 (Kobe Bryant, L.A.)
2011:  Dallas 4, Miami 2 (Dirk Nowitzki, Dall.)

Totals:  L.A. Lakers 5, San Antonio 4, Detroit 1, Miami 1, Boston 1, Dallas 1