Morning How’s: Amare’s back; A King James Dynasty; With Leather rocks us to the core

November 2nd, 2006 | Posted by PostmanE

How great is the NBA?

Game after game last night. And the Sportscenter highlights. Oh, the Sportscenter highlights. Dare I say that basketball highlights are the … highlight of Sportscenter.

But seriously, is there a better time for highlights than right now? Sure, baseball’s OK, but Baseball Tonight can more than do the trick, if you can survive Krukie and Steve Phillips. But basketball thrives in its highlights, taking the most engaging parts of an already entertaining game and boiling them down even further. It’s like degenerative density, where the core of a star is already dense, but keeps getting more and more so, until it reaches perfect density. How do I know that? I’ve been studying star formations - for a class, jeez - for the past 24 hours. So don’t step to me on astrological knowledge, ya heard?

How encouraging was Amare Stoudamire’s game last night?

He still wasn’t his old self - and the jury is out on whether he will ever be again - but he certainly inched closer last night, scoring 15 points in 24 minutes. He got open looks in the post, rebounded well, even threw down a few body-contorting dunks that served as a reminder of the sheer velocity he used to produce in the air.

For sheer velocity, press play.

How many titles will Lebron James win?

That’s right. The question isn’t if, but when and how many. SI.com’s Marty Burns poses it in a thoughtful piece this morning, which also asks basketball fans to re-evaluate the term “dynasty,” because the likelihood of a Bulls-esque unit emerging in the league seems to be growing less and less likely each year. As far as LeBron-Jordan comparisons, well, let’s just say LBJ has a pretty comparable start. Oh, and he’s, like, barely able to drink.

How funny is With Leather?

Constantly chuckle-inducing. Especially the latest post. No f*cking thank you, either.