The regular season ended Wednesday, with some great drama to end the season. The Utah Jazz lost a must win game against the Memphis Grizzlies, so the Los Angeles Lakers clinched a playoff spot before they even took the court for their final game. The Lakers still played hungry though, and they ended up beating the Houston Rockets in overtime to move up to the #7 seed in the west, dropping the Rockets to the #8 seed. Now the fun begins.

Some critics may argue that the playoffs are too long, or that too many teams qualify for the playoffs (16 out of 30 teams get in). I’m not one of them. My basketball passion reaches a frenzy during March, as I watch the NCAA tournament, and just as my passion is starting to wane, I’m treated to the NBA playoffs. Some call it the second season, because it actually feels and looks different from the regular season. Defense is better, fast breaks are limited, and teams get plenty of rest days to tweak their strategies and game plans. Beating a team once is much different than playing them in a 7 game series.

We can all agree that the Miami Heat are the team to beat in this year’s playoffs, with the #1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder a close second. Looking at the Vegas odds to win the championship, they seem to believe that no team other than the Heat and Thunder really have much of a chance to win it all.

Odds To Win NBA Finals (via Bovada.lv)

Miami Heat 2-3
Oklahoma City Thunder 9-2
San Antonio Spurs 17-2
New York Knicks 15-1
Denver Nuggets 22-1
Indiana Pacers 22-1
Los Angeles Clippers 22-1
Memphis Grizzlies 35-1
Los Angeles Lakers 40-1
Chicago Bulls 50-1
Boston Celtics 60-1
Brooklyn Nets 60-1
Golden State Warriors 100-1
Houston Rockets 100-1
Atlanta Hawks 125-1
Utah Jazz 250-1
Milwaukee Bucks 300-1

At the first jump ball, all those odds go out the window though, as teams will do their best to win and advance. Make sure to follow your contender here as they battle towards the NBA finals.

On the weekend of the Masters, sports talk was dominated by Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant. Tiger, of course, for his efforts (and penalty) on the golf course, while Kobe tried to will the Lakers to the playoffs. Unfortunately, for NBA fans and Laker fans especially, Kobe’s achilles couldn’t bear the weight of the franchise. He went down against the Golden State Warriors with a ruptured achilles tendon. This injury typically requires 6-9 months of rehab.

Can a 34 year old, who has logged 17 NBA seasons, come back from this injury? Probably. Definitely, in the case of Kobe Bryant. He’s one of the most fierce competitors the game has ever seen. I’m sure he’ll attack his rehab with the same passion and energy that he uses to attack defenders. That’s not the question though. The real question is whether or not Kobe can come back to his old form? If so, expect him back to terrorize the league again next year. If not, we may have seen the last of Kobe Bryant as an elite basketball player.

What does that mean for the Lakers? First of all, they are going to try and secure the 8th and final playoff spot without him. Hopes of making a deep run this year have taken a serious hit. Time for Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol to step up for this team, but don’t hold your breath in hopes of a playoff series win. Without Kobe, this Lakers team is just not deep enough to knock off the #1 seed (either San Antonio or Oklahoma City). Going forward, the Lakers are going to have to figure out what their offense will look like without relying on #24.

As long as I can remember, the NBA on Christmas day has been a big event. In the 1990′s Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were regulars on the air, so after stuffing my face, I could sit back and enjoy some great basketball. I recall seeing 2-3 great matchups every year. Recently, the NBA has stepped up their Christmas day presence, and are now offering 5 games for our enjoyment.

The day tips off with the Boston Celtics against the Brooklyn Nets in their new arena. ABC picks up the second game of the day, showing the New York Knicks visiting the Los Angeles Lakers. As soon as that game ends, ABC goes to the second game of their doubleheader, showing the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Miami Heat. In case you suffer from short term memory loss, that game is a rematch of last year’s NBA finals. ESPN then takes over for the evening games. They’ll show the Houston Rockets against the Chicago Bulls, and end the day with the Denver Nuggets on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers. If that’s not enough NBA action for you for one day, you’re a bigger fan than most!

One new wrinkle for the games this year: The teams will unveil the limited edition monochromatic winter NBA jerseys. For a sneak preview of what they will look like, and a chance to snag a jersey of your favorite star, click here.

Back on the hard court for a full 82 game NBA season. I guess it’s a good thing, because the NHL is dealing with their own lockout this fall. NFL football is in full swing, but Halloween marks the annual tip off of the NBA, and this season has plenty of story lines. Let’s just recap a few to start the season:

1. Ray Allen leaves the Boston Celtics for greener pastures in Miami. The first game of the season matched the defending champion Miami Heat with those Celtics. The game was pretty good, but the most memorable event in the game was the snub Kevin Garnett gave to Ray Allen when Ray was entering the game. In the end, Ray Allen played like, well Ray Allen, and knocked down some big 3 pointers to help seal the victory for the Heat.

2. Anthony Davis had a great debut for the New Orleans Hornets. He scored 21 points, had 7 rebounds, added 1 block and 1 steal. Oh yeah, he also hit all nine of his free throws! Not bad for a first game in the league. Unfortunately for him and the Hornets, he got a concussion in game 2 and is currently out.

3. The Los Angeles Lakers. After putting together a star studded lineup to challenge the best in the NBA, the Lakers started the season 0-3 and things got chippy right away between Kobe and the media. Steve Nash suffered a small break in his leg, and he’s out for at least a week. Thankfully for Jack Nicholson and the rest of the Laker faithful, they picked up their first victory of the season last night against Detroit.

4. Fear the Beard. The Oklahoma City Thunder fell just shy of beating the Miami Heat for the NBA crown last season, and started this season by trading their explosive 6th man, James Harden. Harden jumped into the starting lineup in Houston and has started the season on fire. In his first game with the Houston Rockets, Harden poured in 37 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. He followed up that monster performance by adding 45 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in his second game. Harden finally “came down to earth” in game three by only scoring 24 points, with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Three games into the season and he’s averaging a gaudy 35.3 points per game.

That’s quite a bit to digest for the first few days of the season. Make sure to check back in and get regular updates here at the FansEdge blog. New gear is in for the start of the season too, so you can click here to see what’s new for your team.