It's Game Time!

Before anything else, we remember today our dearly departed when we all trek to visit them at their final resting places. Let's try to make the occassion meaningful and ponder on the lives of our loved ones. Surely, they had given us some lasting memories and imprints that we can use as inspirations in our continuing struggles in this unfair and cruel world. Yup, losing a close relation is very hard and the period of adjustment is difficult but, one way or another, we will cope and move on to a new chapter. Eternal rest grant unto them, oh Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

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The 2006-2007 NBA season officially starts today with two games scheduled on TV - the Chicago Bulls will visit the Miami Heat, highlighting the ring ceremony for the 2006 NBA champions. Following the Bulls-Heat game is the matchup of Phoenix Suns to the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center.

After 5-straight losing seasons, the Bulls, in 2003 hired current GM John Paxson and he immediately started to shake things. They had really good talent when they got Duke star Jay Williams but crashing his bike painted yet another gloomy picture to Chicago's already dark environment.

Doing well in the draft, Paxson selected Kirk Hinrich (2003), Chris Duhon (2004), Ben Gordon (2004) and traded for Senegal's Loul Deng (2004), sending Jamal Crawford and Eddy Curry to New York, which opened up the free agent signing of Argentina's Andres Nocioni (2004), resulting in the transformation of the Baby Bulls to two straight winning seasons.

This off-season, with the aim of challenging Detroit and Miami for superiority in the Eastern Conference, Paxson signed the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, the 32-year old Ben Wallace, one of the game's best rebounders and shot blockers but is an anomaly on offense.

Already among the NBA's best defensive teams, the Bulls added PJ Brown and Howard Eisly, both with playoff experience, but they could have upgraded on offense. Chicago's post players are scoring liabilities so the focus will be on the perimeter guys to deliver the goods. Hinrich, Nocioni, Duhon and Gordon thrive on long-range bombs, all four of them shooting 36% or better from beyond the arc. If the Bulls won't be scoring on fastbreaks, they would live and die by the jump shot.

This year's draft got them Tyrus Thomas, a 6-9 forward out of LSU and Swiss-born 6-7 guard Thabo Sefolosha, both of whom could be included in the rotation as they had shown some good moves in the pre-season.

Basing on the core of fundamentally sound and hard-working young players plus the addition of playoff-tested thirty-somethings and a game-changing defensive stopper, the Bulls are headed to a 50-win season.

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Of the "15-strong" that won last year's championship, only Derek Anderson is not returning to Miami. And the most important thing is that Pat Riley returned to coach the Heat. Obviously, the cliche "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is observed.

Of Miami's top eight players, six are 30-years old or older. Gary Payton is the most senior at 38, Alonzo Mourning is 36, Shaq is 34, Jason Williams is 31, Antoine Walker and James Posey are both 30. They have to be healthy if they plan to repeat as champions or else they're headed for a meltdown.

An injury to Shaq won't be good for Miami. Although he's no spring chicken, he can still dominate and change the game at both ends of the court. Managing the minutes of his veterans has been Riley's master touch as the Heat were in the playoffs last season healthy. Shaq (30.6 minutes per game), Payton (28.6), Walker (26.8) and Mourning (20) all had significant time and delivered the goods.

Dwayne Wade, at 24-years old, will carry the Heat on his young shoulders and his presence will make Miami a title contender for a long time. But he needs to be careful as he throws his body recklessly around, inviting trouble. No one is quicker with the ball than him and he will still continue to get better. His drawback is his 3-point shooting where he only converted 13 out of 76 tries last season.

Another factor will be Gary Payton. Starter Jason Williams underwent off-season knee surgery and with still gimpy knees, it is more likely than not that Payton will be called upon for starting duty. Being one of the game's toughest and durable players (just 13 games missed in 16 seasons), he is in the twilight of his career, with scoring average dipping to a career low 7.7ppg. Will The Glove deliver for Riley's mercenaries?

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Last week, cousin Roy Motus and wife Blanche came to Cebu from Kalibo to have their medicals for their migration to Canada. It's gonna be one less merry couple come Ati-atihan time. All the best guys.

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