I read an article on ESPN.com last week exploring the possible paths that 'Bron's career will take. The way he's been playing this season, the Jordan route seems most likely. He's leading the league with 28.6ppg, along with 8.6rpg, 5.7apg, 2.43spg, and 1.57bpg, while shooting 47% from the field, and was named last week's Player of the Week. Perhaps more important is that the Cavs are winning, stringing up 4 straight with Bron carrying them in crucial stretches. Now I realize how stupid the argument of "who's better, Bron or Melo?" is, cos they aren't on the same level. What do I mean? Well, Melo's averaging 20.7ppg but shooting a poor 37% from the field (imagine how many shots he jacks up every night!) with 3.4 turnovers per game, and the Nuggets are 2-5. Need I say more? 

Spurs all the way!

They're 5-1. TD's playing like the MVP (23.2ppg, 14.8rpg, 2.83bpg). Tony and Manu are arguably the best guard combo in the the West. B-Barry's playing as the Spurs expected. I just don't see any logical reason why they wouldn't be the best pick to win 'em all. Power rankings aside, the NBA championship has already been decided 3 months ago when San Antón made the single most consequential offseason move by acquiring the deadeye combo guard Brent Barry. You can quote me on this: come June, the Spurs will hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy. The NBA GMs think so, too. 

What's this Jap doing in the NBA? 

Yuta Tabuse does not belong in the NBA. The guy's not skilled enough to be in the L. He plays point guard, and I bet there are many point guards who went undrafted from the US college ranks that are more skilled than him. And he's not even the best point guard this side of the planet. Filipino PGs--Miller, Cortez, even Alapag--are better than this Tabuse guy. (I always had the idea that a Filipino will crack the NBA first way before any Jap guy does. Why? Cos we're way better than them.) I reckon Chinese and Korean guards are better than him too. In fact, I haven't even heard of this Tabuse kid. I don't think he was even on the 2002 Asian Games roster of the Japanese national team. If he was, he sure wasn't the ace player. Just think: if Jasikevicius couldn't cut the league, how could Tabuse possibly could? 

The answer to the question, my friends, lies with marketing. You see, apart from being a global league, the NBA is also a global business. And Japan is one of the marketing hubs of Asia. With all the kanji, the samurai, the gadgets, the animés, the origami, the J-pop, the game consoles, the cars, the bikes, the Nakatas, the Nomos, the Ichiros, the Matsuis, a samurai baller in the NBA is just in order. Imagine all the jerseys and merchandise--Phoenix Suns at that--which will be sold in Japan and the rest of Asia, just cos they've got a player over there. All the TV offers that the NBA's gonna get to have Tabuse's game televised in Asia. And let's face it, the Japs got more flair--and selling power--than the Chinese (not only regarding basketball). Yeah, it's definitely good for business. David Stern's such a genius. But the fact remains that talent-wise, Tabuse is not NBA material. Heck, he's not even Asiad material. Too bad the NBA had to take that route in building a global marketing empire. And too bad an unworthy Jap beat a Filipino in becoming the first non-Chinese Asian to play in the NBA. 

Where has the great "NBA Methinks" gone to?

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