A New World Order

OK, look, I get it. The world is, well, kind of broken right now.

At the rate things have been going lately, nobody in this country will be able to afford anything. Supply and demand might be reduced to a quaint cliché. The economy's downward spiral has reached into nearly every industry and ripped it apart from the inside out. Thinking about retiring? Those pensions are being sucked dry. Need a refill on that prescription? Sorry, medicine is now this nation's most precious commodity.

The system that's supposed to be in place to prevent such widespread chaos came dangerously close to imploding. And yeah, it was scary. Terrifying, even. But a few weeks ago, a young Senator from Illinois made people feel good again. As he stood before the Lincoln Memorial on that fateful Tuesday and delivered his inaugural address, people felt inspired, even if the dark clouds had no intention on leaving anytime soon.

Does that mean he has all the answers and that America's problems are solved? Heavens, no. Far from it. If anything, this means the stakes have been raised and any slip-ups will be magnified from here on out.

It's game time.

LeBron James
What does this have to do with basketball? Glad you asked.

On Feb. 3 -- two weeks to the day after America's most prominent hoops fanatic officially became the 44th President -- we launched Hoops Daily. The idea behind this site is simple -- a one-stop spot for like-minded basketball addicts to share and absorb information about the game we love. Over the next few weeks, you'll see this site mold itself into a unique outlet for discussing all things hoop, and we hope we can effectively chronicle the sport and add to your enjoyment.

There are countless ways to look at the game. There's the John Hollinger-esque numbers approach, where fans bust out their calculators and devise complex theorems in hopes of quantifying a player's greatness with a measurable statistic. Jon Nichols has that area locked down for us. He's got some good stuff on the way, we can assure you.

There's also the scout's approach, where we attempt to check all of our preconceived notions at the door and attempt to judge a player's merits strictly by what we see on the floor, game in and game out. This is always the toughest mindset, but it's necessary for any inspired, agenda-free basketball discussion.

In addition, there's the between-the-lines, information-as-a-weapon approach we've seen taken mainstream by Henry Abbott at True Hoop and countless other bloggers. Thanks to their vigilance, we always know that there's a fascinating story to be told buried somewhere in this little universe of ours.

Of course, there's the free-flowing, left-of-center, metaphysical approach, popularized by the fine folks at the Free Darko collective. They see the game as something that happens beyond the 4,700 square feet of hardwood. It transcends athletics and defines our culture in ways that logic could never dictate.

Here at Hoops Daily, we don't only believe that all of these approaches deserve a seat at the dinner table. In fact, we believe for all true basketball fans, each of these theories take hold simultaneously.

When you love something -- when you truly love something -- like we love basketball, one frame of mind isn't enough. When Josh Smith sprints over from the weak side to block a shot, dozens of things are happening at once. What will this block attempt do for his defensive efficiency rating if he times it correctly? Is he beefing with the guy attempting the lay-up, and if so, should we brace ourselves for an altercation? Is Smith up for a new contract soon, and if he is, will he hold back just a little to make sure he doesn't get hurt? When Smith takes flight, does his takeoff bare more of a resemblance to a kangaroo on a trampoline, or a gazelle who sprinted over a low-grade land mine?

When basketball is played at the very highest level, there are no accidents, no coincidences. It's all happening for a reason, and as such, we need to be on our A-game to keep track of it all. This is a game that demands our utmost focus, because if we slip -- even a little bit -- we might miss something special.

Take what we've seen these past couple nights at MSG.

See, for years, Isiah Thomas killed basketball in New York -- perhaps the only major metropolitan city that is preternaturally blessed with an innate understanding of the game and everything that surrounds it. He absolutely, positively murdered basketball in New York. Thanks to his unspeakably moronic front-office decisions, the arrogance with which he carried out these decisions, and the almost-too-crazy-to-believe-it-happened sexual harassment trial, it appeared as if this was the end.

There was supposed to be a system in place to prevent such widespread chaos and institutional failure. And yes, it was sort of scary to observe the Knicks, even from a distance.

Thankfully, Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni took over. Now, will these two magically fix everything and return New York City to basketball prominence in the blink of an eye? Of course not. But is there a plan in place? For the first time in years, that answer is yes.

Madison Square Garden -- Mecca for hoops evangelists -- is starting to crackle with life. It's not back to religious territory yet, but it's getting there.

Almost immediately after we launched this site, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James re-baptized MSG, showing us the full potential of what the modern game has to offer.

Since "His Airness" retired in 1998 (yes, Michael Jordan did attempt a comeback with the Washington Wizards, but "His Airness" called it quits after shoving Byron Russell out of frame for his storybook ending), the NBA has desperately attempted to fill the void. Nobody's come close.

However, in today's game, these are the two guys who seem capable of doing whatever they please with a Spalding in their hands.

Late Monday night, Kobe made his big splash, setting the MSG scoring record with 61 -- a number MJ never eclipsed during his epic rivalry against the Knicks. Spike Lee called his performance "genius" and it hardly seemed like hyperbole. He was ruthlessly efficient (19-31 from the floor, a perfect 20-20 from the charity stripe) and, much like we've come to expect from Kobe these last few years, he never let the Knicks breathe -- not for a second.

Not to be outdone, King James rolled into MSG two nights later and dropped a 52-10-11 in a 107-102 Cavs win. Cleveland made 37 shots. LeBron directly contributed -- either with a bucket or an assist -- on 28 of those.

This was like Springsteen following U2, or Coppola premiering the first two "Godfather" films on back-to-back nights. It's almost too much to take in.

Just like it should be, MSG is the center of the basketball universe again. Yeah, the Knicks lost those two games, but D'Antoni sure has that hodge-podge group playing inspired ball, doesn't he? Despite LeBron's unflinching brilliance, the Knicks never took a backward step.

There's a strange electricity surrounding the 2008-09 NBA season. We'll cover Kobe and LeBron as they attempt to answer the "Best Player Alive" argument (good luck finding a group of people who can definitively agree on the answer). Perhaps they'll meet up in June and settle it, once and for all.

In addition to those two, we've got Boston's three wise men, attempting to stave off Father Time and defend their 2008 crown. We've got those occasional Fountain of Youth games happening from the Big Cactus. We have a point guard in New Orleans currently re-writing the rule book on how to run an offense. We have a burgeoning dynasty in the works in Portland, now that Paul Allen's billions aren't being wasted on players out on parole. There's a man-child in Orlando who might be foreshadowing to the evolutionary future of man, circa 2209. There's a Rose blooming in Chicago, a baby-faced assassin maturing in Denver, and a painfully young, painfully thin scoring machine trapped between Seattle, Oklahoma and Purgatory, just itching to show the world what he can do. There's also some kid we've never met before, pounding that basketball on the asphalt for hours, just learning how to dribble through his legs. One day, he'll blow us all away.

And of course, there's the NBA's grandfather clock in San Antonio. It's been around for years, but it still keeps time better than just about any new watch on the market.

We're on the verge of something special here. Something big. Please, keep checking in as we try to make sense of it all.