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If you’re a NBA fan right now, life is pretty good.

Sure, we heard way too much about the Dream Week here in the fair metropolis called New York City. Without question, the mainstream sports media would have not made much if the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics descended upon Milwaukee’s Bradley Center within a span of five days. Yet, all three teams, along a few others have added some flavor what has typically been a bland month of sports. Considering the news surrounding every other sporting organization as of late, the last thing that anyone would have called the A is a breath of fresh air.

Such has been the first few weeks of 2009.

Now, we are on our way to this weekend’s All-Star break in Phoenix. The Slam Dunk contest may be the most popular non-game event of the entire weekend, but it is the Rookie Challenge that is the most intriguing event on the slate.

While these guys are in the pre-K and Kindergarten classes of the NBA, they’ve shown so far that they can advance through the classes, at least based on the talents they have displayed so far.

What may still turn out to be an underwhelming rookie class of 2008-09, at least on Saturday, we’ll get to see the best of the crop so far after three-plus months:

Michael Beasley (Miami), Derrick Rose (Chicago), O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol (Memphis), Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez (Portland), Eric Gordon (LA Clippers), Brook Lopez (New Jersey) and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City)

Of that roster, the most intriguing players are all under 6’ 6”. When the question “who are the best young point guards in the league after Chris Paul and Deron Williams?” comes up, the rookies feature at least two solid answers in Rose and Westbrook. Rose may have received the hype, but unlike the rest of his teammates in the Windy City, he’s been a consistent performer admist some tenuous circumstances [rookie head coach in Vinny Del Negro, fatigue of the P-word (not that one) in relation to the team]. Westbrook, as the rest of the Thunder, have to improve upon their defense, but he has taken the role as lead ball handler quite well for a team still getting settled in a new city.

Mayo, the truest shooting guard on the team, may fester in the River City if Grizzles management repeats its history of not build around a star player because of thriftiness. However, he’ll become one of those league leaders in scoring as he has a mature offensive game and better-than-expected defense for a first-year player.

The sophs may not present the small guard flash that the rookies present, but outside of Aaron Brooks at six-even, they are a much bigger squad.

Kevin Durant and Jeff Green (Oklahoma City), Al Horford (Atlanta), Wilson Chandler (New York), Al Thornton (LA Clippers), Brooks and Luis Scola (Houston), Rodney Stuckey (Detroit) and Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia)

For the most part, you have to solid starting frontline contributors with both Als, a good 1-2 offensive punch in Oklahoma City and two players in Houston that have been strengthened by playing in the league’s toughest division (the Southwest). Yet, the players to watch are Chandler and Stuckey. For all the hell that former team president Isiah Thomas has gotten (and deserved) for his tenure with the Knicks, he’s a pretty good talent evaluator. Chandler didn’t get any real shine until late last season, but in the past year through those final weeks in ’07-’08, summer league ball and this season, he has the athleticism and scoring knack at small forward that New York hasn’t had since… Bernard King? It may be too soon to compare the two players, but the ‘three’ has been a franchise Achilles’ heel for just about two decades.

Meanwhile, beyond contract wiggle room and a desire to infuse a stagnant team with new life, Joe Dumars’ decision to trade Chauncey Billups to Denver for Allen Iverson is obviously all about Stuckey. Last year’s playoff performance by the former Eastern Washington star may have presented a lovely problem of depth at lead guard, but when the season started, there was no way that anyone would have expected Dumars to pull the trigger so early in the year. Entrusting Stuckey to run the point for a team that can still make their seventh straight conference final meant that the Pistons are willing to let a second-year player take chances in the final minutes of some late March/early April games.

Sure, it’s more of a part of the carnival than a serious competition, but for many of these players, it’s the first true opportunity on a national, let alone global stage. Some players went the one-and-done route out of big name colleges such as Texas and USC while others were plucked from the international scene with little attention from us myopic Americans. The established stars in Sunday’s All-Star contest are the league’s brand names, but we’ll discover at least one more on Friday.

Say What?!?!: Speaking of brands, have I been consuming a banned substance for the last year thanks to vitaminwater?

Quick

It's still very early in the NBA season, but a few quick observations:

• This bullet is New York-focused and for good reason: most of the good vibes going towards the Knicks these days has automatically been correlated to head coach Mike D'Antoni. His "seven seconds or less" offense is still a work in progress and the schedule has been favorable because of short-handed teams, but the Knicks have something else thast has carried them over: small forward Wilson Chandler.
  It has been quite a while since the Knicks have had the sort of athleticism at the three-spot on both ends of the floor; arguably since Bernard King was dropping 800 points on those sorry New Jersey Nets squads in the early eighties. This is not to say that Chandler will suddenly have his name in the Hall of Fame or even the MSG rafters, but he's been the young, dynamic two-way player that the Knicks have needed for years. He played well late last season, but it is this season in which the NBA fans will get to know what he's all about. Fourteen points a game, just under 6 rebounds and a block in 28 minutes may not sound like much, but Chandler has a solid repetoire to work with: spin moves to the basket, very good size to defend shooting guards and small forwards, plays the mid-range game and he does not turn the ball over much when he's on the court.
  A friend said he could be an All-Star in this league. Let's start with  early candidacy for Most Improved Player of the Year honors.
  
  
• Someone seriously needs to sit Daniel Gibson down and talk with him about his hair.
  
  
• That Atlanta Hawks - Boston Celtics game Wednesday night was as good as it gets. It was the highest rated game in the history of the Boston area Comcast SportsNet affiliate. As commented here in Fang's Bites, I wonder if this was because Celtics fans were expecting fireworks because of that epic first-round playoff series last year or because the Hawks are the point of intrigue.
  
  
• Something that may have slipped under the radar: is the Ginobili rule taking effect as players and referees are mindful to not flop or are the officials just letting these guys play through?
  
  
• Eleven and a half years ago, the Washington Bullets renamed themselves into the Wizards because owner Abe Pollin wanted to shed a name with violent connotations, considering the rising homocide rate in DC. While this idea may not stem from a similar civic duty, can we have a new campaign for the Oklahoma City Thunder? Well, maybe it's not the name, but the kalediscope of colors make themselves look more like the junior Knicks than their own team.
  There should also be a contest for the Charlotte Bobcats, but that's for another day.
  

Any quick observations from you, leave them here.