With his first ring finally tucked away, LeBron James is back to earn another one.AP Photo.

This might be the most anticipated NBA season since Michael Jordan played his first full season with the Chicago Bulls after playing baseball.

So many storylines.

So many players.

So let’s get it on.

Fab 5 (Favorites to win it all)

1. Miami Heat. LeBron James finally got his ring last season in leading the Heat to an NBA title. With Dwyane Wade being healthier than ever and Chris Bosh finally learning how to play with the two superstars, Miami is poised to win a second straight title in 2012-13.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers will likely draft Duke freshman Kyrie Irving in Thursday’s NBA Draft. ESPN is reporting that the Cavs are committed to doing so.

I understand the reasoning.

It’s a PG league.

Point guards are needed because a lot of the better teams have quality ones. Chicago has 2010-11 NBA MVP Derrick Rose. Oklahoma City has Russell Westbrook. Memphis has Mike Conley. Boston has Rajon Rondo. New Orleans has Chris Paul.

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He's the third option for Miami's Big 3, but in the playoffs, Heat power forward Chris Bosh is starting to look like he belongs with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade./AP Photo.

Chris Bosh has felt the heat this season and not just from moving from Toronto to Miami.

The Heat power forward has been criticized by many, including myself, for playing too soft or passive. He’s part of the latest Big 3, but Bosh wasn’t carrying his weight like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had been.

In the playoffs, Bosh has been playing closer to his potential, particularly in the Eastern Conference finals against the Chicago Bulls. Bosh averaged 23.2 points in the series the Heat won in five games. He had two 30-point games in the series and in Game 5, Bosh’s double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds was needed to beat the Bulls in Chicago.

He’s still the third option heading into his first NBA Final to James and Wade, but if he plays well, that will make it even more difficult for the Mavericks to slow down the Heat.

Here are four other keys to the series for the Heat.

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Germany's Dirk Nowitzki has always been a scorer (Avg. 23 PPG in 13 NBA seasons), but being a more complete player has turned him into an even tougher cover./AP Photo.

Dirk Nowitzki is not better than LeBron James. He’s just been playing better in the playoffs. At least that’s what everyone is saying.

All we hear now is how Nowitzki has become this unstoppable player.

Hello?

Dirk  has always been a tough cover. The difference is he’s finding teammates so he’s making opponents pay for however they guard him.

Making his second trip to the NBA Finals, the 7-footer, one-legged shot maker with range from El Paso is one of the five keys to the series. If he can force Miami to have to double team him, that opens up the entire Dallas offense.

Here are other four keys for Dallas in the finals, which begins Tuesday at 9 p.m. in Miami.

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Dallas SG Jason Terry has a tattoo he may have to get removed if the Miami Heat win the NBA finals./AP Photo.

Check out these articles into Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on ABC.

1. LeBron James: I have a long way to go before being compared to Michael Jordan

2. Heat’s Big Three go from being selfish to successful

3. Spoelstra is Miami’s calming influence

4. Hyde 5: LeBron, Jay-Z and Dallas’ DeShawn Stevenson

5. Mark Cuban’s quiet time goes on, to Mavs’ delight

6. Actor Adam Pally, Rudy Gay talk Dirk or LeBron

7. Jason Kidd: ‘I still have a lot left to give’

8. Terry will get NBA championship tattoo removed if Mavs don’t beat Miami

Earlier today, the D-League announced two rule changes for the upcoming 2010-11 season.

I’m still wondering when it’s going to officially announced the new allocation rule I wrote about for today’s paper, but we’ll see how that shakes out.

Anyway, back to the two rule changes the league did announce today.

Rule change No. 1: The new goaltending rule follows the standard used in the international game that allows players to knock the ball away when it is on the rim. The NBA doesn’t allow players to touch the ball once it’s on the cylinder.

Rule change No. 2: Overtime periods in the D-League this year will be three minutes, not five like the NBA.

Huh?

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“I’m trying to do everything I can in my power to beat the Jazz. But, at the end of the day, I need some help. I’m not sitting here pointing fingers or nothing. But as a unit, we’ve got to do this together. I can’t do this by myself.” – Carmelo Anthony after Sunday’s Game 4 loss in Utah.

When Carmelo Anthony scored 40 points including the game winner to beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers back in February, the Denver Nuggets were title contenders.

He should be frustrated.

There was a time when the Denver Nuggets were a clear-cut championship contender. After their win in Cleveland, 118-116, this season in February to end a 13-game win streak for the Cavaliers, I was convinced the Nuggets were good enough to win a title.

Now they’re down 3-1 to the Utah Jazz in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs and Carmelo Anthony is looking for answers.

Correction. He’s looking for help.

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Will Gilbert Arenas, right, return to the form when he was one the most feared players in the NBA?

I can be kind of quirky sometimes.

It’s rare, but when I’m in this sort of state, I think of some crazy things.

Here’s a few of those thoughts heading into the 2009-10 NBA season.

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Anything less than a world championship is what LeBron James has been saying since Cleveland lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals. Is this year James and the Cavaliers win it all?

Get your popcorn ready.

The NBA Playoffs are here.

I’ll be in Cleveland checking out the top-seeded Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The eighth-seeded Detroit Pistons don’t seem to have much of a chance in this best-of-7 first-round series, but then again, this is the playoffs.

So let’s go through each first-round series and see how they should shake out.

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