The All-Star break is over and so is the trade deadline which officially passed on Thursday afternoon. Starting now onto April; it’s that time of year again when the contenders start to separate themselves from the pretenders as lower-tier teams seek to move their way up the standings while the juggernauts strive to stay at the top in the hunt for the NBA playoffs.

Here are some quick notes and burning questions:

• The Los Angeles Lakers continue to remain the clear favorites in the West playing strong even with an injured Kobe Bryant sitting out the past few games; a testament to the depth and cohesive unit the defending champions carry.
• Do the Boston Celtics have enough left in the tank to hang with the big boys in the East? Dealing with injuries and an aging roster all season, the Celtics have remained in the top 4 to this point with a hot Toronto Raptors team unexpectedly on their heels.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers have to be the clear-cut favorites now to win the NBA Finals after their robbery of a trade by picking up Antawn Jamison in exchange for Big Z and a bag of chips. And if they don’t win it all, is LeBron James buying himself a one-way ticket out of Cleveland?.
• Have the Dallas Mavericks moved past the Denver Nuggets as the potential team standing in the way of the Lakers’ drive for a return to the Finals? Adding Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood adds a much needed spark to this talented squad but will it be enough for them to make an impact this year?
• Are the San Antonio Spurs sleeping giants ready to wake up and make their customary late season charge or is their lackadaisical 1st half really a peek at a team soon to make a gracious fall down from the NBA’s elite?
• What kind of state of mind are the Phoenix Suns and Amare Stoudemire in now that the All-Star big has unexpectedly not been traded? After all the talk and rumors of a big trade looming, you have to figure the Suns and Amare had each moved on mentally ready for the big change that never happened; an emotional roller coaster with no trade going down creating an awkward combination of relief and disappointment.
• The Utah Jazz and the Atlanta Hawks: two teams that have been playing well recently and have a chance to make some noise in the post-season. However, they will have some big decisions to make this summer as Carlos Boozer and Joe Johnson; two vital pieces for the Jazz and Hawks respectively; are free agents this summer who are looking to cash in on a big contract. Their windows of opportunity may be only open right now.
• Can the Orlando Magic continue to live and die on the on-off again shooting of Vince Carter? Although he was brought in to take the scoring load off Dwight Howard; his perpetual funks have buried the Magic into losing skids which ain’t gonna suffice in the playoffs if the Magic want to retain their Eastern Conference Champions label.

As always, there’s gonna be lots of drama and storylines unfolding over the next few months which should make for good entertainment. As you follow the action, check out our amazing array of NBA caps at HatClub.com

Pictured below Black Mamba and the King is just a small sample of what’s in stock for our NBA gear at The Hat Club.

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