There are a couple of things going on in the basketball blogosphere right now that I need to let you know about.
First of all, we have a new SBNation basketball blogger, Ben Q. Rock and his Orlando Magic blog, Third Quarter Collapse. Check it out. This is our 13th basketball blog, but let's hope it's not unlucky.
For whatever reason, the NBA blogs have lagged behind MLB and the NFL on SBNation, in terms of sheer numbers. MLB has had all 30 teams represented (plus a couple of general interest pro ball blogs) for some time, and the NFL is up to 31 out of 32 (anybody out there know of a good Chargers blogger?) Meanwhile, ClipsNation was the seventh NBA blog on SBNation in September of 06, and 3QC is 13th in October 07. As our patron, Matt from Blog-a-Bull says, it's all about quality, not quantity, which doesn't really explain the presence of ClipsNation. At any rate, welcome Ben!
And speaking of the early days of ClipsNation, one of the things that helped me get my feet wet and get known out there was last year's NBA Blogger previews. Jeff Clark from Celtics Blog has stepped up to organize that project once again, and the Atlantic Division is up. There's nothing like reading a team preview from a blogger to really get the detail and the feel within the fan base. Here they are:
Celtics
Celtics Blog
LOY's Place
Celtics 17
Red's Army
Celtics 24/7
Green Bandwagon
Nets
Hooplah Nation
NetsDaily
Knicks
Straight Bangin'
Posting and Toasting
Sixers
Passion and Pride
Raptors
HoopsAddict/RaptorsHQ
So what's the deal with the Celtics? Six different blogs all dedicated enough to write a preview? Man, that's a crowded field. I sometimes lament competing with ClipperBlog for eyeballs (mainly because Kevin writes so much more goodlier than does me), but SIX! (Seriously, I love ClipperBlog, and believe that a high interwebs raises all the blogs.)
At any rate, the Blogger NBA Preview Series continues all month. The latest previews are always posted on CelticsBlog, as well as on the specific team blog. Check the index for the full schedule. Yours truly will be sharing a Clippers preview October 27.