ANEZ SEZ: It's about time, NBA 

By WDBO's Scott Anez

Finally!

Early Saturday morning, the NBA players and owners came to terms on an agreement.

Who won? 

The owners.  Don't give me that nonsense that the owners caved when it came to a hard salary cap and player movement.

The owners got what they most coveted--a virtual 50-50 split of basketball related income.

Realistically, you could say that the players won as well.  While, their share of B-R-I decreases from 57 to around 51%, the players fought off the idea of a hard cap and the length of contracts can remain the same.

The city of Orlando also wins.  Not too long ago, it looked as if the NBA All Star Game scheduled for Feb. 26 in Orlando would be a victim of the lengthy lockout.  However, the league says that the show will go on as planned.  So, City Beautiful awaits the stars and the $100 million boost to the local economy they will bring.

Who lost?

Who else?  You and I, the basketball fans, always lose in cases of work stoppages.  Some fans are still upset that the two sides weren't able to come together before this past weekend.  I can't blame you.  It will be up to the players and owners to win you back.

But, at least we have something--a 66 game trek starting on Christmas day.

Frankly, I believe that 66 games is the ideal length of an NBA season.  82 games?  Too many.  To me, 66 is perfect.  It's long enough to have a representative season---but limited enough to where every regular season game will matter.  There will be no throwaways during a 66 game slate. 

Of course, 66 games in the span of four months is a like running a 4-minute mile.  It's do-able, but it's a bit much.  Because of the accelerated schedule, teams will have to play up to a total of 3 back-back-back scenarios;  something never seen during a regular 82 game slate.

What teams do the 66 game schedule favor?

Hard to tell.  My gut tells me that the veteran teams, the teams who've been together for a while, will have the upper hand.  The teams that have coaches who've been in their positions for a while will have the advantage over teams with new coaches because of the systems that have been in place.

No longer can a team afford to coast the first 40 games or so.  Teams are gonna have to find their groove much quicker than in a regulation season.

As for the Orlando Magic...so many questions going into this season.

...Will this be Dwight Howard's last season in Orlando?  If so, will the Magic be forced to trade him at the trade deadline?

...Will the new Amnesty Rule be used to dump Gilbert Arenas?

...Will the Magic re-sign free agent shooting guard Jason Richardson?  If not, is JJ Redick ready to play a starter's role in this league?

...Will this team be able to turn it up a notch after being bumped from the first round of the playoffs last year?

So many questions...So few answers at this point.

But, at least we're talking about basketball related stuff--instead of basketball related income.

Good riddance lockout. 

Hello, NBA. 

What took you so long?