The Wright Stuff: NBA season begins under radar of MLB, other seasons

The 2010-2011 NBA season started yesterday, and it is going slightly under the radar with the Major League Baseball postseason underway and the NFL season in full swing.

In my opinion, it's time to give the league some attention, because there are a lot of interesting things to watch.

The obvious headliner is how far the new "Big Three" will be able to take the Miami Heat. Thanks to Chris Bosh and Lebron James, Dwyane Wade doesn't have to carry his team to a first-round playoff exit every year.

The Heat will definitely be the team that will be plastered all over ESPN, and for good reason. It's still unseen as to whether they will automatically win an NBA title, but they'll be fun to watch.

Hand-in-hand with that, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking for a three-peat as world champions, which would give Kobe Bryant his sixth ring.

Granted, he is one of the greatest players to ever touch the court, many fans will want to put him in a discussion with Michael Jordan.

If he manages to earn a sixth ring, it's important to point out that he wasn't the main player on his first three championship teams. He had Shaq in his prime.

Mike's teams dominated seasons to the point where no one really questioned who would win the ship.

If he wouldn't have retired the first time in 1993, he would have won more than six.

Getting back on track, the Lakers actually do have a few question marks surrounding their team.

Bryant and the injury-prone Andrew Bynum are shaky coming off off-season knee surgeries, and with Phil Jackson leaving after this season, it will be interesting to see how the team will adjust.

Last year, Kenny Smith said during the playoffs that Kevin Durant will be the best player in the NBA in three years.

The dude is special, but when he said it, it seemed like somewhat of a stretch to even think that he would be better than guys like Lebron, Wade or Carmelo Anthony in a couple of years.

After a solid off-season of hype, and being the catalyst of a World Championship effort he's got everyone talking MVP and all that good stuff. He was the youngest player in league history to win the scoring title last year, and he seems to be just building off of that.

With a solid team behind him, I think the Oklahoma City Thunder will go as far as they want and they will be an a team that will contend this season. They could challenge the Lakers for supremacy in the West.

Also in the West, look out for the Minnesota Timberwolves. I've been calling that they would be good and I think they'll prove me right in the next season or so.

They're quietly building a competitive team, and have shown what they can do in the preseason.

I love it when teams build themselves with young talent, and guys like Johnny Flynn, Kevin Love and Michael Beasley will be fun to watch as they try to get a playoff spot.

Something that is looming kind of gloomily though are the CBA talks, and the possible work stoppage the players, and fans may have to face.

It may not happen, but it's still the thought that counts. Those things are important to know, and it's good to stay on top of information about them when it comes out.