A lot's different -- and some's not -- in the 2009-10 season

Here are 10 ways this season will be different than you think:

10. My best friend Ron -- Despite all of the jokes and speculation about him blowing up the chemistry lab, Ron Artest will be the perfect addition to the Lakers' family, vigorously guard Kobe Bryant's back and succeed Chauncey Billups as the winner of the NBA Sportsmanship Award.

9. Desert storm -- Shaquille O'Neal is gone, Amar'e Stoudemire is once more coming back from injury, Robin Lopez is already sidelined, Steve Nash can see the end of his career from here and Channing Frye will start the season in the middle. But the Suns under Alvin Gentry will rediscover their spark and find their way back into the playoffs.

8. French (drawn and) quartered -- Despite all of the offseason optimism over the changes in personnel in New Orleans, the Hornets will find that Emeka Okafor's game is steadier than Tyson Chandler's, but also more pedestrian. As a result, they will not return to a place among the Western Conference elite and instead earn Byron Scott the distinction as the first coach fired this season.

7. Me and my shadow -- So delighted that the labor squabble is in the past and he will no longer have to make faces and moan at the calls of the replacement referees, the Spurs' Tim Duncan will invite Joey Crawford out to dinner in San Antonio and the pair will spend the evening cooing mutual compliments over a nice cheese fondue and a bottle of Chianti.

6. All the Booz you can handle -- Never mind his offseason comments about going else, the trade talk and the angry reactions from those always-worked-up fans in the lower bowl at Energy Solutions Arena. Carlos Boozer will simply take care of business, quiet his critics and remain in a Utah uniform all season long as he helps the Jazz to home-court in the first round of the playoffs. Then he'll leave in July.

5. Here's your Answer -- Once his sore left hamstring is healed, Allen Iverson will fool everyone by being content to play a backup role in Memphis, become the hottest thing off the bench since Vinnie Johnson of the Bad Boys and help Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo make the Grizzlies relevant and watchable. Finally.

4. Philadelphia freedom -- A year later than expected and without a traditional veteran point guard running the offense, the Sixers will ride the All-Star bust-out season of Andre Iguodala and the redemption of Elton Brand to a spot in the upper half of the East playoff bracket.

3. Shoe on the other foot -- Nike will store away those Kobe and LeBron puppets in a couple of old cardboard sneaker boxes and not run a single TV commercial all season that hints at a possible meeting of the marketing giants in the Finals. Then Nike will discover a cure for the H1N1 flu, pledge to underwrite health care for all Americans, create world peace and find a way to get the toothpaste back into the tube.

2. International falls -- After finding out that life is a not quite as easy without an All-NBA center named Dwight Howard in the middle of the lineup, Hedo Turkoglu will regret his decision to join the underperforming Raptors and will tell friends he wishes he were in Portland.

1. So help me, Rondo -- So what if they think the kid is cocky or that he doesn't yuck it up in the locker room as much as the other guys? Rajon Rondo will continue to step up his game to the next level that keeps Boston in front of Orlando and Cleveland for top seed in the East.

And here are five ways the season won't surprise you:

5. Kobe, Kobe, Kobe -- Maybe he'll score 81 in a game. Maybe he'll average a triple-double. Maybe he and Ron Artest will mud wrestle at mid-court. It's still his world and the rest of us are just living in it as he wins another MVP award.

4. The Big O'hio -- Shaquille O'Neal will tell us that now he has the best running mate ever, now he's on the best team ever, now his coach is the best ever, now he's ready to stay with this franchise for the rest of his career.

3. New York state of mind -- Nate Robinson will dunk on players a foot taller, David Lee will hustle, Mike D'Antoni will again make the Knicks a fun team to watch and nobody in NY will notice or care. Because once again, the core of breathless Big Apple talk all season long will be on getting LeBron, D-Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson or all of the above to join as free agents next summer. Then they'll wind up with Travis Outlaw and Brad Miller.

2. Smooth Jazz -- For the 22nd consecutive season, the Jazz will play hard every night, mostly play smart every night, certainly win more games than they lose and once again make the playoffs. And for the 22nd consecutive season the guy pulling the strings, Jerry Sloan, now a member of the Hall of Fame, will be overlooked when the Coach of the Year Award is handed out.

1. "T" for two -- After spending most of October ridiculing, harassing and complaining about the replacements during the labor dispute and saying how much they missed the integrity and ability of the union members, NBA coaches and players will be stomping and snorting in disgust all over the courts and calling all of their old buddies with the whistles incompetent knuckleheads. Tim Duncan and Joey Crawford will try to poke each other with fondue forks over dinner.

Fran Blinebury has covered the NBA since 1977. You can e-mail him here.

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