OK, so I have young kids, so my mind has been warped (well, that, and... well, never mind).  But it occurred to me while watching Rebecca interview Blazers Prez Larry ("this is just the first" in a series of playoff years!!) Miller tonite, that our Blazers (and our hero, one Brandon Roy) could be likened to Harry Potter and his friend's titanic struggles against Evil (the Rockets for now, but ultimately, of course, the L*kers) and the Dark Load Voldemort (Yao for now, but really, who else could play the role but Kobe?).

This year is Book One. 

Prelude: Before the infant Harry (our Blazers) even has (ok, I know I should say 'have' here, but I'm done with that, OK?) thoughts of greatness, Lord Voldemort and his army (L*kers in game 1) places a scar on him (blowout, Greg injured).

Early Chapters  (regular season): The Blazers (especially your Blazer rookies Batum, Rudy, Greg)  (Harry and his friends), just start to figure out their magical powers...  They face a few tests and figure, hey we're pretty good! 

(Book Gets Serious, Chapters 5ish) (Game 1):  In your introduction to the big time, you got smoked.  Malfoy (Yao) knocked you down and laughed at you, and before the train even left the station, you felt like you didn't belong.  We all wondered how, or if, you'd survive.

As the year (series) progresses, our young hero(es) find that, though they are strong, there are many villans and other instructors who have many mysterious (some of the calls), dark (Yao 9-9), arts (Ar(ts)test)... and heretofore unknown powers. (Houston casting a 'petrify' spell on our offense in Game 1, e.g.)

Chapter 10 or so: (Game 2): You scored a major victory, as you stood up for yourself, you manned up, you gained the respect of your peers, and you laid out a blueprint for future success... 

The sub-plot and moral of our story is that while you can study moves and countermoves in class (film), until you find yourself in a real battle (the playoffs) you can't truly test yourself: to see if you have truly learned all you think you have been taught. (grasshopper)

So far, I think our students are way ahead of schedule, and I can't wait for the rest of the novel, and the entire, gold-bound series to play itself out.