Chat New England Podcast, Episode 26: If you don't like that......

After a long hiatus, the Chat New England podcast has returned. We're without our fearless leader, Ben Babcock, who is deeply involved in the early testing stages of an experimental new training program for infant long-snapping. However, for today, we've replaced him with another special guest named Ben. Today's guest is Ben Levy. He's served as my ombudsman since I started my work here and has been featured several times - including this post. He's one of the more knowledgeable NBA fans I know, and he's the only Sacramento Kings fan I've ever met.

In today's episode, Ben and I dive in to the state of the NBA just 6 days before the start of the postseason. We start off by touching on the Celtics post-all star break surge. We then move on to discuss the tight race in the West. At that point, we break down the races for Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and MVP. In doing so, we pick who we think should win - and also pick who we think should absolutely not win but might.

Some other questions that come up - How important is it to be a starter in the NBA? How has Rick Adelman never won Coach of the Year? Should there be a separate "Player of the Year" award to be awarded separate from the MVP? What exactly should the criteria be for "Most Improved Player"? Should Steve Nash have ever won an MVP award? How many MVP awards should Shaq have won? Was Kevin Garnett a legitimate MVP candidate in 2008? And, finally, who at ESPN signed off on this whole "Hoopidea" thing and when are they going to be fired?

It's a long show but if you're looking for something to get you primed for the postseason - we really hope that this hits the spot.

Here is this week's humble offering:

Please pass this on to your friends.

Babcock and I will be back soon to recap the NFL draft and to give our thoughts on the offseason so far.

Also, starting next Saturday be sure to check in more with Chat Celts once the playoffs are underway.