As the premieres roll back camera, now just in their sly infant-stepping phase, the drop off teetering effect (hopefully fulfilling our next phase wants) (and hopefully not the deciding factor) shows injury as top story. Let’s compare notes and laugh at our non-investigative ways, it’s terrific to experience victory across all the fronts, and the Magic can win without Howard and the Bulls can win without Rose (update: they didn’t) and right now the Celtics, after looking slow and tired and lethargic, are kicking into Truth gear and the dee is tighter, can win without Rondo (not an injury though) and Allen (update: they did). The list will most likely grow, and that’s the shame of pro sport, that timing is everything (update: Josh Smith?).

Winning is a perfect combination of masterful parts, nothing cold and no warm rock left uncovered. Find what works and philosophically patent that, go back and tweak and tinker and rev it some more in the downtime, then head right back into that very same game-plan again. “You have figured it out and no one else knows how perfect this will be.”

It’s almost laughable at how things have to fall into place. Falling into place, an interesting proposition. Fell, fallen, falling, falls – to drop or come down freely under the influence of gravity. The constant chameleonry and voodoo asked of the participants seems downright crafty, but you must commit. Ask questions later, when you sleep.

It’s still so early to tell how the second tier of teams will unfold. We know the Heat can run and seek and destroy and control you. Their story will be forever attached to actual ring discovery, grappling down the volcano into the abyss to see the red mass hysteria separating perfectly into the ultimate good vs evil. Thy story will come. The Spurs have looked tremendous in their uplifting, rested legs and heads. (Did you catch the Rambo machine-gun sputter and rat-a-tat of Manu’s passes in the first?) Parker and Duncan are playing winning style, a floater meets hunker-down duo’ing the double-barrel. If OKC can get past the champs, as they should (wasn’t pretty but they’ll take it – they simply must get better at finishing), that might just be a huge boost in and of itself. The Mavs have that stick-around and won’t-leave-you-alone down, they have Dirk and his expert fall-aways and up-and-unders, but the old dudes just ain’t what they used to be – but the point stands, the champs would be de-belted.

And Bynum is letting Howard know. Rubbing it in. Here I am, a big body doin’ actual work in actual live basketball games, with Kobe. (Not going to speculate on Howard with the Lakers, as I promised myself to not bring up my almost Valanciunas on the Spurs rumour mill mulling, so can’t justify the if-only. Maybe, maybe, I see another theory taking shape.) Injury aside, as we can’t determine a moral compass withstanding, not on the table, Howard did everything he possibly could to drag his team down, and now free from his (or is it Stan VG’s?) (joking?) can-never-be-too-serious hypnosis, the Magic aren’t playing too badly, gutsy even. If Anderson can find his great-season form and start drilling threes they’ll have an even better chance at stunning the Pace too.

One of these teams will create a winning style. Is it Indiana? Will it be the Clippers or the Memph? Or Philly?

Considering it’s the first lap and the lab results weren’t fast-tracked, the shapes are becoming visible now behind the broken glass and sweating hardwoods. No surprises yet, really. But knowing this season and the almost psychedelic tremolo that surrounds the participants, we can hope for that depth and charisma back in full echo.