The opening night of the NBA is upon us.  While I wish that the Golden State/Utah game was one of the two nationally televised games, I guess I can live with San Antonio and Portland.  I saw enough of the Spurs last summer – remember, my Cavs got swept by them in the Finals.  However, I will be watching that game not for Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, but LaMarcus Aldridge and Martell Webster.  Yep, only a fantasy hoops fan would watch a game because of Martell Webster.  We’ll even throw a little Travis Outlaw in there and call it a night.

With that said, I had a chance to read NBA.com’s Where 62 Amazing Things Happen, and decided that it’d be cool to pump out a list of my own.  Oh, and this list will obviously tilt it towards fantasy basketball – as this is, in fact, a fantasy basketball blog. 

In no specific order…here are 55 things I wish to come true during this year’s fantasy hoops season.  Enjoy.

1. Yao Ming avoids fluke injuries all season long and finally suits up for at least 75 games

2. Scott Skiles sticks with a lineup instead of giving every Bulls player 20 minutes per night

3. Stephen Jackson leaves his guns at home when hitting up strip clubs

4. Gilbert Arenas gets his own reality show as part of his next contract - yes, it is a contract year, folks.

5. Zydrunas Ilgauskas gets 30 minutes a night, just like the old days

6. Kevin Garnett challenges Jason Kidd for the league lead in triple-doubles

7. Kobe Bryant goes for 50 at least five times - and loses on each occasion

8. Penny Hardaway gives me a reason to dust off the old “Magic #1” jersey

9. Someone challenges Steve Nash for the assists-per-game title.  Ray Felton would get my vote.

10. Joel Przybilla 2.0: The Vanilla Gorilla Strikes Back

11. Dwight Howard shoots 75% from the free throw line.  At least.

12. J-Smoove Josh Smith finally gets recognized outside of fantasy basketball and slam dunk contests

13. Andrea Bargani. All-Star.

14. Baron Davis harnesses Cal Ripken Jr. - for his endurance, not his truck commericals

15. Zach Randolph realizes that he can in fact block shots

16. Joakim Noah gets plastic surgery.  Not sure how much HD Noah I can take at this point.

17. Al Horford shocks the world by beating out Kevin Durant for the Rookie of the Year trophy.

18. Larry Hughes gets his shooting percentage above 45% from the floor

19. Rashad McCants: Most Improved Player of the Year

20. Reggie Evans finally gets to utilize his 19.7 rebounds/48 minute average as a starter in Philly

21. Hey Greg… Think Manu Ginobili can play 35 minutes per game?

22. Luis Scola lives up to his Summer League hype

23. Von Wafer gets a shot to play in Denver, simply so I can write about a guy named “Von Wafer”

24. Rick Adelmen gives Bonzi Wells yet another chance, and he responds with numbers.  Lots of numbers.

25. Mo Williams doesn’t give us his best Mike James impression

26. Ike Diogu finally gets his chance to shine and becomes one of this season’s biggest waiver additions

27. Jason Maxiell replaces Antonio McDyess in the starting lineup for Detroit

28. The three Millers (Andre, Brad, Mike) all get traded to teams that can acutally use them

29. Just get it over with.  Cuttino Mobley takes over the starting shooting guard job from Quinton Ross

30. Theo Ratliff finally comes back to life, becoming the greatest “throw-in” in the history of trades

31. Rajon Rondo simply does not shoot in order to not hurt owners’ percentages

32. Someone brings a marker to a game and starts coloring in Robert Swift’s tattoos

33. J.R. Smith gets traded to a team that can actually tolerate his rediculous behavior

34. Drew Gooden makes Cleveland forget who Anderson Varejao even is

35. Andrew Bynum finally shows Kobe Bryant that he is, in fact, not worth a Jason Kidd

36. Kevin Martin averages 30 points per night until Mike Bibby returns

37. Someone finally explains to me why Bostjan Nachbar goes by “Boki”

38. Acie Law IV becomes the full-time staring point guard by Christmas

39. David Lee gets 35 minutes per night, challenging for the league lead in rebounds per game

40. Tyronn Lue gets drafted by a WNBA team

41. Fabricio Oberto gets unleased to the world, simply so we can talk about someone named “Fabio”

42. Allan Houston’s return goes unnoticed - aside from the Knicks checkbook

43. Udonis Haslem averages 15 and 10 for the entire season

44. Yahoo! officially changes Daniel Gibson’s player file to “Boobie” Gibson - sort of like “Smush” Parker

45. Ron Artest’s only suspension of the season occurs within the first seven games

46. Al Harrington gets back into the starting lineup, for good

47. Tracy McGrady’s back lasts a full season, allowing him to compete for the scoring title

48. Jameer Nelson’s contract year brings out his breakout season

49. People stop calling Juan Carlos Navarro “La Bamba.”  If anything, that should be Jose Calderon or Pau Gasol

50. Carlos and Deron make Utah forget about Karl and John

51. Rashard Lewis responds to his big money with big numbers

52. Chris Paul gives us what we though we were getting last season when we drafted him in the top 15

53. Al Thornton reminds Philly on why they shouldn’t have passed on him this summer

54. Grant Hill’s revival in the Western Conference

And last, but not least…

55. LeBron James gives a full effort all season long - earning his top five selection as well as another bid to the playoffs