I'm not going lie.

I don't like the NBA.

Or at least I don't like the regular season.

Don't get me wrong; the NBA playoffs have supplied some of my best sports memories, but the regular season is a joke.

You don't have the classic matchups like Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson in the NBA finals. There aren't last-second shots that measure up to the lasting image of Michael Jordan holding his follow-through after pushing off Byron Russell and hitting the game-winning shot.

The only thing that the regular season has on the playoffs is what happens between games. You couldn't possibly make up some of the crazy situations some of the players get themselves into to.

Let's look at some of the storylines from the past few seasons.

You have the Pistons/Pacers brawl, which was a prominent story for much of the year.

Then, who could forget Shelley Smith covering Kobe Bryant and his misinterpretation of consensual sex?

Teammates of Vin Baker said he would reek of mouthwash whenever he came to practice.

These are priceless anecdotes and conversation starters.

Even though this year's NBA campaign is just getting into gear, shocking news has already resonated through the sports world.

And commissioner David Stern's right at the heart of it.

That's right, good 'ole Stern decided the tried-and-true leather basketball wasn't edgy enough for the fast-pace, run-and-gun style of the revamped NBA. This offseason, Stern introduced a new synthetic ball into the game.

Real exciting.

But if the new ball isn't enough to energize you for the upcoming season, Stephen Jackson has done his best to increase attention on the NBA.

The poster-child had an interesting trip to a strip club, where he almost got run over by a car and pulled a gun on someone.

I can remember all the news away from the actual game without even looking it up, but ask me about a memorable regular-season contest, and not many come to mind.

I mean, can you name one, other than Kobe Bryant's 81-point performance?

As much as ESPN and other networks want to parade the NBA as a primetime event, I'm not buying into it.

Unlike the playoffs, where each game is important, the regular season seems like a scene right out of Groundhog Day - the same thing happening over and over again.

Yes, Kobe Bryant scores a lot of points. Boring. Sure, LeBron James is leading a team consisting of rejects all the while coming into his own as the next Michael Jordan. Yawn. Dwyane Wade gets an automatic foul shot every time he drives into the lane. Frustrating.

The list goes on.

No one plays defense, unless it's to pad the stats. Coaches don't really do anything but pace the sideline and look confused, angry or complacent. The majority of the players pay more attention to what their agents tell them than advice from coaches. And then there's the annoying music the arenas play to fire up the crowd while the home team is playing defense. (Like a music track, with a monotone voice repeating the word "defense" is going to inspire the fans and players.)

Maybe I just haven't caught up with the times - I still think the internet is just a passing phase - but the NBA has lost touch with the roots of the game James Naismith originally invented for women.

While Kobe, Dwyane and LeBron will score more points than Wilt Chamberlain had kids at some point this season, the fundamentals like the mid-range jumper and defense just continue to get pushed further into the background.

Unless anyone can convince me otherwise, I'll talk to you 82 games from now, when the real NBA season begins.

Until then, enjoy. I know I won't be missing anything.

- Wright can be reached at kpwr@umich.edu.