After getting off to an admittedly rough start following the NBA playoffs, pledge to do better from here on out. If you haven’t been paying attention on Twitter (follow me on Twitter @DrSportsFan), here’s how I’ve been failing as a sports fan thus far in the NBA playoffs:

(1) I’ve been DVRing Sixers games and watching them on taped delay while attempting to pull of a sports game blackout.

(2) I’ve tweeted several times about the crappy officiating (never a good sign for a sports fan) to the point that I look like either a moron or someone with a personal vendetta against the NBA refs.

While there isn’t much I can do about my busy schedule (I’m kind of a big deal), I’ve decided to abstain from ref bashing on Twitter. It’s just in the best interests of everyone involved — mostly for me. Nobody likes a ref basher, even in 140 characters or less.

So let’s talk some basketball, shall we?

Let’s start with Superman himself, Dwight Howard. Aside from my personal annoyance that he’s basically the self-proclaimed Superman (whatever), sports fans have to start asking themselves the following question: Has Dwight Howard made the leap? His numbers — 39.5 ppg, 19.0 rpg thus far in the playoffs: Yowza! If Howard has indeed made the leap, welcome to the second coming of Shaq. Only this guy works out! Again, Yowza!! (I think this is the Passover talking. Why it would be talking for a non-religious, Irish guy… I can’t tell you.)

Andre Iguodala finished 8th (8th?) in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. That’s a bit off. Iggy might not be much of a scorer, but he is one helluva defender as he’s proving with a fine defensive effort against Lebron James — though it’s being overshadowed by his complete-and-utter lack of offensive game in this Heat-Sixers series. Though if you ask Lebron, he might just say that he’s just shooting poorly. Lebron = EGO MANIAC. You remember Lebron James (applicable Back to the Future quote) the man who took his life and flushed it completely down the toilet (to go to Miami).

Quick Philadelphia fan side bar: How deflating was Game 2’s blowout? Congrats on being the only team in the Eastern Conference to get blown out. Seriously, since when did the Sixers turn into Butler? (Full credit to that joke goes to Jack Bauer of All Sports.) For all intents and purposes, the 76ers are finished in this series. Charles Barkley said it best: Miami is better at just about everything than the Sixers. Silver lining: Now we’re playing with house money and nothing to lose. No one expected this Sixers team to even make the playoffs. Now, no one expects them to even win a game. Win a game (or two) at home and then everyone will be fired up. Things can only go up from here. (We can build on th– OK! I won’t rip off Bill Simmons this once…)

In other news, Boston’s Big 3 is cementing its legacy as this generation’s “Bad Boys”. Their series with New York is a blood bath. Both Melo and Ray Allen each have shiners. (Even if they aren’t from this series, impressive!) Ironic that the Riley-Ewing Era Knicks were the last true bullies in the NBA. Like all of basketball’s bullies, this Celtics team is greater than the sum of its parts. All the more reason to hate Danny Ainge’s trade of Kendrick Perkins (one of the chief bullies) for Jeff Green, a seemingly kind-hearted fellow that is woefully out of place in that locker room. Sometimes it’s the trades you don’t make that build champions. Just ask Larry Brown, who nearly derailed the fan-favorite, conference champion ‘00-’01 Sixers team before it happened. Luckily, his trade of Allen Iverson never materialized. What sort of weird parallel universe would Sixers fans be living in if Iverson had indeed been traded? If the Keith Van Horn and Glenn Robinson mistakes are any indication, NOT GOOD. (Larry Brown the coach > Larry Brown the GM)

Out West, believe me when I tell you that Lakers fans are on DEFCOM 30, thus easily making them the least confident two-time defending champion fan base in history. Of course Chris Paul is giving Lakers fans nightmares right now. Things have gotten so bad that they even miss Steve Blake. (Who’s out with chicken pox? Sad but true.)

Did I mention Paul is back? That makes me happy. You hate to see Hall of Fame talent wasted by injury.

Another question to ponder: Is it time for the Tim Duncan Era Spurs to be put out to pasture? Most dynasties — let’s face it, San Antonio is one under Duncan and Gregg Popovich — crumble rather suddenly. Am I just overreacting to the impact of Manu Ginobuli’s loss? That could be possible. Even still, hard to feel title-worthy when Manu is very injury-prone and Tony Parker is a better ladies man than point guard — much less “dynasty-worthy”.

Between the Lakers’ and Spurs’ troubles, I think the West is ripe for Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder to storm to the finals. They nearly took LA to the limit in the first round last year — without Kendrick Perkins and his 7-foot body to matchup with Bynum, Gasol and Odom. Not to mention that was a motivated Lakers team…

(I’m just going to avoid talking about the Mavericks. Who knows what to expect from Dirk and J-Kidd, though as a fan, I’m bummed that we never got to see how good this team could be with a healthy Caron Butley.)

Back East, the Bulls have their hands full with the Pacers, Boston has its hands full with Melo and an Allen Iverson-memorial supporting cast (at least when Amar’e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups are injured), and Orlando has its hands full with an Atlanta team they handled in last year’s Elite Eight. (I know Elite Eight is college tournament speak, but it just sounds so much better than the Eastern Conference Semifinals).

All the while, the Heat are making mince meat out of my Sixers, who I thought were actually kind of good. That means that Miami Heat and the OK City Thunder have the early look of two teams that might meet in the NBA finals. That would pit Kevin Durant and Lebron James — perhaps the league’s best scorers — against each other for their first ever title. Good vs. Evil, Legend vs. Future Legend. Oh and Dwayne Wade, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Bosh would be there as well.

But what good is all this predictions business anyway? For all we knew, Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers could be two-time defending champions right now and the phrase “Taking my talents to South Beach” might never even exist in popular culture. Unfortunately it does, and that’s not good for anyone. Hopefully, the 2011 NBA playoffs will be more good than bad for us sports fans. That would be good for everyone. Let’s see how it plays out.

And maybe, just maybe, we should enjoy ourselves in the process.

• Everyone hates the Yankees — unless you live in the Bronx.
• Everyone hates the Duke Blue Devils — unless you’re from North Carolina.
• Everyone hated the New England Patriots.  (Although I don’t think the hate is that bad, anymore.)

The latest incarnation of absolute fan hatred whether you’re from Cleveland or anywhere else outside Miami has pretty much been assigned to the Miami Heat with their karmically offensive alliance of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.  ‘Miami Thrice’ — a nickname that makes me want to throw things — has already been killed by many fans and most media buffs because as Michael Jordan said:

“I wouldn’t have called Bird and Magic and said ‘Let’s play together.’”

Hindsight is 20/20, and who knows what could have happened?  Since the Detroit Pistons were laying waste to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Playoffs in the late 80s, is it too farfetched to believe that even Jordan didn’t have a price to join Isaiah and Bill Laimbeer?  Perhaps, because as Jordan also said: “We were trying to beat each other.”

Lebron took the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach, and he’s been crucified for the last month or so as a result.  When the new incarnation of sports evil made their Miami debut in a smoke filled entrance that rivals some of the best WWF introductions, it looked familiar.  Three powerful individuals working together to destroy the planet (or in this case, the NBA).

There was the confident leader, the right hand, and the big guy that looked like a tall Bond villain.  There was also the slick gentleman, who is more or less pulling the strings, naive enough to believe it would work.

Anytime you can refer to Lebron James as a girl, you have to take it. I mean, Wade is obviously General Zod and Bosh is clearly Non ... leaving Lebron to be Ursa. Common sense, right? (SOURCE: Chicago Breaking Sports)

In 1980, Richard Donner gave us Superman II, and when you saw the supergroup of General Zod, Ursa and Non emerge from the Phantom Zone, you knew it was trouble for planet Earth.  After completely destroying a town just outside of Houston, Idaho, the trio went on to go to the White House and make a mockery of the United States leadership.  Kinda how Wade, Lebron and Bosh conspired to help make a mockery of David Stern’s NBA landscape.  (By the way, watch that movie again and tell me the President doesn’t remind you of David Stern in how he just lets the takeover happen.)

When all hope was lost and society was doomed to slavery under Zod, a hero was summoned to battle.  (Cue music and just continue to listen to it as you read this column.)  Today, a hero in the Eastern Conference must be summoned to battle this new axis of evil and monopolization of basketball talent.

We need you now more than ever, Superman. Learn the skills you need to rid the NBA of Miami Heat championships. (SOURCE: Chicago Sun Times)

Look up in the sky.  It’s a bird.  It’s a plane.  It’s “Superman” — aka Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.  Now, more than ever, Howard HAS to live up to that nickname.  He has the tools necessary to stop the super trio, and one can only hope that Howard has been in his personal fortress of solitude — or gym — making those powers stronger.

For example: the superhuman strength and power Superman possesses.  Howard already surpasses anything the Miami Heat could throw at him.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas?  Didn’t Cleveland try that once already and fail leading to the acquisition of the older, more Bizarro World-like Superman?

Chris Bosh?  Seriously?  Bosh doesn’t even want to play center.  Could you logically throw him down low and have him bang with Howard for 20-25 minutes a game?

Since he’s already more powerful than a not so speeding Lithuanian, it would be nice if Howard developed any kind of a low post game. The kid’s been in the league for six years.  You would think he learned something other than catching the ball two feet under the basket and dunking.  How frightening would he be if he had an eight to ten foot post game?  A turnaround jumper.  A backdown spin.  Hell, a hook shot!  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the NBA career record in points, and his overall game revolved around a hook shot.

Dwight, we know you’re a two time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.  We know you’ve averaged double-digit rebounds in all six of your pro seasons, but dude, develop your offensive game a little.  No one will be offended if you put a little offense on the floor.

We Miami Heat haters would also be thankful if you increased the ability of your x-ray vision a little bit.  With the amount of double teams you could theoretically command with your new found post game, it’ll be important to know how to kick out to Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter and the rest of the members of the Daily Planet … er Orlando Magic.

When you have several supporting cast members who shoot close to 40 percent from three point range (Nelson 38 percent; Lewis 39 percent; Redick 40 percent), you have to be able to get them the ball using some kind of court vision.  We’re not asking you to be Vlade Divac — arguably the best passing center ever — but it couldn’t hurt if you had at least some Arvydis Sabonis-like vision when it comes to hitting shooters with a good pass.

People dying to see the Heat fail aren’t trying to put any kind of pressure on you or anything.  Just know that in the Eastern Conference, you’re our only hope in saving the NBA and its fans from an unspeakable dynasty.  Please go into your phone booth as the Dwight Howard of old, come out as the Superman of the future and save us all.

The NBA — no — the WORLD will thank you.