I had been aching to get a chance to host a Carnival of the NBA at some point. While I wasn’t sure of the intricacies, really, I knew that the idea was a cool one. When I found out I’d be doing it right in the middle of the NBA Playoffs, I thought even better. So foremost, thanks to Matt from Blog-a-Bull for hooking me up with the chance to host.

And normally I’m big on length introductions, but let’s just get into it. Without any ado whatsoever, The On Deck Circle presents the 56th Carnival of the NBA:

Let’s start it off with my selection for Video of the Day, which I’ll just throw up here. Odenized is at it again. So is Ronny Turiaf.

ODC writer Alex Jackson has been traveling the world in recent months (I bet your site can’t afford worldly correspondents…byeah!), and he dropped a line with a piece about Croatian Basketball.

While we’re on the international tip, I wanted to revisit a piece I did a little while back. This one takes a look at Anthony Parker’s path to the NBA, and poses the question of why more players don’t try things this way.

Even though Kobe has been crowned the league’s Most Valuable Player already (deservedly so, I think), here is a look at the NBA MVP Race in terms of The Wire.

Tracy McGrady has been eliminated from the playoffs in the first round. Ho-hum. I guess that answers The Imaginary Player’s question.

Along very similar cross-eyed lines, Hardwood Paroxysm looked at A Day in the Life of a Human Guilt Trip.

Recently, there has been some discussion about the services provided by Draft Express and Hoops Hype with respect to agents. Appropriately, The Sports Agent Blog Broke it Down for Us.

Fast Break Blog points out that Kobe is not alone in the playoffs. He is also Battling Playoff Ghosts.

Dear Charlotte, Here’s the Scoop on Larry Brown, Love, Straight Bangin’.

Another letter from Straight Bangin’: They Have no Love for Bad Basketball. Peace, Nuggets.

Somehow, Raptors HQ managed to limit their list of Questions Facing the Raptors to just 10.

20 Second Timeout reminds us How Important Kobe’s Scoring Is.

So, Kobe’s been saved, it seems. Daily Basketball thinks it’s time to Free Dwyane Wade.

20 Second Timeout broke the news that Josh Howard and Afroman Are Hooking Up for a top-40 chart banger.

A really good looking writer over at Hoops Addict examined The NBA’s Relationship with the Internet.

Biased Fan provides a Free Throw Shooting Guide for the Utah Jazz.

And And One breaks it down in scientific detail with The Science of Scoring.

With-Malice knows why Teams are Licking Their Chops over the D’Antoni situation, and why that should send a message to Phoenix.

Hoops Addict knows The Raptors Would Jump on D’Antoni.

Remember when you lost your eyebrows in science class? Well, courtesy of With-Malice, here are Some Other Failed Experiments.

Apparently, Minnesota’ basketball team is in trouble. I wasn’t aware. T-Wolves Blog filled me in with The T-Wolves History in the Draft Lottery. Ouch.

Ever wonder how that KG trade turned out for the other side? LOY’s Place fills us in: The Celtics Dominated Game 7.

And what of the losing side in that Game 7? Hoops Addict reveals that they’re one of The Duos of the Future that reflect past duos.

Hey, not sure if anyone saw, but Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie signed Garbage Time All-Stars to post a basketball comic every Friday. They’re usually awesome. Here’s a Good Example.

It’s probably unusual to link an ESPN article in one of these, but this story about ODC-favorite Chris Lofton is worth a read.

If bloggers reading want to get involved with the Carnival of the NBA, join our group on Ballhype. You can also get information on upcoming (and past) editions of the carnival at blogcarnival.com.

Hype this up, too.